NLHE: When do you or should you play bad hands?

Question

Everyone has had situations where bad hands have ended up as monsters. is there a formula or situation you look for when you want to just try a bad hand to see what happens?

Answer 1

The only time I really play "bad" pocket cards is early in a tournament in the small or big blind and then again when a tourney gets down to the final 4 or 5.  Early on, even if I hit top pair, I am still hesitant if a flush or straight draw is out there.  I don't like turning over a 6,3 off suit when trying to establish myself as a tight-aggressive player.  At the end of the tourney, I am much more aggressive.

Personally, K,9 has always been good to me.  I usually try to limp in whenever it is dealt to me.

Answer 2

I like to play a few bad hands and lose making small raises. Then other players tend to call when i raise big later.

I like to see the flop before i fold.  2 3 off suit can be a full house with the right river.

Answer 3

do not listen any idea,do not play bad hands if you want to win

Answer 4

If I'm playing at a very tight table I will play connectors or suited cards just because I know I can see a flop for almost nothing.  I will ONLY do this if I'm in position though and the pot is unraised.  Then I'll hope to hit something, although at that point it really doesn't matter if I do or don't, as I'll play the hand the same regardless.  The trick is to play the opposite of the table.  If you want to play loose then you better be at a table where everyone else has dust on their chips.  And be mindful of position, like always.  Position often means more than what you hold in your hand.

Here's a good way to try out a new strategy, like playing marginal/poor hands.  Find a low limit table online that has as few people as possible to the flop, which is summarized next to the table name.  You know this table will be tight.  Try out your strategy, and see if you can make it work.  If you can then move up to a looser table, and incorporate it as another tool in your arsenal.  When you've got it fully meshed then go back up to your regular limit as a stronger player.  Just don't be afraid to dump it if it doesn't fit your personality or style.

Answer 5

there are a lot of good situations already mentioned, but no one has mentioned the best situation imo...if no one has entered a pot pre-flop and you have all tight players behind you, it may be correct to raise any two cards at that point to just try to take the pot down yourself...everyone has explained the best times to call with garbage, and there are times when it is correct, but what about raising with garbage? that's the best way to do it if you get a chance because you are initiating the action and can make everyone fold

Answer 6

bad hands are good to play sometimes as a way to throw your opponents off and make it hard to read your hand i dont have any particular formula to it i just do it when i feel an urge ussually im the first to enter the pot when i play them and the people behind me are rocks but occasionaly ill wonder from that approach

Answer 7

I like playing some bad hands, but the set-up has to be right in order to do so. If I'm on the button and i have a bad hand and no one has entered the pot 8 times out of 10 i will make a play for the blinds, only if the blinds are defending will i give up this kind of play. But most times the blinds will fold and you will pick up the pot with 9 or 10 high, and even if you get called you still have position and the fact you have raised pre-flop may still let you pick up the pot. I also like to play some bad hands up front when im playing tight, my image can let me get away with this play from time to time. But in multi way pots with a pre flop raise it is most times wise not to play rags even though you may be getting a good price to see a flop you won't hit the flop most times, and you won't know where your at on the flop either. Also when coming into the pot with a rag hand do it for a raise, it makes no sense to just limp with a hand like 10-7 suited, the object is not to see a flop here, it is to win the blinds without showing down your hand.

Answer 8

In tournament play, early on, I often will limp in in late position with small pairs, connectors not necessarily suited, or a couple low suited cards. If I catch a flop that gives me a chance at a straight or a flush, ( or both, hopefully ) I will chase against small raises. And if i catch trips with a small pair, I will bet big.

When I do this, I always try to find a way to show, win or lose, to let the  other players think I am a fish.

The best formula to play bad hands is to at least try to have the option of hitting a straight or flush, since these will almost always be big winners. Of course, you may chase the sucker straight or the sucker flush, so beware!

Here is some FREE texas Holdem strategy:

http://www.thedoverpro.com/poker-strateg...

Answer 9

I like a lot of these answers.  I play bad to marginal in the following situations:

1) On fulltilt, when I play double stack turbo tourneys, I limp in a lot in the first 15 minutes.  As the blinds represent a much smaller percentage of my chip stack, it's worth it to see if I catch something goofy on the flop.  I usually knock out one or two people with this strategy.  The trick is to not overvalue weak pairs you hit on the flop and to get out of the way in a hurry.  In the first five minutes, where blinds represent 1% of my stack, I limp in every hand.  If I hit a decent draw, I might stick around for any raised 2x BB or less.  Not much risk, but the potential reward is huge.  

2) When big stack, if someone goes all in and it represents a small hit to my stack, I'll play just about anything in tournament play other than low off suit non conectors.

3) As the blinds increase, I threaten the big blind if BB is short stacked by doubling or tripling the blind, especially if I have a big stack with marginal cards, especially if it's a tight player.

4) In heads up, if I have 2x or better the opponent, I triple any weak bets regardless of my hand.  More often than not, they toss the hand.  The few times when they overraise, I just fold.  This works only against marginal players.  

The main thing to keep in mind when playing any weak hands is to get out of the way if you get anything less than a power draw or two pair.  Also, it's much more dangerous to do this agains good players.

Answer 10

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the best time to play bad hands, which is when the pot is so big and there are so many players in that the odds are simply too good not to play.  Let's say you're in the big or small blinds, someone early makes a single or small raise and almost everyone else calls.  When it gets to you there are now a whole bunch of bets in the pot and it's only going to cost you 1 to 1 1/2 bets to call.  In this case (and admittedly it doesn't happen often) it's just bad poker not to call and see what the board brings.  If nothing hits you can simply check and fold to a bet or maybe get a free card.  If by some miracle the board does hit you hard you're going to get an incredible return on the hand for almost no upfront risk.

Sometimes there's just too much money in the pot to not play any two cards.

Answer 11

That depends on what you consider a bad hand.  Many people consider hands like 4 2 or 5 6 terrible hands, but in many pro books, these are the hands that you should be calling big raises with and making big raises of your own.  You will either have the hand or you won't and your decision will be easy after the flop.

Answer 12

Lord, this answer depends on a ton of variables.  In cash games, weaker hands can be played in late possition for no raise, and if y ou hit, you get paid off good.  In tournaments, it depends, on the structure, the blinds, etc ......  and, most importantly, on the people at your table.  Limping with marginal hands in late possition with low blinds is good at times, but you tend to loose more than you win but the up side is, if you show down a marginal hand or two, when you have a monster, you get paid off because folks look at you as loose as a goose.  There is no formular, but there are tons of situations, if everyone is tight, I play loose, but if everyone is loose, I play tight, there is an old saying, "swim up stream" that means play opposite of how others are playing.