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No-Limit Texas Hold'em Poker: What to do with Non-Premium Hands

Most of the basic Texas Hold’em literature kicking around these days starts with this: Try to play just premium hands.

In Limit Hold’em, this holds true more often than not; the times you hit with weaker hands you can’t make the pot large enough to make up for all the times you miss, so it’s not worth your while to play them. In No-Limit Texas Hold’em though, there’s a lot more flexibility in the hands you can play. And the amount you can win when you hit a non-premium hand is limited only by the number of chips you have in front of you, and the imagination you use to play them.

So what can you do to maximize your return from a non-premium hand?

First: What it is

A non-premium hand is easiest describe by what it’s not: A premium hand. Hands with two high cards, especially suited or connecting, are considered “premium hands,” with A-K, QQ or A-Q suited good examples. K-J suited, or T-J off suit are less valuable, but still frequently playable.

A “non-premium” hand is, simply, anything else.

So: When should you play one?

People tend to play non-premium hands like small, suited connectors or small pairs in certain No-Limit situations. The reason: when one of these hands hits the flop strongly, they are well disguised and you can trap your opponents into paying you off with a big pot.

When are those situations? Here are three:

When it’s cheap

If you’re in a passive game and lots of players are seeing flops, it’s ok to limp in with marginal hands - especially if there’s a lot of action after the flop. Only continue when you hit the flop strongly, though. Trying to make something out of a weak hand, like when you hit middle pair or a long shot draw, will only get very expensive.

From late position

If you’re one of the last to act, definitely be more willing to play non-premium cards. From any other position, if you are raised before the flop, it’s usually not profitable to continue, and you’ll have wasted a bet. But in late position, you’re much less likely to be raised. On top of that, when you do hit your hand you can get maximum value. You’ll have a lot more information about what others think of the flop, and can act accordingly.

In multi-way hands

The more players in the pot, this more hands that stand a chance of improving. So if you make a hand, you’re likely to get action from at least some of the other players. If you miss, you can usually get away cheaply. With premium hands, players may feel compelled to stick around if it’s not obvious the flop hit anybody, and could easily get burned.