If you’re playing poker, pocket queens are not to be sniffed at. However, many players make the mistake of either over or underplaying this hand, leading to costly mistakes on the felt. In this article, we’re talking pocket queens strategy so you don’t make those mistakes.
Preflop play is crucial when you’ve been dealt pocket queens. Generally, people say you should raise with them so you can weed out weaker players and narrow the field. The size of your raise depends on the table dynamics (hello poker personalities), your opponents stack sizes and the pot odds. In general, a raise of 3-4 times the big blind is a good starting point.
However, in certain situations you should think about just calling. Employ this tactic if you’re facing someone who tends to fold to a preflop raise. By calling instead of raising, you can keep more players in and potentially raise the value of the pot as you do it. Especially if you end up hitting a set on the flop.
After the flop, keep paying attention to your opponents and also, of course, the board. If the flop is dry and it doesn’t look likely that your opponents will have hit on anything great, keep betting.
However, if there are draws on the board (think flush or straight draw), this is where betting as a protection mechanism comes in. Make sure your bet is big enough to discourage your opponents from chasing their draws, but not so big that you’re really committed to seeing it through if someone else raises.
Your opponent starting to bet? Think hard about what they could have, plus what their betting pattern has been like over the game. If they’re tight, you’re probably going to want to fold in this scenario. They could have you beat. However, if they’re loose, you might well be safe to call or even re-raise in your pocket queens strategy.
This is where things can get spicy in pocket queens strategy play. Keep assessing your hand’s strength against what you reckon your opponents have. Have you got a safe enough turn and river and do your opponents seem a bit shy? Well then go right in and bet for value.
However, if you’re faced with a scare card (say a third card of the same suit or a straight completing card), proceed with caution. Be prepared to fold if faced with significant aggression from the other players.
As we all know, early, mid and late position play all come with their own unique opportunities and challenges. This is definitely the case with pocket queens too. In early position, you should raise with your pocket queens to narrow the field and build that pot. But in later positions, you should consider calling with your queens to keep more players in the pot and maybe even win really big if you hit a set.
With your pocket queens strategy, facing a raise from a player in an earlier position means you should think about 3-betting your queens to isolate that opponent and narrow the field. However, a raise from a late position player could mean you’re better off just calling to keep more players in the pot.
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