[PANAMHIEST]

The 19 starting hands apply to no limit ring games. They don't really apply to tournaments, sng's, or limit. They are good for new players. Everyone needs a base from which to expand their playing, so lets start with a simple strategy and as your expertise using this method grows, you can tweak it to you liking for other game types.

The 19 starting hands are:

All poket pairs, 13 of em for those that may get confused
AK
AQ
AJ
KQ
QJ
KJ

Fact is poker players in general and stuck in a rut players need some place to start that's going to keep them in the game and out of trouble. Texture, Color, Feel, The flow of the game,betting patterns, playing styles, etc. are all advanced topics, for advance theories of play, that may be hard to understand or stick to. Play the 19 hands theory on NL ring games below below 200NL and you'll at least be playing live cards, but the key is to stick to your guns even when things are rough.

Here's how you play them AA, KK, QQ, JJ and AK raise preflop 3-5xBB. If the pot is raised before it gets to you then reraise with AA, and KK. If you get reraised back then Push the AA or KK. Call a raise with the rest(QQ and JJ). If you end up in the middle of a raise/reraise between to players, just get out of the way without AA, and sometimes even with AA - or if you think your KK is good push and hope one of them doesn't hit their A high.

AQ, you would raise this only if no one else has raised. If someone does raise before you then fold or call if its your preference up to 4xBB. AQ is a raising hand preflop into an unraised pot but it's an autofold or call only into a raised preflop pot.

AJ, KQ, QJ, call preflop if it's unraised. call up to 4xbb preflop if it's raised.

Pocket pairs of 1010 and below, call raises preflop up to 2.5-4.5xBB, for set mining. Fold to bigger raises. However, look at the raiser,and any other callers if any, and remember their playing styles ranges and reads you have on them, and decide if it is worth the risk. It they are naturally tight, rock type players the likely hood of them hitting on a low flop isnt there, but remember rocks love high PP's.If they don't have any money, and you uncomfortable with lower PP's, then just fold.You want them to have money so if you do hit a set you will get paid off. If you don't hit a set then be prepared to fold to any raise, because the only purpose of seeing the flop to begin with is to hit a set, so do not stray from that goal. If you have an overpair to the board then play it carefully, trust your instinct, and if it isnt at a price you comfortable with, just fold and try again.
This style of play is just to get back to the basics, have a solid strategy that is simple and easy to follow, and will hopefully get you back into the positive side of things, or if what you do isnt working, then switch up and try this. It requires alot of patience, but while your folding everything else, pay ATTENTION, and youll be surprised to find alot of the hands you would of normally played, lose horribly to suck outs. Of course anything you fold can win, but you didnt lose your money either.
So tweak this to your own liking and give it a try if your looking for something new to try, and please folks, leave some feedback on the subject and how you might play it, I dont write poker blogs often anyway as they usually just get ignored, so please, even if you dont like it say your a dumbarsh and tell me why lol.

[sinmiedo]

i more or less play that way
however, i always defend bb and sb and raise with anythig on the bottom providing there are all callers.
i love playing midium connectors and gap connectors sudded i even raise and call raises
my favorite hand 6 3 of suit on the bb