Under the gun hand selection

Under the gun hand selection differs from hand selection at any other position at the table. At a full ring table or a 9 handed table the weakest hand you should raise with is AQ or 1010. The reason to stay away from small pairs is that if you miss a set on the flop you will be throwing chips away with no real chance of winning the pot. Also, even if you do make a set on the flop you will not be in the clear because your opponent will have a bigger pair and still have outs. In some situations you could run in to a bigger set than yours and get stacked. If you keep a tighter selection from the gun you will be better for it, and avoid getting yourself stuck in pots.

If you are playing at a shorthanded table or a 6 max table your range of hands will open up slightly, but, you will still want to stay with a consistent and tighter range. The range opens up to playing a hand like AJ suited and almost all pairs. The better pairs are obviously easier for you to play and you should try and stay above hands like 66. If you can stay above hands like small pairs such as 55 and lower you will be better off. When you start to play hands that are weaker from the gun you will lose more times than you win. Also, if someone makes a re-raise before the flop you will have to chase a street or two to figure out what their hand is. Sometimes you will get lucky enough to out flop them and make a set, and other times you will not. If you can keep with a range that suits your play at a 6 max table you will be able to make money and solidify your poker bonus amount and bankroll.

At a 6 max table rather than a full ring table your range can change depending on others views of your play and your view of other players. You can sometimes open with hands like 89 suited from the gun to disguise it if you do make a hand on the flop. A lot of the time you can get away with playing suited connectors from the gun at a 6 max table simply because other players will see that your range is higher pairs and big cards. If they do happen to make a call before the flop you can easily take a pot away from them by showing strength post flop. If you show enough strength in your plays you will get away with attempting to make more hands, and win more hands. It is very risky to loosen your range of starting hands up because the variance will be higher in your play. When you open your range up you will lose some pots that you shouldn’t have even entered, and that can be detrimental to your bankroll. When you open your range up you are opening the door for other players to take advantage of you.