Poker Tips: How to handle the position right before the flop
If you are to the first player to the left of the big blind, then you will be on the first position prior to the flop. Looking around the poker table, this position is the hardest to play. This position is called “under the gun” for some reason.
This position is still a very early position even after cards are revealed on the flop and that does not improve the total scenario for you. You have to keep in mind that when you are on this position, you need to play only your premium hands. You cannot use the other hands you usually play when in other positions.
The most obvious reason why most players dread the first position prior to the flop is that you do not have a clue what will the other players behind you will do. You will not have a good chance of reading what they have and what they plan to do since you are on the action first. In case you limp into the pot with a mediocre hand and another player raises, you will most likely be forced to throw away the cards and fold. In case you decide to raise when you get a good hand, you will have a tough choice when someone pushes some more chpis in the middle and re-raises.
Make sure you only play premium hands like KQ, AQ, AK, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, KK, and AA. You can also play small pocket pairs from time to time.
If you are playing on a tight table, you’re under the gun, and you have a premium hand, what you need to do is raise. If the gang is quite aggressive, then be more careful and just call. It is most likely to happen in a very aggressive table that another player will raise before the flop which in response you can smooth call or re-raise. The scenario on a tight table is quite different, you cannot allow more players to see the cards on the flop since this decreases your possibilities of winning.
Under the gun position requires that you prevent losing when you have big hands and this is more important than winning the big hands. Be careful when in this position since more often than not, this often result to losing bigger pots.


