Traffic Lights:Green, Amber and Red are
used to rank and weight 2-card hands based on probabilities of winning games. The system gives each card a score.
Extra points are given for:
Pairs, Suited and Connected cards.
This is justified because it increases the Ways-of-Winning and the number of outs. A pair-in-the-hand often wins the game. Having
Suited Cards increases
the chances of a Flush. Connected Cards increase the chances of a straight. Having two Court Cards
increases the chances of getting a high pair.
Generally any pair with one card <7, except A & K is a poor bet , with Q & J combinations only worthy for 2-3 players.
Number of Ways of winning is an extra consideration which is incorporated into the bonus scores system for pairs connected and suited and all A cards. The scoring system is based on the probabilities of winning with a hand of two cards.
See Resources for analysis of how the hand scores relate to the probabilities.
These Traffic Lights Rules is related to the Thrice is Nice Rule-of-Thumb.
RULE: => Both cards >7 => A6-A2 suited => K6-K2 suited, => Pairs and Adjacent >7 (late 4 or less players ALL Pairs), => A&B with 5 to 2 kicker play with 4 or less players;
=> When 4 or less players becomes shoot-out A-C, ALL pairs, ALL suited combos;
Play weaker cards later if pre-bet prominent. TOP PAIRS + AK, AQ => 2 BB prebet.
NOTE: There are 169 possible two-card combos that can be dealt. Of these about 30 meet the criteria below (>7) => about 1:5 deals.
NOTE: equal >7 key principles: 2 > midrange cards, with kickers for each other, 2 bestpair options double the chances; confidence to bet as beats half of small kickers.
NB Low A,K,Q kickers <7 hard to bet with unless 3 or fewer opponents. equal >7 pairs and connected similar principles => beats lower 50%.
RULES OF THUMB for Starting Pairsm (NB >7 rule is not super-tight => bet 10 hand is Super tight - AA-99, AK, AQ ||
RED shows extra options-few players
No Card < 7
EXCEPT A & K Combos SUITED All =>
AA AK AQ AJ A10 A9 A8 A7 |+| SUITED A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 early All => KK KQ KJ K10 K9 K8, K7 |+|
SUITED K6 K5 K4 K3 K2 early few players All => QQ QJ Q10
|+|
SUITED Q9 Q8 Q7 early few players All => JJ
|+| SUITED J10 PAIRS > 7
(others early for Triples)
Adjacent and Adjoining Cards >6 & (+) SUITED preferred
Aim to play fewer players with weaker cards => play in late position or natural low numbers. ONLY PLAY VERY GOOD CARDS AT ALL TIMES => random hits are rare and expensive.
On the button or one before can play weaker hands mostly A => 2, K => 2 (unsuited) in shoot-out, Q => 7 (suited), but BOTH > 6 is safer. Expect weaker
opponents, bet to steal the blinds when you can, reduced competition. Can try suited connectors as well.
ACE with kicker hands <7 are problematic as more A's out there => only play with 3-4 players and LATE in hand. Except very late in the 'game shoot' out, when few players remain
Playout flop overcards, with A & K combinations => worth the ride with small bets or checks, watch for small card matches in betting. Look for flops where the top two cards aren't pairs
or are adjacent AND they are all made of different suits. Same applies for a small blinds bet on the flop, probable that better has no match or a weak one.
Bet big with very strong hands early to kill others -bird in the hand => if you wait, others will see their dreams fulfilled - read the signs for possibilities in betting and cards. Beware when flop contains two suited cards (especially) or three connected ones.
Ride with a best, or second best, pair match, 'bird in the hand', but watch the betting as what you probably have is obvious, and look at what others may have.
Early small bet is good for testing waters. You don't have to have a pair to bet and win if you have one or two overcards - the higher the better - shoot out!. Also read the flop for ways to win and lose.
You may get lucky or win by having the highest
card (A) in hand. If the flop lacks a connection or suited pair and has low cards, You will usually be ahead against two opponents, since they will usually have missed, as well. The flop is dry without a face card.
Pre-bet Early for AA, AK, AQ, KK, KQ => 3BB; KJ, QQ, QT, TT => 2BB only when playing early or first to act, rarely call other weaker hands pre-bet unless have gun hand.
BUT Pre-bet 2 BB if first to enter the pot. BUT On Replay players will ride weaker hands and so don't expect many folds if going arounds again.
Range of card strength of opponents varies, but generally they will have good cards => need to be sure you can beat them. Reason to Pre-Bet before BB gets to 100 is to (1) Collect blinds (2) Reduce the number of players, (3) Eliminating poor
hands that can jag a win, so cream of the pot will be left. Prebet early works better as once bet made many will double up (4) Increase pot size.
(5)Be aggreesive. BUT reduces number of hands you can play later if you lose as stack drops. => Better to use position as the driver to play fewer players. Raise from late position as often as possible, but those in will continue with bad hands.
Raise to steal the blinds. If few in hand already or late when BBs are >100, prebet raise not needed.
Early => Look-see with weaker hands (PLUS Suited Connectors => no order required cf straight) and low value pairs <7, cost is low for blinds lees than 100. Suited connected or adjacent, >6 seem to do better than expected.
Middle => Play tight with Premium Hands
Late => Higher Cards are better A K Q J its a shoot out! Straights and flushes are less important. Low pairs come back to the fore, Play weaker cards, try for Both Cards >7
Key error=> Don't continue with good (winning?) hand when high bet against you, especially with only A PAIR - they know what you have !!, especially as they have a set or two pair
=> full house from a pair in hand => key way of losing => Double check any raise for last card, especially when what you have is obvious or there are three cards for flush or straight!!!
Read the signs in ways of losing + beware of triples. Your opponent can guess your hand especially with single high pair. High bluff is rare.
Don't Look-See with moderate hands except very late as you will be killed of by pre-flop bets. Stick to premier set of hands,'guns' early => Pre-bet more often to reduce competition if betting early
Playing Late with few players (Blinds are likely to be weak) => But stick to >7 rule, mostly A & K and Q. Adjacent cards unsuited greater than 7.
More of a Shoot Out as weaker hands less likely. The better your position, including 1 BB spot the
more speculative hands you can play. Consider a raise to 2BB to steal the blinds if you have a very good hand. TOP 20 hands => AA, KK, QQ, AK (suited), AQ (suited), JJ,
KQ (suited), AJ (suited), AK, TT, AT (suited), KJ (suited), AQ, 99, QJ (suited), KT (suited), 88, QT (suited), A9 (suited), AJ
Play ALL formula/position starting hands as being too conservative means you do not see enough flops and cancel too much luck!!.
3 is the magic player number for weaker hands=> Kx and Qx are good options for 2-3 players (shoot-outs)
Adjust bet size as a strategy => big with winning hand to kill off opponents straight etc. Small to test waters and suck in opponents when you have a winner. Moderate to reduce opponents.
Late disclosure wins more chips.
Straights and flushes are not afected by number of players like pairs (play anytime) => strong look-see potential early especially suited connectors >7. But
late it is too costly to chase completions
Beware 3 cards in flop (not necesarily in sequence) could make a straight PLUS three suites cards => flush
Only Go ALL-IN in desperation, with few players and seldom as a call, too risky, unless trying to propt a fold. better to have a large bet -does the same thing without risking ALL. Better when you see the flop cards, but even then many ways to lose especialy with high pair! Three suited or connectors arew killers
For large Pre-Bet style games => Play very tight, wait for the end-game. Only play gun hands. Only play VERY LATE to avoid being swamped. Early on there are too many players with miracle hands. Pre-betting stops when blinds are > 200.
Wait Times => 1326 start card cominations. >6 is half, so 2 cards >6 is 0.25 => 1 in 4 deals, or 1 in 5 or 6 for rule of thumb.
The System
Card Scores
A => 6
K => 5
Q => 4
J,T(10) => 3
9,8,7 => 2
6,5,4,3,2 => 1
Extra Scores
Pair => extra 4
Suited => extra 2
Connected => extra 1
Suited & Connected => extra 3
Traffic Lights Ranking
Simplified Traffic Lights Ranking Rules
Traffic Lights Ranking - Full Details & Hand Listings
Note: Pairs with more than two ways of winning are shown in RED
Lime Green - Best Bets Rules
Pairs AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT
AK, KQ, AQ, AJ, A10 suited and unsuited
KJ, K10 suited
A9, A8, A7 Suited
A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 Suited [Less than Four Players]
Lime Green Hand Rank Scores
AA => 16
AKsc => 14
KK => 14
AQs => 13
AKoc => 12
KQsc => 12
QQ => 12
AQo => 11
AJs => 11
ATs => 11
KJs => 11
KTs => 11
A9,8,7s => 10
KQoc => 10
QJsc => 10
JJ => 10
TT => 10
AJo => 9
ATo => 9
A6,5,4,3,2 suited => 9
Green - Good Bets Rules
QT, JT suited
KJ, KT unsuited
A9, A8, A7 suited and unsuited
A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 suited
K9, K8, K7, K6, K5, K4, K3, K2 suited
Green Hand Rank Scores
K9,8,7s => 9
QTs => 9
JTsc => 9
A9,8,7o => 8
KJo => 8
KTo => 8
K6,5,4,3,2s => 8
QJoc => 8
Orange - Cautious Bet Rules
Pairs: 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
Any hands with BOTH cards 7 or higher
A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 unsuited
Q6, Q5, Q4, Q3, Q2 suited
Orange Hand Rank Scores
Q9,8,7s => 8
Q6,5,4,3,2s => 8
T9sc => 8
99 => 8
88 => 8
77 => 8
A6,5,4,3,2o => 7
K9,8,7o => 7
QTo => 7
JToc => 7
J9,8,7s => 7
T8,7s => 7
98sc => 7
87sc => 7
98sc => 7
Q9,8,7o => 6
J9,8,7o => 5
T8,7o => 5
T9oc => 6
97s => 6
98oc => 5
87oc => 5
97o => 4
Red - Rare Bet Rules
No bets when one card is < 7
EXCEPT
Cards BOTH suited & connected
Q6, Q5, Q4, Q3, Q2 suited
J6, J5, J4, J3, J2 suited
T6, T5, T4, T3, T2 suited
Red Hand Rank Scores
K6,5,4,3,2o => 6
J6,5,4,3,2s => 6
T6,5,4,3,2s => 6
76sc => 6
75,4,3,2o => 6
66 => 6
55 => 6
44 => 6
33 => 6
22 => 6
Q6,5,4,3,2o => 5
96,5,4,3,2s => 5
86,5,4,3,2s => 5
76oc => 5
J6,5,4,3,2o => 4
T6,5,4,3,2o => 4
65sc => 4
64,3,2s => 4
54sc => 4
53,2s => 4
43sc => 4
42s => 4
32sc => 4
96,5,4,3,2o => 3
86,5,4,3,2o => 3
75,4,3,2s => 3
65oc => 3
54oc => 3
43oc => 3
32oc => 3
64,3,2o => 2
53,2o => 2
42o => 2
Two card Selection for the System
AA
AKs
AQs
AJs
ATs
A9s
A8s
A7s
A6s
A5s
A4s
A3s
A2s
AKo
KK
KQs
KJs
KTs
K9s
K8s
K7s
K6s
K5s
K4s
K3s
K2s
AQo
KQo
QQ
QJs
QTs
Q9s
Q8s
Q7s
Q6s
Q5s
Q4s
Q3s
Q2s
AJo
KJo
QJo
JJ
JTs
J9s
J8s
J7s
J6s
JSs
J4s
J3s
J2s
ATo
KTo
QTo
JTo
TT
T9s
T8s
T7s
T6s
T5s
T4s
T3s
T2s
A9o
K9o
Q9o
J9o
T9o
99
98s
97s
96s
95s
94s
93s
92s
A8o
K8o
Q8o
J8o
T8o
98o
88
87s
86s
85s
84s
83s
82s
A7o
K7o
Q7o
J7o
T7o
97o
87o
77
76s
75s
74s
73s
72s
A6o
K6o
Q6o
J6o
T6o
96o
86o
76o
66
65s
64s
63s
62s
ASo
K5o
Q5o
J5o
T5o
95o
85o
75o
65o
55
54s
53s
52s
A4o
K4o
Q4o
J4o
T4o
94o
84o
74o
64o
54o
44
43s
42s
A3o
K3o
Q3o
J3o
T3o
93o
83o
73o
63o
53o
43o
33
32s
A2o
K2o
Q2o
J2o
T2o
92o
82o
72o
62o
52o
42o
32o
22
high
mod
+ > 6
Counts
A to 7 all
113
A6 to 2 s
49
K to 7 all
113
K6 to 2 s
49
Q to T all
33
Q9 to 7 s
21
JJ JT all
17
AA to 77
8
Suited Con
16
Total
300
with
420
2562 -> 2-card
combinations
1:10
1:7
Poker Truisms
Position,
Patience
Confidence
Be the aggressor, not the victim, nor the limper
What matters more than what you have is what your opponents think you have - foundation of bluffing.
Seldom call an all-in (pre-flop) with less than AA or KK.
80% of the time, a large bet/raise means 2 pair or a set.
Start with a pair, End with a pair.
The Average Winning Hand in hold’em is 2 pair.
Remember, AK and AQ are just drawing hands - You will miss the flop 73% of the time.
The good stuff is generally in the small-medium pots.
Take as much chance out of the game as you can. Read the signs in the flop and bets and the table mood.
It’s often the good hands or failed big cards that you that get you into trouble.
A good player knows when to fold a good hand.
The other players miss the flop as often as you do and get a full house with cards you fold as often as you do.
Suited cards are better than non-suited, but not by as much as you might think (+5%).
Having both start > 6 gives two ways of getting a pair and they provide a kicker for each other => increases the odds for a winning pair.
Ace Rag (unsuited) Ace with a low kicker A9, A8, A7, A6, A5, A4, A3, A2 are danger cards, generally fold unless few players remain in the hand. Same applies for K
Small to medium pairs unsuited are of low value => position and number of players is the pkey. Your pair will hit a set about 10% of the time
Push for a win when you are in control. Let go the risky races with uncertainty, fold.
The probability of complete a straight with 2 connected cards is about 2.6%
The probability of completing a flush with 2 suited cards is about 2.4% (so flush is harder).
Tthe probability of completing either a straight or flush with a 2 suited connected cards is about 2.8% + 2.4% = 5.2%.
The probability of completing a straight with 3 connected cards is about 13.1%.
The probability of completing a flush with 3 suited cards is about 25.2%. (double that for completing a straight).
Two Times Rule: After the flop, multiplying the number of outs by 2 gives an estimate of the probability of hitting your outs by the next card.
Four Times Rule: After the flop, multiplying the number of outs by 4 gives an estimate of the probability of hitting your outs by the river.
EXTRA
Only go all in in desperation with few players and seldom as a call - too risky. Better when you see the flop cards
Play with 1-2 overcards after the flop if cost is small
Keep late position plays with weaker cards to A and K, best >7 and Suited
2 cards >7 works because have 2 pairing options, both supported by good kicker
Play from gun and single bind as single pair shoot-out => expect weaker hands with 1 to 3 players only involved - A & K are best
Use Natural low player numbers early, by playing late, otherwise too many options for other players and also gets swamped by larhe pre-flops
Avoid Calling All-ins - high risk especially with more than one other player