Card Dead Strategy

Not much is more frustrating than a long row of weak cards that are no-where near your range. Q 7 off, lots of low cards, maybe even suited connectors but way out of position, all meaning that you are folding your hands before seeing any flops.

What do you do when you are faced with this situation, where you see 20 or more hands in a row that are significantly below your range?

The first thing to understand is, that, unless you are playing very low buy in tournaments, you are developing a tight range on the table you are playing with. Any pre-flop raises are likely to carry considerably more weight, where other players with less than premium hands are probably folding.

So, if 15 or more hands have gone by and you haven't yet seen a flop, then carefully consider which players are most likely to fold to a raise, more likely the tighter players or best case, a couple of rocks. Then raise into those players. By raising into the players most likely to fold pre-flop, you are doing two things:

1. Topping up your stack with some blinds.
2. Loosening up your tight reputation slightly.

Why is #2 so important? If you have been playing no hands for a while, and finally get good holdings, the second you raise, no-one except those with premium holdings will be calling you. Which is the opposite of what you want in this situation, you want people to call you with weaker holdings.

By combining both table reads to increase the chances of other players folding and your increasingly tight reputation thanks to dead cards, you can raise and take small pots, while ensuring all players won't necessarily fold when you do raise with strong hands.

Life in the dead zone is frustrating, but occasional pre flop raise with weaker holdings can earn you blinds, or even if you have to fold to a raise or post flop action, still ensures you will get some action when you do get a strong hand.