Something That's Always Confused Me

[SimonAllan]

You are generally trying to make a hand that can bust an overpair (or a big ace that connects). This means trying to make sets, straights and flushes.

T9s is better than K9s or A8s, as T9 can make a straight or a flush, and the others can only make flushes. Also, villains are more likely to pay off straights than flushes. Additionally, K9 and A8 are very difficult to play if you flop top pair.

Out of position, only call with pairs that you won't reraise with. Fold suited connectors and suited aces unless the pot is four or five way. If you have position, you can consider calling with SCs, and occasionally some others such as suited one gappers and suited aces. You should be calling a little more liberally on the button than in the CO because you will have good position post-flop, and because there is one less player still to act (who may 3-bet).

If you actally know an opponents cards, you could call with more hands, because you should play perfectly after the flop, but in real life, you very rarely know exactly what villain has. This doesn't make too much of a difference in actual play, because, with a looser opponent you get worse implied odds, as he misses more flops when he raises with weaker hands, but, against that, you can pick up more pots with one pair when he has nothing.

Edit - play back against people who bet every hand. Raise the flop with draws, and/or one pair hands, and consider check/calling with two pair plus, depending on the board. The exact hands that you call raises with will vary according to the player who makes the raise - I would generally fold KTo to almost any raise, and AJo quite frequently. If I don't fold, 3-betting is better than calling. I would usually call AJs, and would only call KTs in a multi-way pot, without any reads.