Starting Hands in No-Limit Hold’em: How to Play KQ

Surprise! If you’ve been following this series of No-Limit Hold’em pre-flop strategy articles, you’ve seen me cover all the premium starting hands from pocket Aces down to Ace-Queen. We’ve also tackled medium-strength hands like pocket Sevens and Ace-Jack. So why the heck are we here at King-Queen already?

Because it’s a very good starting hand in Hold’em. By one mathematical system, KQs checks in at No. 11 on the power rankings, behind AJs and ahead of pocket Eights. Take away the suitedness, and KQo falls all the way to No. 19 – but that’s still one spot better than Queen-Ten suited. You wouldn’t fold QTs pre-flop, would you?

As it turns out, you do need to fold King-Queen pre-flop every now and then when playing poker. But this is still a semi-powerful hand that you can use to scoop up some chips. Here’s how.

When Should I Raise With KQ?

Given the usual caveats about game format, stack size and so on, a balanced “GTO” approach allows you to open-raise King-Queen from any seat at the table, full ring or otherwise – if you’re suited. If you’ve got KQo, you’re still good to open from under the gun at a 6-max table, but you might want to fold that bad boy pre if you’re 9-handed or more.

King-Queen suited is also a lovely hand to 3-bet with. If you’re in the cut-off or button and someone opens, raise away; do the same if you’re in the blinds facing an open from anyone closer to you than the lojack. When you open from the hijack or cut-off and get raised, fire a 4-bet if you’re out of position. You can even 5-bet if you’re the big blind versus the small blind, although that’s actually part of a GTO mixed strategy that we’ll get to in a moment.

KQo doesn’t offer nearly as many spots where you “should” 3-bet 100% of the time, but here they are according to my old PokerSnowie notes:

• in the blinds, versus the button

That’s it. Seriously; unless the ranges are this wide, KQo is very much on The Cusp where just about every move is worth considering. It’s normally going to be raise or fold, but there will be some flatting along the way.

When Should I Call With KQ?

A fair amount if you’re suited. If you open from the button or small blind and get 3-bet, this is a good spot to keep it smooth and just call. You’re also in the Flatlands if you open from the lojack and get raised by either the hijack or the big blind. And as a simplified strategy, you could do worse than calling every time you open and get raised by the blinds.

You’ll also want to call with KQs in these three raising war situations:

• in the hijack, cut-off or button versus any 4-bet
• in the small blind, versus a button 4-bet
• in the button, versus a small blind 5-bet

With King-Queen off-suit, the only 100% calling spot is when you’re in the big blind and anyone before the button opens. You’re getting a good price to call, which helps negate being non-suited and out of position. Otherwise, you’ll be mostly raising or folding with KQo, as you’ll see shortly.

When Should I Use a Mixed Strategy With KQ?

While King-Queen suited is spicy enough to raise now and then in spots you would normally call, the math says this should be done sparingly except for one situation: in the big blind, versus the lojack. In that particular spot, it’s your choice between raising and calling, but lean towards the latter.

KQo, on the other hand, is about as flexible as it gets here on The Cusp. As a simplified strat, you can fold to 3-bets out of position and call when you’re in position; be a bit more likely to switch things up and raise if you’re OOP.

Lastly, consider a healthy diet of 3-bets if you’re on the button facing an open. As your opponent opens from earlier and earlier position, crank that frequency up to nearly 100% if they’re in the lojack; otherwise, call and use the power of position to outflank your opponents post-flop.

See, King-Queen wasn’t so bad after all. You’ve got two high-ranking connectors, and if they’re suited, two cards to a Royal Flush. Use them wisely, and we’ll see you for our next Hold’em starting hand – whatever that might be.