How Much Should I Raise Before The Flop

How much you raise before the flop depends on a lot of small factors that you learn through experience.

Having said that, there are some easy rules that you can use to start off with and then, with time, you can adjust this according to how tight or loose you and your opponents are.

Remember, your position is key - as we know, late position holds an advantage in poker and therefore you should risk more money from here. Conversely, you should risk less from early position.

Not only that but larger raises from late position will also convince many players to fold and make it harder for those in early positions to re-raise to you.

Here is a good ready reckoner that you can use:

Early Position: Raise 2.5x-3x
Middle Position:Raise 3x-3.5x
Late Position: Raise 3.5x-4x

One key thing to remember - never vary the size of your raise depending on the strength of your hand. If you start doing this, then your opponents will recognise this trend and be able to guess your hand strength with ease.

Instead, as I have shown above, vary it according to your position and other conditions.