Upswing Header Logo 2020 - No Imagify
  • Merch
  • Manage Account
  • Member Home
  • TRAINING
      • Introductory Courses
      • Postflop Playbook For No Limit Hold’em
        • post-flop-1-ubermenu-imagified-452x246

          Make quick, high-quality, profitable poker decisions based on hand categories.

      • PLO Launch Pad By Dylan Weisman
        • PLO Launch Pad New

          Learn to feel comfortable and confident playing the great game of PLO.

      • Most Popular Course
      • Upswing Lab for No Limit Hold’em Players
        • upswing-lab-1-452x246

          This is what we would teach our younger selves, if we could send it back in time.

      • Advanced Courses
      • Smash Live Cash by Nick Petrangelo
        • smash-live-cash-uber

          Win the MAX in live poker games.

      • Elite Cash Games Exploits by Uri Peleg
        • elite-cash-cash-exploits-uber

          Become An Exploitative Machine.

      • Winning Poker Tournaments by Nick Petranglo
        • winning-poker-tournaments-imagified-CTA-452x246

          Discover an overarching strategy that will help you win more tournaments.

      • Advanced Cash Game Strategy by Kanu7
        • Cash Game Course By Kanu7

          An elite training course for serious cash game players.

      • Advanced PLO Mastery By Dylan Weisman & Chris Wehner
        • Advanced PLO Mastery

          Become an end boss with this comprehensive Pot Limit Omaha Training Course.

      • Heads-Up Course by Doug Polk
        • Advanced-Heads-Up-Mastery-CTA-imagified-Ubermenu-452x246

          Learn how to take your poker skills to the highest level.

      • Mixed Games Course by Jake Abdalla
        • MixedGames-CTA-imagified-452x246

          Immediately improve your Mixed Game strategy and win more money.

      • Red Line Rocketship by Uri Peleg
        • short-deck-logo

          Increase your bottom line by winning more pots without having to show your cards.

      • PLO Matrix Preflop Tool
        • PLO-Matrix-Ubemenu-CTA-imagified-452x246

          A precise and easy to use visual representation of GTO preflop ranges.

      • Browse All Courses Here
        • quiz-ubermenu (1)

          Find the course that fits your poker-playing needs.

  • ARTICLES
  • QUIZZES
  • THE PROS
  • CONTACT
  • FREE RESOURCES
      • Free Lessons & Tools
      • Preflop Charts Most Popular
        • Preflop Charts CTA Imagified

          The quickest & most efficient way to improve your poker game

      • Grudge Match Challenge Insights
        • Grudge Match insights

          Free Doug vs Daniel Video.

      • 10 Laws of Live Poker
        • 10-Laws-of-Live-Poker-Ubemenu-CTA-imagified-452x246

          Learn how your personality can alter your game and how aggressive to play.

      • Poker Hand Converter & Replayer
        • Hand-Replayer-CTA-imagified-452x246

          Convert & replay your hands to study what went wrong... or very right

      • The Level-Up Podcast
        • poker-podcast

          Improve your poker skills fast with short, hyper-focused podcast episodes covering crucial poker topics.

      • 20 Rules for Crushing 3-Bet Pots
        • 3-Bet-Pots-CTA-imagify-452x246

          20 Rules for 3-Bets that will make your win-rate skyrocket!

      • Advanced PLO Preflop Guide
        • PLO-Preflop-Guide

          This guide will help you understand which hands to raise first in in Pot Limit Omaha.

      • 6+ Hold’em Guide
        • Short Deck Holdem Guide

          Learn the fundamentals of profitable Short Deck hold'em

Home > Preflop Starting Hand Quiz for Beginners Quiz Answers and Explanations

Preflop Starting Hand Quiz for Beginners Quiz Answers and Explanations

Here are the answers and explanations for our preflop fundamentals quiz.


Hand #1

The Lojack raises to 2.5 big blinds. Action folds to you in the Big Blind with 22. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is B, call.

This small pair has enough equity to call profitably, but not enough 3-bet for value. It also doesn’t have good blockers to the villain’s range that continues against a 3-bet, so it doesn’t make much sense as a 3-bet “bluff”.


Hand #2

The Hijack raises to 2.5 big blinds. You are in the Cutoff with JJ. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is C, 3-bet.

This strong pair is way ahead of the villain’s raising range and has more than enough equity versus the potential calling range to 3-bet for value.


Hand #3

The Cutoff raises to 2.5 big blinds. You 3-bet to 8 big blinds with KK from the Button. The action folds back to the cutoff who 4-bets to 22.5 big blinds. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. All-In

The correct answer is C, All-In.

This hand was a bit of a gimmie. Of course you should want to get it all-in with the second strongest hand possible. Trying to trap your opponent by calling is inadvisable with KK (but would be reasonable with AA).


Hand #4

The Button raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Big Blind with 96-suited. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. Raise

The correct answer is B, call.

This suited gapper has enough raw equity against the villain’s likely open-raising range. It also realizes that equity very well, because it is capable of hitting both straight draws and flush draws on the flop, which allows you to see the turn much more often.


Hand #5

The Button raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Small Blind with 99. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is C, 3-bet.

Playing from the Small Blind is a bit trickier than the Big Blind because you do not have the luxury of closing the preflop action. This means that if you were to just cold-call, the Big Blind could employ a wide squeezing range and deny your share of the pot and put you in tough spots.

For these reasons, we advocate for a 3-bet or fold strategy from the Small Blind. Pocket nines fits very nicely in that 3-bet range for value and protection.


Hand #6

The Hijack raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you on the Button with AQ-suited. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is C, 3-bet.

Ace-Queen suited is very strong and has more than enough equity against Middle Position’s 3-bet calling range to 3-bet for value.


Hand #7

The Button raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Big Blind with A7 suited. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is B, call.

A7 suited performs very well as a call against a wide Button opening range. 3-betting wouldn’t be a bad play, but there are enough preferable 3-betting (such as J8s as a bluff or AJs for value) that A7s should fall squarely into your calling range.


Hand #8

The Lojack raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Cutoff with A5-suited. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is C, 3-bet.

This suited wheel ace has properties that make it a great 3-bet semi-bluff. It has good blockers, good equity when called, and great postflop playability.


Hand #9

The Hijack raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Small Blind with AT-suited. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is C, 3-bet.

It’s not a clear 3-bet for value, but given that developing a cold-calling range from the Small Blind is suboptimal (as mentioned in the explanation for question 5), 3-betting is the highest EV option. It’s a mergy 3-bet for value and protection, similar to the pocket nines from earlier.


Hand #10

The Cutoff raises to 2.5 big blinds. The action folds to you in the Big Blind with K7-offsuit. What’s your play?

  1. Fold
  2. Call
  3. 3-bet

The correct answer is A, fold.

Even though you’re getting good pot odds having already posted 1 big blind, K7-offsuit is simply too weak of a hand to defend.

It may have enough raw equity versus the cutoff’s range to seem like a worthy call. But, in practice, the gapped and unsuited nature of this hand will make it very difficult to realize that equity. Because it will under-realize a large chunk of its equity, this hand is a clear fold.


Want to Keep Testing Your Skills?

Take Poker Quizzes Now

Note: Ready to join 6,000+ players currently upgrading their No Limit Hold’em skills? Crush your competition with the expert strategies you will learn inside the Upswing Lab training course. Learn more now!

EZ Fat Footer #1

This is Dynamik Widget Area. You can add content to this area by going to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress Dashboard and adding new widgets to this area.

EZ Fat Footer #2

This is Dynamik Widget Area. You can add content to this area by going to Appearance > Widgets in your WordPress Dashboard and adding new widgets to this area.

TRAINING

Beginner Free Resources
Preflop Charts
3-Bet Pots
10 Laws of Live Poker
Advanced PLO Preflop Guide
Short Deck Hold'Em Guide 

Introductory Courses
The $7 Postflop Game Plan
The PLO Launch Pad

Most Popular Courses
Upswing Lab No Limit Membership

Advanced Courses
Smash Live Cash by Nick Petranglo
Elite Cash Game Exploits by Uri Peleg
Winning Poker Tournaments by Nick Petranglo
Advanced Cash Game Strategy by Kanu7
Advanced PLO Mastery by Dylan & Chris
Heads-Up Course by Doug Polk
Mixed Games Course by Jake Abdalla
Short Deck Course by Kane Kalas
High Stakes MTT Sessions by Nick Petranglo
PLO Matrix Preflop Tool

POKER TOOLS
& SOFTWARE

ARTICLES

QUIZZES

POKER RULES

POKER TERMS GLOSSARY

MEET THE PROS

MERCH

CONTACT

FAQ

MEMBERS ONLY

  • Log In
  • Members Home

© Copyright 2023 | Sitemap | Responsible Gambling | Terms of Service | Contact

Upswing-Poker-Footer-Logo
Take Poker Quizzes Now
  • Home
  • Member Login
  • Member Home
    • My Account
    • Back
  • Articles
  • Quizzes
  • Free Poker Resources
  • The $7 Postflop Playbook
  • The PLO Launch Pad
  • Upswing Lab for No Limit Hold’em Players
  • Advanced Training
    • Elite Cash Games Exploits by Uri Peleg
    • Winning Poker Tournaments by Nick Petranglo
    • Cash Game Course by Kanu7
    • PLO Mastery Course by Dylan & Chris
    • Heads-Up Course by Doug Polk
    • Mixed Games Course by Jake Abdalla
    • Red Line Rocketship by Uri Peleg
    • PLO Matrix Preflop Tool
    • Back
  • Meet the Pros
  • Upswing Poker Merchandise
  • Cart
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us