Playing ‘Under the Gun’ in Poker: What Does it Mean and How to Win

‘Under the gun’ is an expression used when someone is being put under pressure. That’s certainly the case when you’re sat in the ‘under the gun’ seat at the poker table.

This poker table position is the first player to act in the opening betting round before the community cards are dealt. And that means you must make a betting choice without having any indication of what the rest of the players at the table will do.

So, if you put in an opening raise in a nine-handed poker game, eight other players can fold, call, or re-raise you. If anyone three-bets, what are you going to do? You have no idea how strong they are, plus you’ve got to act first again after the flop, turn, and river cards are dealt.

Best Under-the-Gun Strategy

Unless you’re an experienced poker player, the best under-the-gun strategy is to tighten up and only consider opening with premium starting hands like high pairs (queens, kings, and aces) or strong suited connectors like A-K or A-Q suited).

If the table seems tight, you might put in a raise with pocket jacks or tens but throw away everything else.

Putting in a raise with speculative early position hands like mid to low pairs or lower connectors is asking for trouble. There’s no point in open raising only to fold to a re-raise. And if you call, what do you do if you’re raised after the flop? You have no information, and it’s harder to bluff an opponent betting behind you.

Consider betting aggressively if you have a premium hand under the gun. A small raise might invite a player to simply call, and this could cause a ripple effect where other players have the odds to call, too. Before you know it, your pocket queens could be up against three or more other players, and multiple flops could be scare cards, especially if a king or ace shows up.

Instead, when you put in a decent raise, you might isolate one other player, and barring an unlucky flop, this could lead you to scoop a decent-sized pot if you bet wisely in the following rounds.

Another elementary mistake is limping in under the gun before the flop (matching the size of the big blind) and then calling any subsequent raise. This is generally seen as a weak play, and experienced players will pick you off in later betting rounds.

And don’t try to get cute by limping in with pocket kings or aces from the under-the-gun position because that could trigger many other players to limp in behind you. Pocket pairs rarely fare well against multiple hands, but weaker players find it very hard to fold premium hands, which can often cost them their stack.

Be Patient at the Table

Consider folding under the gun as a signal that you’re playing solid poker rather than a sign of weakness.

Keeping your discipline is crucial because impatient players will bet when they shouldn’t and quickly find themselves in tricky situations.

It’s an often-quoted saying in poker, but minimizing your losses and maximizing winnings applies very much to under-the-gun poker play. Folding costs you nothing; playing and having to fold in later betting rounds or losing a big pot at showdown quickly gets very expensive.

Play Poker Online to Perfect Your Game

Playing poker online is a great way to improve your skills. Take a look at the casinos we recommend here on YouBet.com and join their poker games today. 

If you’re uncomfortable playing against other humans, you can always enjoy entertaining poker games against the casino, like Three Card Poker or video poker. In fact, these casino poker games are a good way to get used to the mathematical probabilities of making certain hands. Good luck at the tables!