All You Need to Know About Raise First In - RFI Poker Strategy

If you are wondering what RFI is in poker and how to use it, you came to the right site. In this article, we'll explain what RFI (Raise First In) is and when is the best time to use it. Then we'll detail how often and how much is best to raise First when playing specific hands.

Basics: What is RFI in Poker?

RFI refers to a specific action in poker: raising preflop after being dealt a hand. When no one else has opened their hands in front of us, RFi describes which hands we are opening. This action makes this player the first to voluntarily enter the pot and raise it. You raise the first bet in a pot to make it bigger and to make everyone else pay more to call.

If you do not have a good hand or want to keep your opponents from knowing what you have, then it is best not to raise on the turn unless necessary.

RFI Poker Strategy: When and Why to Use It?

Following is a list of reasons why Raise First In can benefit you, along with when to use it:

1. When in a heads-up situation. If your opponent is the only one left, raising first to take down the pot makes sense. You don't want them calling off all their chips just because they think they have the best hand.
2. When you want to take down the pot, you should consider raising it first again if you have a good hand and someone else has already raised it.
3. Be aggressive with an Ace and Ten or Jacks. This makes other players know what kind of game you're playing so they can adjust accordingly by folding or staying in.

Frequency and Size of RFI

The number of times a player decides to raise first in (RFI) is usually a good indicator of their hand strength. The more frequently they RFI, the stronger their starting hand has to be. This can be used as an estimate for your opponent's hand strength when they do decide to RFI.

RFI size is also important because it will give you an idea of how strong your hand is and whether or not it's profitable to call or fold against your opponent's raise first-in bet (RFT).

The following section will review the top percentage of hands where you should consider RFI.

Aces

All Ace combinations are in the top 16% of our range, so we should be always open to raising them.

Kings

The hand is suitable for opening raises. (RFI 46%)

Even with the two low-side cards, most double-suited Kings are always good for an open raise.

1. ♣️K♥️K♦️Q♣️6

Single-Suited (RFI 29%)

We should be raising Single-Suited hands even though we don't have double suits. We have a strong connection with four high cards and a suit, so this is an excellent hand to open raise with.

1. ♦️A♣️K♠️J♥️8

Table Example on RFI Frequency and Player's position

Preflop Charts for RFI

To use an RFI chart, you first need to understand how they work.

An RFI chart represents how tight or loose your opponents play when they raise before the flop. It helps you identify which types of hands are likely to be in their range and thus which hands it's okay to 3-bet with. In addition, it can help you determine what kind of hand you want to raise first.

It usually works best to raise smaller amounts in online games and larger amounts in live games.

Player's table Positions and RFI

In the following section, we will explain how different positions at a Poker table are related to RFI.

UTG

With the RFI strategy, players can play approximately 7% of the hands from this position.

LoJack (LJ)

This spot is two positions to the CO's right. Since it is the first position at the Table following the large blind, 6-max players refer to it as "UTG."

13% of all hands can be RFI from an LJ position.

HiJack (HJ)

A little more than 18% of the hands can be raised first by players from an HJ (hijack) position at the Poker table.

CutOff (CO)

27% of the hands can be raised first as a CO at the Table. Even an expert player rarely deviates significantly from this number, though their RFI frequency may somewhat rise if good targets are in the blinds.

Button (BTN)

In poker, the best possible seat is the button (BTN). Being in this situation means you had the opportunity to observe how each player at hand acted before making your decision.

A range constructed with 48% of hands that favor high cards is possible if you want to RFI from this position.

*That percentage will be influenced by both our inclination and the opposing side.

Small Blind (SB)

There are a few different points of view on the SB preflop strategy. Logic suggests that, since you will always be out of position, you should be tighter, with a narrow range of open raises, etc. A limited range means you'll make much easier decisions after the flop. On the other hand, if all players fold to you and you only have to beat one more player (Big Blind), you're in a good position to steal the blinds. About 36% of the hands are possible on the SB table position.

Conclusion

RFI is an excellent strategy for any poker player. It's easy to learn and implement and can help you win more money at the Table. RFI could be just what you need if you're looking for a new way to play poker online.