As play proceeded around the table, you've acquired more information that you can use to answer these questions . . .
- how many people are in the pot with me?
- has someone raised?

Unless, you're the first person to act in the hand. [That person is said to be Under The Gun - or UTG on many message boards].

If you're UTG, it's best to only play cards that you simply can't pass up. Not good cards, but great cards. Because in this position you know so little about how the hand will play out, playing less-than-great cards will usually lead to trouble. It will not lead to long-term profit.

The later your position, the more information you will have to use when it comes time to look at your cards.

Knowing the number of players that will be in the hand is one thing. Knowing how strongly they feel about their hand is another good piece of information. That is why we pay attention to who raises, and where they do it from.

By raising, a player is not simply saying that they like their cards and want to see a flop. They are saying they really like their cards, and want more money in the pot because they think their cards will be the best at the table.

Raises from early position signal great hands, like AA, KK, QQ, AKs. You'd prefer not to go against these hands most of the time. For one thing, many of these hands are already made. For another, they might have you dominated, and that's horrible news.

If you are not on a blind, and plan on entering a hand after a player has raised, it is best to do so only with great cards. This often means mucking things like KJo, or even KQo.

The Cutoff - Stealing the Blinds:
When players fold their hands all the way around the table, a player in late position is given the opportunity to Steal the Blinds by raising. This is an important concept in tournament poker, where players need to pick up blinds and antes to keep from being ground out of the game by the increasing blinds.

In a cash game, the need to steal blinds is not so pressing. But, sometimes the opportunity still presents itself.

The cutoff seat is named so because this player acts right before the dealer, and can cut off the dealer's chance at stealing the blinds by raising himself.

Whether or not a player can sucessfully steal blinds depends on a lot of factors, including the type of players who are posting the blinds. I make mention of this less as a course of action you might consider, but more as a poker technique you should be able to see taking place at the table during the game.

Now, when it is finally your turn to act, you can take the information you have about how the hand is shaping up, and add it to information about your own hand to make a better decision.

so . . . what are your cards?