Knowing When to Hold 'em and When to Fold 'em - Mikhail Steelman (05/24/2012)

One of the most commonly heard phrases at any tournament is "I shouldn't have kept that hand". Most newer players have a rough time know when a hand is worth keeping and when they should just mulligan and start fresh. While every deck is diffrent and works best with diffrent hands, here are a few tips to knowing if the hand is worth keeping or not based on the most common deciding factor...Land.

The no-land hand: Easy one, don't keep it. For every story of a win from a no land hand, I can give you two for a win from a four card hand. It should also be noted that a no land hand mght be an indication that your deck isnt shuffled well enough and you should do a thourgh suffle before drawing your next hand.

 One land, X spells hand: A little harder to decide, since there are some decks that can pull this off. A general rule is , if you can't put up a defense orhave card draw for two turns, take the mulligan.

 Two land, X spells hand : this is a little safer teritory as many decks can hold thier own for two turns on this kind of hand. Depending on the deck, if you can't put up a defense for two turns on it don't keep it.

Three land, X spells : this is generally the best ratio you can get for most decks. Just make sure your mana is on color for the spells in han, and that you can be defensive/aggresive if you dont see another land for a few turns.

Four land, X spells hand : this generally a decent hand, as long as you are on color and not sitting idle for to long.

Five lands, X spells hand : this is usually not the best hand you can get for most decks, but if you can play early, and are confident that you will draw well, go for it.

Six land,X spell hand : not good, unless you are REALLY confident of your draws, mulligan and move on.

The all land hand: DON'T DO IT. much like the no land hand this is a sign that your deck isn't shuffled right and will most likely give you problems during your match, mulligan and shuffle well.

Well, that about covers the basics of knowing when to mulligan and when to keep, but I would like to add two more tips to consider while you are mulliganing. Never look at the top card of your deck if decide to mulligan. Knowing what could have been isn't going to help you, and might distract you with thoughts of "IF only i had kept it". Lastly when putting your hand back in the deck, don't just put them back on top and shuffle,but instead take the few extra seconds to separate them into the deck. You would be surprised how often you will see the same hand come back if you just shuffle them still together, and if you thought it looked bad with seven, it's going to look worse at six.

....till next time, relax and enjoy the game!