Is it best to PLAY EACH HAND to see the flop, because high cards are not the only way to win the hand? I often give up a winning hand because I folded before the flop. CraigC

Answer

In short, no. It is not a good idea to play every hand. While it is true that you can win with almost anything, you will lose most of the time. The win to loss ratio will be so low that there is little possibility to make money.

Most hands simply don't have a good chance of winning. Simply look at the stats to see how infrequent a lucky flop comes about. The feeling that you're folding winnings hand is just a psycological trick. While true that had you stayed in the hand you would have won, there were likely fifty other times you would have lost. You don't remember those other hands though as they weren't memorable.

Even if you do get lucky on the flop you will have problems with your opponents. The strategy an ultra-loose player is following is quite obvious. If you always fold on the flop it gives them an easy target: a small bet will quickly get your money. If you call with weak hands you'll end up putting too much money in the pot. If you frequently raise somebody will eventually catch on and start calling to showdown. Though many players have no defence to this technique, the first player that does will likely take all your chips.

Your theory is not a write-off however. Many professionals advocate something called small ball poker in which they do play an increased number of hands. This number is still far below the 50% mark, and in some situations may only be 30-40% of hands played. They key is also to get to the flop cheaply. Since you will end throwing away so many hands post-flop you need to minimize your losses pre-flop.