Pot sized raises

[PokerFoo]

I have seen many suggestions for making nothing but pot sized raises in a sit and go. I can't help but think this to be dubious advice.

Is this suggested style because you are figuring your opponants are VERY bad players? Are you trying to bluff them out every hand you play? Or is it that you figure the tourney is so short that you must try and gain the lead early and secure a spot or get out early and start another one?

I have had VERY poor results using pot sized raises both before the flop and on the flop (Except late during the bubble rounds).

If you make a pot sized raise pre flop and the field folds you have wasted your big hand. If you get called by one or more players the pot is now big enough that another pot sized raise on the flop will be for half or more of your chips. If you miss your crippled, or out.

Wouldnt 2.5 or 3x the bb pre flop and about half the size of the pot on the flop be better plays?

If I am wrong please explain why.

[ChrisCo]

The general guidlelines for raising preflop is to raise it up 3xbb and add a bb in for every limper. This is essentially betting the pot preflop. Also you should consider raising more in the first level of a sng because idiots see that they only have to call 45 chips. I like raising a minimum of 70.

[SixgunSam]

I think it depends on what you want your raise to accomplish. I usually use 3x the BB + adjustment for limpers on the middle levels PF. On the first level, I usually raise 4x. Late in the tournament, I tend to bet about 2.5 the BB + limpers. It's all situational, but with something like top pair good kicker, I will bet about 1/2 - 2/3 the pot on the flop, unless there is an obvious draw and I have a hand I need to protect, then I would overbet it. I do try to varry up my bets depending on who is in the pot with me and what I am trying to accomplish with the bet. I don't want to have a predictable betting pattern. I think using any hard fast rule is probably a mistake. Just my two cents.

[TheDrone]

[ QUOTE ]
I have seen many suggestions for making nothing but pot sized raises in a sit and go. I can't help but think this to be dubious advice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, to follow advice like this is horrible. Poker is so situational that there are very few absolutes to playing. It's a good practice to question any advice that does not seem to factor in any of the variables that exist.

Without knowing specific situations when you are raising the pot, I think there are many times when a pot-sized raise is overkill because you are risking too many chips for the same outcome that a smaller bet could give you. Example: you have TPTK on a rainbow flop with no obvious straight draws. With only 1 or 2 opponents here, I usually bet about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot. Less than pot-sized raises tend to be more effective as the ratio of stack size to blinds becomes smaller too. This is because opponents will have to risk a larger portion of their stack than in early rounds.

Other times a pot-sized bet is better, like in a multiway pot if you think you have the best hand and you want to punish drawing hands. 1/2 pot bets seldom make calls incorrect for possible flush draws, and with multiple callers the pot odds are even better for drawing hands.

So variables like # of players in the hand, stack size relative to blinds, texture of the board, and of course your hand strength are important to consider when deciding bet size.