Resteal Question

In No limit Holdem, I seen this situation quite often. A large number of players limp (4+), then someone in late position or one of the blinds raises a substantial amount. Usually everyone folds to the raiser.


I have always been attempted to reraise and finally did it. I was in the big blind with AQ and came over the top "all in". Everyone including the raiser folded to my reraise. However this was a special case where I have seen the raiser do this a number of times and I felt confident that I probably had the best hand even if he called so my reraise was based more on value than on bluffing.


My question: Is the bluff equity in this type of play such that you can make it with a less than premium hand such as small pairs or medium Aces/KQs. Also I might add that this was before the rebuy period ended which might effect some of your answers.


Thanks, Calvin

...during rebuy period...the more sure you are that the raise is a steal, the less important is the value of your hamd


...with no rebuys...some still do it, but I like to have a hand to fall back on, such as medium pair or ace with good kicker

A very interesting question and situation. First, consider this hypothetical situation. Your opponent raises on the button. You have the BB, and you both have lots of chips. If you re-raise, he will come over the top with AA or KK and fold everything else. If he comes over the top you have enough chips to fold anything but Aces. Does it matter what cards you have in your hand ?


Clearly it does not. Now that was an extreme case but the concept should be clear. It all comes down to knowledge of your opponent. How many hands will he raise with and how many of those will he put down to a re-raise ? Let's do some sums. Blinds 1-2, your opponent puts in a pot-size bet of 7. There is now 10 in the pot. A pot-size re-raise from you would require 5 + 15 = 20. You're betting 20 to win 10. If your opponent will fold more than 2/3 of the hands with which he would have raised, you are quids in _with any two cards_ . And that doesn't even include the times he calls and you win (whether by bluffing or betting for value on the flop).


Some more "what if"s, suppose your button opponent will raise with any Ace or any pair (not unreasonable). By my calculation that is 12x16 Ace hands and 13x6 pairs = 264 hands. If you reraise, he will fold everything except AA-JJ, AK, AQ. That's 24+32 = 56 hands, 80% of the hands he could have ! In this spot you can raise with any 2 cards and it is a profitable play even if you fold to any re-re-raise or bet on the flop following a call. This is subject to the usual constraints ie if you do it all the time people will catch on, etc.


Now, in a tournament, chips are often quite short. A re-raise can put you or your opponent all-in. So if you do this, make sure that your opponent has enough chips left to consider passing (how many is enough depends on him). And you must consider his current state of mind. Make sure he hasn't "given up" and will call even though he "knows" he is losing. I prefer to have more chips than my opponent so I don't get knocked out on this play but there are still situations where it can be done. As for your cards, they are only relevant compared to what your opponent will play back with. Consider his range of hands (a lot of this can be done offline) and think about which hands give you most equity when you do get called (or reraised all in a small amount which you will call anyway). A8, 77 or 54 suited ? Work it out and you might be surprised.


This is a very powerful play if you can get the hang of it. One more benefit is that if you do get called and have to show, it utterly freaks people out. They will suddenly see you as unpredictable which is great. Next time when you re-raise with AA when your opponent is not in a steal position, all they might remember is "this guy re-raised with 25 before, I think TT is good". They will be on the rail cursing your luck before they know it.


Andy.

If someone raises 4 limpers, I would not call that player a stealer. He is representing a big hand. When you re-raise this type of player, you are representing a bigger hand. You are saying you have AA, KK, QQ (maybe) or AK. So you will most likely only be called with similar hands unless you have been caught doing this with lesser hands. If rebuys are still available you will tend to get called more often.


If you do this too often with non-premium hands you will get called since it will be obvious that you can't always have a premium hand. Pick your spots and make sure you know the raiser.


I tend to do when the raiser really is stealing or there is only 1 limper before the raise.


Ken Poklitar

Good analysis. It sounds like I should be making this play more often. I would guess that this play should be limited to your better opponents who are capable of folding good hands such as AJ/AQ and all pairs up to maybe JJ. It seems like most of your equity will come from winning the pot uncontested.


Last night I had a chance to reraise a button raiser from the small blind with AJs, but declined because the raiser was too likely to call (guy just doesn't give up) even though I felt that I probably had the best hand. My feeling was that I would be in a slight favorite most of the time with me dominating maybe 20% of the time and him having a hand which dominated me maybe 10% of the time. Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think you win tournments by getting into 50/50 situations so to make this play there must be a reasonable chance that your opponent will fold. Thanks for your input.


calvin

"I would guess that this play should be limited to your better opponents "


Absolutely correct.


Andy.