Purely Small Stakes Problem

[crosse91]

I've been playing the .05-.1 on Stars and have been having a problem with people calling my preflop raises with absolute crap-like j-3 off, j-9 suited, 9-4 off
I've been raising the standard 4x the bb and am starting to incorporate the 4x+1bb per limper into my game
Am i not raising enough to be called by these crap hands or are others just getting lucky??
I know most would kill for these problems, but recently they've been giving me fits as i'm losing
Help?

[DoomSlice]

As you said, most would be delighted to have that problem... I say it's just bad luck, shake it off.

[tbach24]

Just never bluff. If you always have the goods, this shouldn't be a problem. Also, you might consider limping with some hands you are raising with, to see if you hit a flop.

[JaBlue]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, you might consider limping with some hands you are raising with, to see if you hit a flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would not follow this advice unless your raising standards are low. You're just running a bit cold. Eventually you'll hit a flop.

[crosse91]

My raising standards are-well-pretty standard
jack's and up
ak,aq,
and situationally-a-j and k-q


i'll raise with others but not often enough that they deserve mention

Also-is it ok to auto bet paired flops and/or when i'm the preflop raiser (in late position or with 2/3 or less seeing the flop) i've found this to be extremely effective and if raised-easy to get away from

[kschellenger]

[ QUOTE ]
Also-is it ok to auto bet paired flops and/or when i'm the preflop raiser (in late position or with 2/3 or less seeing the flop) i've found this to be extremely effective and if raised-easy to get away from


[/ QUOTE ]

1. Auto betting paired flops is not always good. For two reasons. a) you will very often get called by someone with a low pair. b) other decent players will recognize this and reraise you after 3 or 4 times (if that.)
2. Auto betting when you are the PF raiser and it's checked to you is a great idea. Especially if there is a high card on the board or your raises are generally respected. But it seems to almost be expected that the PF raiser will bet the flop by many players and if the PF raiser doesn't you can expect a hefty bet on the turn if they have any piece of it.

You are absolutely right about these bets being easy to get away from if raised. So I would say you should often but auto betting is probably not the best idea.

[poboy]

Yes that is too small a raise. To get rid of the real garbage you must raise at least 7-8BB , I prefer 10-12BB. I do this for a couple reasons the main being that people just don't respect anything less. The second being that if I'm raising it's because I am expecting to win and would rather win a big pot. Believe it or not people will still call with crap like Ax,Kxs,baby pairs, and worse. Also if you raise preflop always follow up with a flop bet. JMO

[JaBlue]

Playing generically is generally a very bad idea. If the players are bad enough that this will work, you can try it out. I don't play in the game you do, so I have no idea about whether or not they're braindead.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Are you getting beat by people hitting A-J-4 flop with J4 when you have AK, or are you getting beat by people hitting T-8-4 with J-4 when you have AK? If it is the latter, then you should probably not bet into a field of more than 1 or maybe 2 if you miss on the flop and you should add TT and possibly 99 to your raising hands if they are calling down with bottom pair. If it is the former, that is just bad luck. If they are willing to call raises with crappy hands, then you can make your raises a bit bigger so that when they miss and fold you make a bit more. Make your raises as big as you can so that you will get the desired number of callers. If people call 10xBB raises with garbage, then raise 10xBB. You are ahead before the flop and are likely to be ahead after the flop, too, so get the money in there.

[crosse91]

oh yea-they're braindead, aside from the 3-5 players i run into regularly they generally don't have a clue about whats going on or pick up on betting patterns and the like

Worst: they're hitting the latter-and lately they've been hitting it hard (Boo....but i'm not looking for sympathy, i'm sure i've made some mistakes along the way)

[TheWorstPlayer]

"The latter" in my post was hitting bottom pair and calling you down. If that is the case, then add TT and 99 to your raising hands, especially in late position. And don't bet misses into 2 or 3 opponents.

[crosse91]

Then i meant the former-this could get confusing quick...
No, they've been hitting 2 pair with hands like that against my k's and a's (with the occasional ak like you mentioned)