Opinions on PF action

[jskills]

Read on limper is loose passive.

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (9 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 6/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
<font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, MP3 calls, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font> ...

How low of a PP do you do this with, if at all?

[jaxUp]

against tight blinds this can be done with any pp.

[BriPlay]

i think this is a good move with mid pairs..heads up your in a good position vs all but higher pair...since most people raise jacks and higher and oftern tens..only 77,88, or maybe 99 are trouble.
If high cards flop (esp Ace)be careful of course..so many anyacers out there.
Brian

[joeski19]

I haven't added that to my game yet. I still limp TT and down. Do you fold to any overcard that hits?

[Womble]

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't added that to my game yet. I still limp TT and down. Do you fold to any overcard that hits?

[/ QUOTE ]

You can easily raise TT anywhere although I only do it from MP. Raise 99 in LP with 1 limper and see how you get on.

Raise any PP 1st in from the button or CO.

The flop becomes more tricky with lower pocket pairs so you want 1-2 opponents to try and semi bluff the pot. Many will think you have a much better hand than you do although you will still normally have the best hand

[FishHooks]

nice play, anytime you can isolate one limper with a pocket pair you a huge favorite, they will only pair up about 35% of the time on the flop and you have a position advantage.

Regarding raising pocket pairs, you should Raise TT from anywhere evern UGT, you can also raise 99 UTG as i have started doing, but you need to have pretty good post flop play to do that.

[BriPlay]

hmm..ok this is what i'd do not that I can justify it.
if PF raise leaves me heads up.. if mid face cards hit..eg QT4..then im looking to fold if bet into..people rarely bluff into Q high flop..esp to lead into a raiser..remember your raise looks like high cards to your opponent. But..sometimes esp if ace falls and bets into me..i'll re-raise him..
if he bets out on turn..run away.
if he checks..bet into him AGAIN
if he calls you're prob dead..check behind on river.
hows that for aggressive play...
Brian

[joeski19]

Oops I meant 99 and down. I do raise TT from any position. I'm also learning that it's good to raise if I'm first in with a PP. (tried a few times depending on the table)

[Malachii]

Not to any overcard. I think you have to be very careful if an ace hits. If a passive player raises you, you're done of course.

The problem with playing pocket pairs in an isolation play like this is if a passive player flops top pair with a suspect kicker, he's liable to just call you down and you'll throw a couple bets away. I think the play has a little more value at casinos because the opponents are easier to read.

[HollywoodDB]

I think I raise 88 and up here. I limp with 66. This is because I have weak post flop skills when the flop comes all overcards. What if the blinds come along? Do you fold to a flop bet?(assuming no 6 and two or more overcards)

[GrunchCan]

Looks good.

In this spot - where there is just 1 MP opponent and you're on the button - you should raise with any PP you choose to play with. This is becasue you want to take your PP up against just 1 opponent. The worst possible environment for a small-meduim PP is having 2 or 3 opponents.

[detruncate]

From today:

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 6/images/graemlins/club.gif, 6/images/graemlins/heart.gif.
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, UTG+2 calls, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, UTG+2 calls.

____________

Party Poker 3/6 Hold'em (7 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 8/images/graemlins/club.gif.
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP1 calls, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, MP1 calls.

_____________

Both limpers were at least slightly loose and fairly predictable post flop. I also had tight players to my left (including the blinds in these hands), and my raises were getting quite a bit of respect. Ideal for isolation.

As you start to play tougher games, isolating and outplaying weak opponents post-flop becomes increasingly important. Keep an eye out for good opportunities to make these sorts of plays -- they exist, even at .5/1.

Like others have said, you want to play small/middle pairs HU or in a crowd. The middle ground sucks and should be avoided-- not enough company to make up your pf deficit wrt set value, and too many to hold up often enough UI. 88 is obviously quite different than 66/55/44, but you get the idea. Don't limp.

Put pressure on your opponents. Force them to make difficult decisions. Taking the initiative gives you two ways to win:

1) showing down the best hand

2) winning prior to showdown

Think about how hard it is to call a flop bet vs a pf raiser with a broadway card on board (especially an ace). Then think about how frustratingly often your opponent(s) fold when you actually hit TP in that situation -- it's true that there's one more bad card in the deck when you don't have it, but a lot of it is down to even relatively unreflective players thinking raise=big cards.

Remember that you don't have to spew chips post-flop just because you raised pf.

Nice raise OP.

[btspider]

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against tight blinds this can be done with any pp.

[/ QUOTE ]

a bit much.. 66 is fine. 44/55 is a stretch.

[Rev. Good Will]

[ QUOTE ]
Raise 99 in LP with 1 limper and see how you get on.


[/ QUOTE ]

Why LP? I always thought those med-high pairs (77-TT) were best for raising UTG through MP to push players out of the hand.

[detruncate]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
against tight blinds this can be done with any pp.

[/ QUOTE ]

a bit much.. 66 is fine. 44/55 is a stretch.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. Don't interpret these posts as advocating gonzo aggression. You pretty much want ideal conditions if you're going to move into small pair territory. A lot of the UI strength of these hands is their ability to flop at worst 1 overcard.