Mempho
06-27-2005, 03:07 PM
Take the following situation:
You're in a full 20/40 game with tons of action. You're in MP3 when UTG raises and three people cold call. Blinds are loose as well as the button.
You've got AA. Everyone pretty much raises here. I have, however, been debating some alternative plays here. There is little value to thinning the field because the button will call 3 bets with anything he was going to call 2 with and the blinds are calling just because they have some money already in the pot. There is a slight possibility that your 3 bet could drop a player out, but, for the most part, you have essentially zero fold equity in this situation.
Now, of course, proper play still dictates that you reraise here simply as a value play. In fact, you would not even need AA to reraise here profitably. You could have 33 here and do the same. 33, however, is easier to play in this spot that AA due to the implied odds and the reverse implied odds of these hands.
Now, if I reraise with AA, several things happen:
1) I've indicated a great deal of strength to my opponents
2) I've increased the pot size essentially by 50% (less the remote possibility of creating a fold with the raise).
3) There is a high liklihood that the flop will get checked to me and I will not gain the information I would have if I had just called (by being able to see EP bets and raises since they are "checking to the raiser."
4) I lose the ability to leverage my opponent's bets to thin the field.
5) I gain EV
If I just call,
1) I lose less when the flop sends me down in flames and noone has to know that I folded AA
2) I get a truer read on my opponents' stregth because they will not be "checking to the raiser"
3) I can use opponents' bets to thin the field and force my opponents to make postflop mistakes (either on the flop or the turn depending upon the board and the action) that they would not otherwise have made if it were a single small bet or a single big bet to me.
4) If I flop a set, I may get more action.
Is there any reason why not raising would be more profitable? If not, what is the difference in EV in terms of bets? What if your reraise makes you more prone to "pay off" when you're beat?
You're in a full 20/40 game with tons of action. You're in MP3 when UTG raises and three people cold call. Blinds are loose as well as the button.
You've got AA. Everyone pretty much raises here. I have, however, been debating some alternative plays here. There is little value to thinning the field because the button will call 3 bets with anything he was going to call 2 with and the blinds are calling just because they have some money already in the pot. There is a slight possibility that your 3 bet could drop a player out, but, for the most part, you have essentially zero fold equity in this situation.
Now, of course, proper play still dictates that you reraise here simply as a value play. In fact, you would not even need AA to reraise here profitably. You could have 33 here and do the same. 33, however, is easier to play in this spot that AA due to the implied odds and the reverse implied odds of these hands.
Now, if I reraise with AA, several things happen:
1) I've indicated a great deal of strength to my opponents
2) I've increased the pot size essentially by 50% (less the remote possibility of creating a fold with the raise).
3) There is a high liklihood that the flop will get checked to me and I will not gain the information I would have if I had just called (by being able to see EP bets and raises since they are "checking to the raiser."
4) I lose the ability to leverage my opponent's bets to thin the field.
5) I gain EV
If I just call,
1) I lose less when the flop sends me down in flames and noone has to know that I folded AA
2) I get a truer read on my opponents' stregth because they will not be "checking to the raiser"
3) I can use opponents' bets to thin the field and force my opponents to make postflop mistakes (either on the flop or the turn depending upon the board and the action) that they would not otherwise have made if it were a single small bet or a single big bet to me.
4) If I flop a set, I may get more action.
Is there any reason why not raising would be more profitable? If not, what is the difference in EV in terms of bets? What if your reraise makes you more prone to "pay off" when you're beat?