Big Hands UTG, Loose Table

[PokerFink]

Basic question...

In my new PLO home game the play is very loose. 5+ to the flop is common, even for raised pots. At one point the other night I raised UTG with AKQx DS and we took the flop 8-handed.

There are a couple reasonable players, but most are just holdem players who are clueless at PLO.

So with that in mind, should I be limp-reraising all of the AAxx and big wrap hands I get up front, and just dumping them liberally if no one raises? Also, several of the players only raise AAxx preflop, so there are many limped pots.

[autobet]

QJ109 plays a lot better than AAxx in 5 way pots. Of course, AA94 is not to be confused with AAQJ or AA99 double suited.

[PokerFink]

Thanks, but that didn't really answer my question.

[ipp147]

Hi Fink,

I would attempt to limp reraise with AAxx if I can get in a significant amount of my money preflop (50%+)

With big wrap hands I would be raising alot when in position and playing big pots and limping upfront with them.

Alot of this depends on their postflop tendencies but thats what I would do.

[BluffTHIS!]

There are two theories about raising in plo. The weak-tight camp, epitomized by Lyle Berman's section in SS2 where he advocates never raising in early position, and the more aggressive one which in which you raise more in all spots preflop, to which I adhere and which also in this forum so does aces and Big Dave. Although it is often a mistake to build big pots out of position with drawing hands, you still want to allow your opponents to make bigger mistakes when you start with a better class of starting hands. Raising with the hand you mentioned, AKQxds up front often in tighter games allows you to play a pot headsup and lets you win more often with top two or even only top pair of aces and a flush draw. If you know you can't narrow the field like this, or in later positions buy the button, then you raise for other purposes. Raising with like QQJT in early position allows you when you hit a good flop to make larger bets and raises/checkraises to protect your hands. And *occasionally* raising with something like 7654ds up front makes it hard for your opponents to put you on a hand and results in getting more action when you hit with it. You don't ever want to be so predictable in your betting that your opponents can accurately put you on a hand or you will be a loser or only a small winner.

In a game as loose as you were playing, I want to raise small with any larger pair hands I play so that when I hit a set over set I can win a bigger pot, and with that many players that is often going to happen. Regarding raising with aces, like the other poster said, you should only reraise if you can get so much of your stack in that your flop decision is automatic. If you reraise with AA and can't get much of your stack in, your opponents will know what you have when you don't hit your sidecards and you will be at their mercy out of position. Plus you can win many nice pots with a set of aces in an unraised pot because you did not reraise with them preflop. In those looser games though, most of your earn comes from playing postflop correctly.

[Big Dave D]

I do agree the raise everywhere is a good style. I just don't play it myself. I think preflop raising is a bit of a misnomer in PLO, especially at levels where you are getting multiway action. 5-10 and up, then continuation bets can often win the pot uncontested, as it may be headsup or 3way. But if people are playing that badly that you are getting lots to the flop, then raising preflop may not necessarily be hugely useful, especially out of position. If they think J962 is a good hand, then sure its nice if you get them to put more preflop with it, but chances are they will play postflop just so badly as well.

The most important aspect of your preflop style is how to connects and relates to your postflop style.

gl

dd