Rasing pre-flop

[jt1]

With calling stations on my left, when I'm in late position, I no longer raise without pocket pairs. I'm not buying the button so I figure why bother. What do you guys think? Maybe the odds of hitting the flot are good enough to warrant a raise?

[Tosh]

Read the section on raising in The Theory of Poker. It'll explain it well why you raise and the general ideas behind it.

[PrimeRoll]

I haven't got to that part of TOP yet, but I've quit raising anything but QQ, KK, or AA on Party unless there are 3 people or so playing, then I'll raise AK, or whatever. AQ suited or AJ suited, etc. are to weak when everyone else is going to call anyway and end up drawing a better hand on the river. (I'm talking about low limits of course)

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
why bother

[/ QUOTE ]

To win more money.
If you have a raising hand then raise it.
Period.

/images/graemlins/smile.gif
jHE

[crockpot]

as most good poker writers (not lee jones) will point out, you shouldn't raise with some hands like AQo that you might raise with in a tighter game, unless you expect the raise to thin the field. however, hands like AK, AQs, AJs and the like are good both in short-handed and multiway pots, so why not build the pot?

if you miss the flop, it's not that difficult to throw a hand away, even though it does take some discipline.

[Nottom]

[ QUOTE ]
you shouldn't raise with some hands like AQo that you might raise with in a tighter game,

[/ QUOTE ]

There are plenty of posters on these boards that will disagree with you on this issue.

[Louie Landale]

The big-no-pair hands will win a little more often then their "fair share" in the loose games, and are therefore potential raising hands: AQ is going to win more often than one-in-six against 4 callers and the BB.

However, I believe you end up LOSING ground after the flop if you raise before the flop. While you may win yourself a "free card" if they "check to the raiser", you also generally lose your chance to raise ON the flop when you flop a pair, and also its easier for the opponents to put you on a hand and therefore play better against you. It is also, I believe, easier to steal after the flop if you do NOT raise [] the opponents are less suspicious [] they are more likely to NOT have a pair when they check.

I'm not REAL confident with the following advice, but suspect it has some merit: in late position raise with the premium hands. Raise with the good hands if you feel it improves your post-flop position, or if you are also raising with other hands as well: Raising with 87s disguises your raises with AJo.

One way to "improve your post flop position" is if your raise will CAUSE the opponents to play predictably against you, when they very well would NOT play predictably if you do NOT raise. I don't believe that's a very common situation.

It is definately not "wrong" to flat call and play for flopping a pair, even if pre-flop raising may sometimes be a little better.

- Louie

[jasonHoldEm]

er...what Louie said.

I was trying to be direct in my post to prevent you from becoming a passive preflop player (where your predictability of only raising with big pairs will become a HUGE tell and a major liability). There are situations not to raise, but generally speaking "ONLY" raising with big pairs is a very poor decision.

I think Louie's explanation is stellar, I'm going to track down some of his other advice. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

jHE

[RydenStoompala]

I don't remember not having at least one calling station on my left in low limit games. This seems like a silly self-imposed rule. Top suited connectors, mid suited connectors and even some single and two-gap plays may be a raise hand if you know how these calling stations play the flop and the turn.

[Easy E]

With all of those calling stations behind you, you aren't raising for the button any more. You're raising in order to build a pot that you can take advantage of from late position, assuming you hit your hand.

Pocket pairs, suited connectors (even middle ones) and some of the high-offsuit hands are good here, as long as you won't get reraised on a regular basis.

Don't just think of one thing when you are raising- it is a tool for a number of different reasons.

[drewjustdrew]

I agree with Crock, AQo is not worth raising with many players in a loose game. It will not win often enough and it does not dominate the way some others do. AQ suited I would raise mainly for the times when I flop a flush or flush draw and can tie multiple callers into the bigger pot. Since it is no foldem holdem, the best hand will win regardless of the action, so extra dead money AFTER the flop is always welcome.

[ZAC]

Louie is one of the "oldtimers" /images/graemlins/wink.gif who have posted in these forums even prior to the several upgrading of these website. To digest his logical advice and improve your game is a smart move /images/graemlins/grin.gif