Pre-flop Raising Strategy

[ballerman]

Hello. I have been playing no-limit holdem ring games online for awhile now and I keep running into the same problem..

Every time I raise pre-flop, people fold. And when I don't raise high enough (because I want a caller), i end up getting beat by someone holding crap cards against my AA.

I dont play very many hands So when I raise, everyone pretty much folds.. Can someone please give me a solid pre-flop raising strategy for no limit ring games?

[Jon Matthews]

With your raising hands (these are up to you) raise somewhere between 3 x BB and the pot.

In a tight game a 3 x BB raise will be the pot but if you are in LP and there are a load of limpers you want to raise more to shake off the stragglers.

Mix up your raising hands though. Don't stick to the S+M HPFAP limit rankings rigidly (i suspect you may be in a way) if you think you're thought of as too tight and make the same raises with suited connectors or rags occasionally. The idea being, the more you raise the less people will believe you. Going by what you have said, you're unlikely to get played back at preflop and you never know, if someone calls then you may be able to trap them on a rag flop if they try and bluff you off with overcards or if they have AA and you've got a rag 2 pair or trips.

Just a couple of ideas...

Jon

[tewall]

Having everyone fold to your raises is fine. Just increase your pct. of raising. In early position, continue to play tight, but as your position improves, start raising with more hands.

Don't vary the size of your raises based on the cards you hold.