limp re-raising AA

I read some simulations that Abdul has posted showing the best play with AA UTG in a tight aggressive game is to limp re-raise with AA and KK (and a few other hands too). After winning the blinds only a few times I have tried this 3 times in the last week from any of the first 3 seats. I have been raised each time and got to re-raise. Twice the original raiser capped it (once with QQ, and the other with QJs). I won two of the three pots.


Does anyone else like to do this? how often do you need to get raised to make it worthwhile?


The added bonus for me is that after I have done this once I can see more flops cheaply when I have a true limping hand. Since I like to play a lot of hands (But I'm getting better), this appeals to me.

Your early position play needs some work from my observations, as I have seen you limp UTG and in the first few spots with hands like Q8. You are def better than the average PP player however. In any event, I don't usually like to limpreraise in a tough game bc you give away your hand. In a PP 1-2 game, I guess its ok, but the regulars will pick up on it and put it in their notes online. I would just broaden your range of raising hands UTG to include such hands as 10Js enuf so that people give ur early raises action. BTW, Abdul typically plays 80-160 and higher,and his advice wouldn't necessarily apply to these microlimit games.


Jeff

Abuld's pre-flop strategy needs to be taken as a whole. That is, it won't work if you take one part of it (limp/re-raise with AA) without taking into account his advice on other hands.


Going from memory, I think he recomends limp re-raising with AA because he also recomends doing that with other hands like TT. It's not that it's necessarily the best way to play AA, but when combined with playing other hands that way, it makes for an effective strategy.


Although he plays higher level games, his pre-flop strategy takes into account the type of game being played. Anyway it's important to understand the reason behind the recomendation and to consider the whole strategy together, not take bits and pieces.

I would agree with the limp-re-raise but only if it's a tight agressive. One of my previous posts, I found out "tight" is under 20% seeing the flop and more around 15%. Not too many of these games online at PP. But they can be found -- even at .5/1 where I was killing some time one night. Would you believe the %'age seeing the flop in this game was under 20%!!!


The limp-re-raise with AA is awesome in this game. IMO it disguises your marginal raising hands, instead of allowing you to limp more often from EP. That's disasterous IMO, for a tight-aggressive game. If the game continues to be tight-aggressive, limping with marginal hands in EP is going to kill you. I found out the hard way!


But when you raise with AQs in EP, or even AJs, those now pack a wollup. I find these will win the pot right after the flop, in this type of game. And if they don't, you have alot of good reasons to get out of the pot. Either way, the setup comes from the limp-re-raise. That puts some fear into your opponents, as you have noticed.

Jeff,


Thanks for replying. I hope you really haven't seen me play Q8 anywhere, especially UTG. I'm working so hard at tightening up the early position play, but AT still looks so good to me.


I was thinking about it more as a way of getting more money into the pot pre-flop, that's it. I try to pick a spot where I'm pretty sure I will be raised (aggressive players on my left). I'm not too concerned if they know what I have at that point.


I'm trying to mix up my game as much as possible too, and to be honest it isn't very often that I raise with any hand and don't get at least one caller. I have begun raising once in a while with JTs or QJs too.


DO you play under the name Jeffer?

I am not Jeffer. Actually, I prefer not to disclose my playing identity on an online forum, but let's just say we have put in some hours together. Post your email if you want to discuss this further.


Jeff

Magithighs,


I thought your other post was regarding a specific players perentage of hands seeing the flop, not what percentage of the table is seeing the flop....Anyway I think it can be agreed that 20% of the table seeing the flop is a damn tight table....


Allan

I try to avoid it. Its very cliched and immediately gives away the strength

of your hand. Virtually any lower PP will fold on the flop if they don't

hit their set, and you may not even get action from ace big if they pair up

on the flop.


Personally if I'm in an online game where EP raises frequently win the

blinds, and there's many isolation raises I'll just find a better table.

But if you insist on staying there I would "protect" your limps with limp

reraises with more hands, specifically AK and KK. I rarely open limp

anyways though, mostly in MP with hands that I'd feel bad about tossing but

not good about raising like KQo and JTs, but will open raise with hands like

88 because they're terrible if not heads up.


The only place I really use it a lot is when I'm in LP and don't want to

steal the blinds with it. But most of the time people will defend their BB

with any 2 cards on LL paradise.

I try to avoid it. Its very cliched and immediately gives away the strength

of your hand. Virtually any lower PP will fold on the flop if they don't hit their set, and you may not even get action from ace big if they pair up

on the flop.


This is exactly the reason to do it with other hands! Abdul suggests limp-reraising with the following hands in a tight game.


AA KK 99 88 AJs ATs


With this collection of hands, you don't mind if your opponent will fold on the flop if he doesn't hit his set.

I think you're much better off varying your pre-flop play by raising with 88 or 77 than raising with QJs or JTs.

Keep in mind that you should only be playing about 15% of your hands.


20% sounds loose enough to me. /images/smile.gif

If you are playingin a 1/2 online game where not even 20% of the hands are seeing the flop, instead of worrying about tactics, you should be taking a table change.


Bob T.

Jeff. My email is dsykes2@cogeco.ca send me a note anytime you want to talk poker. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Limp re-raise T9s and similar hands too, if you like limp-reraising. That will make you hand a little less easy to read and opponent will often have to make a choice of paying you off often or letting you get away with some bluffs, representing your 'true' limp-reraising hands; AA & KK, with a mere draw or something similar.


Does other agree that this is as interesting than mixing up with, say, AKs?


lars

I assume that if each player is playing 15% of their hands, then the table would be at the same percentage. If there are just one or two that are a touch looser, then the average may creep up a few percentage points. Hence my comment that the table should be under 20% to qualify as tight and probably closer to 15%.