new year, new leak?

Happy new year, everyone.


One thing I have really tried to do lately is stay out of marginal situations in bad position, but now I am wondering if I have taken it too far. Here are two categories of hands -- I need to know whether I should keep folding them preflop:


(1) In the small blind, you have a suited 3-4 gapper like 710s or J7s, there's no raise but little volume -- say 1-2 limpers who are loose/weak.


(2) In the big blind, you have 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 or 6-6 and there's a raise from a loose aggressive player from middle position (say 3 or 4 off the button). All fold to you.


I know this isn't that interesting but I think this is still where a lot of the tough money is won and lost, at least for me. So I am interested in what the posters think....


thanks SW

I always fold hand #1. No matter how many bets/players. Just like 72o. Play your blinds when you have real hands.


hand #2, against this type player I may 3 bet or call. If the flop is A-rag-rag I'll bet flop & turn unless raised on flop. Scare cards are scare cards for both scary people. This is where I make up my other lost blinds chips. If they call the turn I usually just check it down. They do too often.

I have opposite answers to larry.


In the sb, play a lot of hands, esp. suited hands against bad players. I would always play these in the given situation. No one says you need the best hand to win.


In the BB, I would almost always fold these hands to a raise from a middle player, unless hea raises all the time. Perhaps I would see a flop with 55 or 66, and toss the rest, but always tossing them can't be terrible. This is not the same as the button or cutoff raising. Too many bad things will happen out of position against aggressive players. If they do check it down later, and play predictably, then of course you can play them.


Good luck.


Dan Z.

I think I make more or lose less $$ in the blinds then most. Being the worst position on the table I play very few hands. When I do play a hand I like to find out where I'm at very soon. I save bets here.


Also as far as this particular instance is concerned, description of the players is paramount. Loose aggressive. I think of many of the players I play against. Maybe my opponents are different then yours.

I have not read the other answers yet, but here's what I do.


1) I much low 3 gappers in every position but the BB(I play it only if I get a free ride.) I think most people can get in alot of trouble playing these hands.


My cuttoff here is J-8s ex. J-8, Q-8,


2) I usually call, and occasionally Re-Raise with low pairs in this situation. I limp most of the time against an aggressive player because, when I do hit my set He will pay me off more often than not. (BTW alot of my friends say this is a leak in my game, but it is a play I routinly make /images/smile.gif