is this considered bad poker

[Mikey]

Ok, here I go again with my theory questions. But here is one.

Would you consider cold calling a raise to be bad poker instead of 3-betting.

When would it be ok to call a raise cold. I understand that it is sometimes correct to call a raise in the BB, but I am talking about in the field.

When is it ok to cold call a raise?

[Sooga]

The only times I cold call a raise is when I'm in LP and have at least 3 or so cold-callers in front of me. At this point I'll usually cold-call with small pocket pairs or bigger suited connectors like a JQs or a KQs. I don't think 3-betting with these hands ia a great idea, but I do definitely want to see the flop, so I just call. I'm not sure if this is 'bad poker' or not, but these situations rarely come up, so I doubt I'm losing much.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Your question is pretty general, but there are lots of times you might cold-call two instead of three-betting. Say you're in an eight-handed pot that was raised before the flop. The sb bets and three people call, the next raises. You have the Ad2d and the flop is king high with two diamonds. If you three-bet, you might lose those four players who already put in one bet, but might not put in three bets. Keep your customers in this situation, don't try to drive them out.

You could think of many similar situations.

[Mike Gallo]

Mikey,

Would you consider cold calling a raise to be bad poker instead of 3-betting.

It depends.Do you mean preflop, flop, turn or river play?

I will discuss the flop. If you want to trap you call, if you want to represent strength you raise. If you want to build a bigger pot you raise. If you want to knock out someone with a lesser hand who can overtake you, you raise. It all depends on what postion you have.

You need to add more elements to the equation. If you reraise will you knock out someone who is drawing dead to you? Think about who is calling your raise. Think about who made the raise.

Nothing is Absolute. Every decision is almost its own problem. Given all of the factors you can, make the best decision. Thats my answer.

[anatta]

Here a cold-calling example from Roy Cooke's book. You are in the SB with KJs. Tough, aggressive, tricky pro open raises from the button. Big blind is a predictable, loose player who will very likely defend his big blind with a poor hand, but is smart enough to fold if you 3 bet. As I recall, HEPAP also says to let the bad players in sometimes, and keep them around to protect the pot. I must say, I have done the let them in thingy pre-flop, but I haven't really thought to do it post-flop.