A Challenge

[DrPhysic]

I have a couple of times recently paraphrased Al Capone Jr’s remark about “chicken****, lilly livered, post oak, min raises.” One time referring to my own hand. I am beginning to understand that he was right.

I propose a challenge. To myself. Anybody else that wishes to play is invited.

When I return on Sunday, (I will be out of town and away from the computer until then), I am going to put a pad beside my computer. I am going to put a mark on the pad every time I make a min raise for one week. I will count marks at Noon EDT Sunday Sept 5. I will also put a mark in a separate column for each SNG or multi game I play, so I can report min raises per game.

The challenge is to play poker for one full week without making a single 1BB raise.

That does not count the forced bet when I am in the BB, or the bet first out on any round starting with the flop. It does not count limps. It only counts raises.

I’ll bet I can’t keep the min raises to less than one a game for a full week.

But I’m going to try. I will for one week attempt to make folds, calls, or real raises.

Anybody else that wants to try (you have to promise to keep an honest count), sign up on this thread. Reports will be after Noon EDT Sunday Sept 5.

A secondary question that will be asked is “Did your ITM, ROI, or bankroll go up during the experiment?”

Doc [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Note: Since the question will obviously come up… “post oak raise” is Doyle Brunson’s term for a min raise. To the best of my knowledge he never explained its origin.

[mackthefork]

I think i saw you do about 20 of them in the euro sng, I hate the bloody things, I personally stopped doing them a long time ago, I also hate the min reraise, if everyone could stop these moves the world would be a much nicer place [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img].

Regards Mack

[Tosh]

To say that a 1BB raise is ALWAYS wrong is wrong. If I can steal someone's blinds by raising the minimum why would I raise more?

[DrPhysic]

Your knowledge and mine of a weakness in my game is why I am doing this.

Doc

[DrPhysic]

I had a circumstance in the Tuesday 2+2 SNG that I made a min raise from either the button or CO, I don't remember. I hoped it left the blinds wondering whether I was stealing or had a monster. heyrocker thought about it a long time in the BB then folded. Successful steal. I think there is a place for it. I also think I do it far too often. Therefore my challenge to me: try to learn to play without it for a full week. And I think I am probably not the only one who plays with this weakness. It is too easy to hit the raise button, which is a 1BB raise.

Doc

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I don't know what to say, Doc. In all the NL tourneys I've played this year, I've min-raised exactly once. It was in a 2-table SNG, I was 2nd short-stack with 5 left and 9 BB left with the blinds going up in 1 minute. I got AA UTG and minraised, and got reraised all-in and doubled up.

That was my one and only time.

[Tosh]

I don't do it often, and when I do it is only when blinds are big late in a multi and noone will get involved without a big hand.

[DrPhysic]

Probably the reason I, and a lot of others, consider you to be a far better player than I am. I am still learning. And this is simply the most recent deficiency I have identified in my game, albeit a glaring one.

I will also bet that I am not the only one guilty of this, which is why I posted it. Maybe after a week of serious concentration on not making poor raises, my game will improve a notch.

But probably not enough to converse in Klingon.

Doc

[hyde]

I'm trying to be more agressive myself.
as I have made all to public, I love to slow play..I just hate the results......
I try to minraise only when I wish to be reraised
or late, when the blinds are huge.
and sometimes the raise button is too convienent..
I might be using it more than I think...I'll accept your challange and keep track.

hyde

[RPatterson]

I have never minumum raised once in my life.