How much to push?

[TheCat]

In the later stages of the game you are frequently making a pre flop raise hoping to steal the blinds. I usually push in all. When, if ever, is it better to raise a smaller amount?
Clearly an all-in bet is harder to call so you will pick up the blinds more frequently. On the flip side when you do get called you’re usually on a coin flip at best to stay in.

Times I usually don’t go all in are:

If I’m big stack then your raises command more respect , 2 to 4xBB will often be sufficient.

If the table is tight then you can steal more easily, so 3 to 5 x BB

When heads up if I’m the smaller stack, here you are always raising a lot. If you go all in each time you are giving your opponent a good opportunity to trap you should they hit a good hand.

Do the exceptions make sense to you, does any of it all make sense come to that? I dunno I just made it up.

[TheCat]

I'm surprised I've had no replies so far. Bump

[patrick dicaprio]

i think we might have played against each other last night. hows that for a reply [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[TheCat]

What's you user name then? I'm vfuller.

[patrick dicaprio]

it wasnt you. the name was ThaCat. good luck!

Pat

[BigJohn043]

This is pretty straight forward.

The rule of thumb is that if you have <10x the BB, then push every time. Also do this if your opponents has <10X the BB. The reason is pretty simple, if you bet 3X you are already pot committed and so will call a raise anyway. You might as well go all-in.

If I have >10x BB, then I usually raise 3x the BB. 4 or 5 is proabably fine as well. 2x isn't enough to induce folds. It is important that you bet the same every time to avoid signaling....