44 on the button

You've got 44 on the button. How many callers do you need in ahead of you in an unraised pot. Assume there is no reason to believe the blinds are likely to raise.

I would need at least four players limping. and at least one blind will be there. Odds of hitting a 4 are seven and a half to one and implied odds work here.

I also would add that the chance that the blinds might raise is not much of a consideration given that no one else will fold for the second bet and so it will simply double the stakes. If you know the blinds' raise means AA or KK or whatever range it might be, that just makes it easier for you to read their hand (and subsequently know what you have to beat). If the odds are there to take the flop with 44, a raise from the blind is a gift, given that you are getting an overlay (now at twice the stakes) and get to act last on every street.


Best,

-CW

lkas

Really depends on the game. If the players are loose then 2 limpers is fine, and if an action player has limped then 1 limper will do, both blinds are likely to come in an unraised pot (loose game), and the risk of having your set cracked drops with the number of players.


Really you need 12-1 to compensate for having sets cracked, but implied odds with a raise on turn or river make this an easy hand to play in late position.


Then if there are no limpers you might want to raise the blinds, but you have to go through with it, without indications to show you are beat. Small pairs on the button are very difficult to play in a shorthanded pot.