Minimum Raise

[JKratzer]

I see people do it all the time from every position - the min. raise. I never do it, and I would like to hear some reasons FOR doing it. Personally, if I have a good hand, I will raise a lot more than one bet in NL, and if my hand doesn't warrant raising, I want to get in as cheaply as possible. A min. raise seems to make the flop more expensive without accomplishing anything that a big raise will. That's just my thinking; but as so many players do it I'm sure they have their reasons (although if the main reason is "to build a pot" I'm going to be sorely disappointed).

JKratzer

[Prevaricator]

I usually don't min raise in NL, but it does help sometimes. The min raise does two things. It gives you the lead in the hand, AND it makes players more reluctant to raise LP with hands like KQ or AJ, etc. Sometimes its useful to min raise with a suited connector or small pair in mid position, so that the button doesn't automatically raise you out. If you do it every time, you get pegged on it though. Also, min raising often ends up making superior hands call though, and puts you in a "second best situation" if you do it with hands like KJ, KQ, or QJ, and if you do it with hands like AA and KK then people will have the odds to call with garbage and bust you. If you have a big hand, definately raise more than this (duh) or you are leaving yourself vulnerable.

[cornell2005]

i think it all depends on who your playing against. the min raise has several theoretical advantages, but good players will see receive too much information for them to be profitable

against poor players (or very poor players) the min raise retains its theoretical advantages.

overall i think its a decent rule not to min raise ever, when you want to, just bump it up to like 2.5x or 3x the previous raise instead.

[DrPublo]

One good reason for min-raising is if you want to build a pot IF you hit a set with a small or medium pocket pair. In that case, you don't mind limiting the field to only hands better than you (or 50/50) because you're really playing the hand only for set value.

Only two problems with this approach:
1) It requires deep stacks, because its often not worth building a pot if the stacks aren't deep enough anyway.
2) If you do it too much, it basically gives away your hand. For example, someone might notice that you minraise with 44-88, but make a real raise with JJ or better. That's definitely information you DON'T need to be giving away about your hand.

In sum, I never minraise. If I'm looking to build a pot with a small pocket pair, I'll make the same raise I always do.

The Doc

[ALL1N]

I use the minimum raise on scary boards to try and shut people out without much expense to myself. For example, say I have 44 on board 773 in a multiway pot, the minimum raise will often scare people into folding overcards while keeping the pot small.

[coltrane]

I assume we're talking about min. raise before the flop....I think it sometimes has its merits in tournaments against bad players.....if it's shorhanded and I have a big stack and it's folded to me with aces, I might come in for the minimum raise if the BB has a small stack.....he might be getting pot odds to call me (actually, most likely he isn't) but he might have J2o and if he flops top pair, he's pushing.....one time in a tournament at a very aggressive table I min. raised UTG with aces and got a caller and then someone came over the top of me.....against good players though, I guess you're giving out information when you come in for different raise amounts pre-flop.....the absolute worst though, is when someone min. raises after there's been a limper.....