how do you get any action.
 

I can't seem to understand how you guys get any action on your big pocket pairs..?

Whenever I make any raise above 4BB I get no callers all the limpers just fold and wait til next round.

I don't like slowplaying them either.

Someone enlighten me as to how I play big pairs preflop

Re: how do you get any action.
 

I find it hard to believe that you're getting NO action on your big pocket pairs. Even if you only raise AA-QQ, not everyone is going to be paying attention to this fact, and will call you with worse hands.

If you really aren't getting enough action on these hands, expand the range of hands you raise, especially in position.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Well It's really a problem I can't see how I protect my hand and get action at the same time. And I do raise a lot preflop.

How much should I raise when holdin QQ and up 6BB or more..?

Re: how do you get any action.
 

I don't know about your other raising habits, but if say you're normal PF raise is 3xBB and then you swoop in with a 6+xBB raise with AA-QQ the people who are even vaguely watching the game will pick up on that pretty quickly.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

With high pairs I make my standard 3xBB raise, more if there have been limpers or the table has been calling big raises.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
And I do raise a lot preflop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Evidently you're not raising as often as you should then. As the other poster suggested, try expanding your raise range a bit.

[ QUOTE ]
How much should I raise when holdin QQ and up 6BB or more..?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah. Are you sure you are raising consistant amounts preflop? If youre raising 6xbb with AA/KK/QQ but only raising 4xbb with AQ/AJ/67s, then you're not going to get a lot of play with youre premium pairs.

The amount I raise PF is always related to the position I'm in, and how many limpers etc. in the hand, rather than what I'm holding.

Ojo_Rojo

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Ok but how do I protect my big pairs from say a set then...? or maybe I don't..?

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Well It's really a problem I can't see how I protect my hand and get action at the same time. And I do raise a lot preflop.

How much should I raise when holdin QQ and up 6BB or more..?

[/ QUOTE ]

Just raise the same amount ever time. Problem soved.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ok but how do I protect my big pairs from say a set then...? or maybe I don't..?

[/ QUOTE ]

Post a hand where you feel you overplayed a big pair and ran into a set.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

By not getting it all in with one pair against semi-competent players.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ok but how do I protect my big pairs from say a set then...? or maybe I don't..?

[/ QUOTE ]
You should bet the pot size on the button. If you are one of the blinds you should overbet the pot. If theres no limpers you should bet about 4x on the button and 5x on the blinds. Betting the proper amount PF you probably will make fold small and even medium pocket pairs, prevent them from hit a set. So the amount you should bet depends on the number of limpers and the position rather than the hand you hold.

(NC)
 

I hope I haven't inspired this S/N. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I can't seem to understand how you guys get any action on your big pocket pairs..?

Whenever I make any raise above 4BB I get no callers all the limpers just fold and wait til next round.

I don't like slowplaying them either.

Someone enlighten me as to how I play big pairs preflop

[/ QUOTE ]

poker is played over 100,000s of hands. keep at it, you're gaining +EV by taking down the pot each time and not losing a huge pot.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

This is how u do it.
Thing is that there will ALLWYAS be stupid people around to pay u off.
I hardly ever slowplay cause it will only get u into trouble.


Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

UTG ($46.10)
UTG+1 ($44.88)
UTG+2 ($61.50)
MP1 ($65.74)
Hero ($102.65)
MP3 ($49)
CO ($44.80)
Button ($50.20)
SB ($30.13)
BB ($73.25)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.25.
<font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $2</font>, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, Button calls $2, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>.

Flop: ($4.75) 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $4</font>, Button calls $4.

Turn: ($12.75) T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $10</font>, Button calls $10.

River: ($32.75) 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $15</font>, Button calls $15.

Final Pot: $62.75

Hero has Ad Ah (three of a kind, aces).
Button has Qs Kh (one pair, queens).
Outcome: Hero wins $62.75.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I can't seem to understand how you guys get any action on your big pocket pairs..?

Whenever I make any raise above 4BB I get no callers all the limpers just fold and wait til next round.

I don't like slowplaying them either.

Someone enlighten me as to how I play big pairs preflop

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Move to a different table.
2. Dont raise more than 4BB
3. Raise lots of times for more than 4BB and take all their blinds a lot.

Apply any and all of these and you will get the action you desire. Soon, we will expect you to post with subjects like "how can these muppets call with KTo and crack my AA?".

Njoy.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ok but how do I protect my big pairs from say a set then...? or maybe I don't..?

[/ QUOTE ]

With stacks of 100 BB or more you can't protect your big pairs from a set via a pre-flop opening raise unless you open up with a HUGE raise. Since a set will flop about 12% of the time in order to do so you would need to put clost to 12% or more of the smaller stack (between you and opponent) in pre-flop to be "Protecting". Since you want to open with more than just AA-QQ you don't want to be always making huge raises as it would be costly. You want your raise amounts consitent so your hand can't be easily read, but typically you will be opening with a better selection of hands then your opponents who play too loose. Your post flop play is what will determine how much you win/loose with your big pairs. The idea of protecting your big pairs can come in if you get in a raising war pre-flop. If you telegraph your AA for example with a pre-flop 3bet, you want to make sure that your opponent is not getting implied odds to flop a set on you, which you determine by the smallest stack size.

In regards to the actual amount, there is no perfect pre-flop raise amount with deepish stacks. Whatever you choose to do the main thing you want to avoid is giving away your holdings based on your raise amount. Alot of advice here is to adopt something like 3-4x the bb + 1 bb per limper. This is a fine easy way to keep your raise amounts conistent.

Edit: In response to your initial ?. If your pre-flop raises are winning pots flat out too much, you simply should start raising more hands and stealing pots. If you opponents start to adjust to this you tighten back up.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Alright this last post made it pretty clear to me. I can't just fire 8BB or more in order to protect my hand against other PP.

Here's KK hand that I lost to a set.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

MP1 ($46.63)
Hero ($29.05)
MP3 ($12.10)
CO ($19.30)
Button ($51.15)
SB ($36.15)
BB ($25.95)
UTG ($18.80)
UTG+1 ($28.70)
UTG+2 ($23.70)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.10.
<font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $0.75</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, CO calls $0.75, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>.

Flop: ($1.85) 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">CO bets $2</font>, Hero calls $2.

Turn: ($5.85) 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">CO bets $3</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $8</font>, CO calls $13.55 (All-In), Hero calls $8.55.

River: ($38.95) 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: $38.95

Re: how do you get any action.
 

This is another hand. well it ain't got much to do with big PP, but How do I get action on these nut hands.?? This time it all came by itself but say villian hadden't bet how do I get dollars in here..?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

MP1 ($26.95)
MP2 ($13.70)
MP3 ($7.85)
CO ($36.04)
Hero ($25.40)
SB ($31.80)
BB ($25)
UTG ($9.75)
UTG+1 ($13.81)
UTG+2 ($91.30)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.10.
<font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, UTG+2 calls $0.25, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, Hero calls $0.25, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.85) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
BB checks, <font color="#CC3333">UTG+2 bets $2</font>, Hero calls $2, BB folds.

Turn: ($4.85) 4[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">UTG+2 bets $4</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $8</font>, UTG+2 calls $4.

River: ($20.85) 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">UTG+2 bets $5</font>, Hero calls $15.15 (All-In), UTG+2 calls $10.15.

Final Pot: $51.15

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Think about it this way. If you're never getting action when you raise 6xBB, raise 6xBB with weaker hands and raise 3 or 4xBB with those monster PP's. The idea is to switch up your betting patterns. Once you've realized that the table folds to your 6x raise, you can then take advantage of the conservative field and steal pots with hands that you don't want to get called with anyways.

Seriously, if you're never getting called, lower the raises a bit.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

No checking on that flop in your KK hand, I would also make the raise $1.50, that was my minimum at 25NL and I got tons of callers. You are either just going through a dry spell or not sitting at the right tables (which is pretty hard to do, since they are almost all ripe).
Raise to $1.50, lead for the pot, if he comes over the top, you can decide if you believe him or not, if not it all goes in on the turn and I expect to be ahead most of the time here.

In hand 2 QTo is pretty marginal to play with only one limper. I raise that flop, truthfully I raised any hand I hit at NL25 other than quads almost all of the time and I still do at NL100. People pay you off. Like I said in the first example you are either having a tough run (which I am going through right now on made hands) or you are not doing a good job of table selection (which I realized a few days ago was part of my problem). Oh and don't min raise, if that guy had been on some sort of wierd diamond draw you gave him just about the right odds to call.

Post more hands, hopefully the more experience guys can give you some better advice.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

i can almost guarantee the answer without even looking at hands you've posted is to bet the flop, bet the turn, value bet the river. betting flop/turn means theres a bigger pot on the river for you to value bet, because YOU have chose how big you want the pot to be. play a big pot with your big hands, it's the best way to get paid off.

edit: just looked at the hands, and looks like im right. what i see you doing now is check-calling, check-raising, slowplaying, and mini-raising. try using the "bet" button, it works wonders.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

I disagree with this advice:

[ QUOTE ]
If you're never getting action when you raise 6xBB, raise 6xBB with weaker hands and raise 3 or 4xBB with those monster PP's.

[/ QUOTE ]

A non-2p2 friend of mine is always complaining about how he never gets action with AA. A lot of this might be selecteve memory. But I asked him about his betting patterns, and he said he likes to make smallish raises PF to encourage action.

We would like to think that our opponents are dull and slow on the uptake. We'd like to think that they are basically just disembodied arms trowing chips without regard to what is happening at the table. But they aren't. No matter how dumb you want to think your opponents are, they are paying attention, and they are trying to beat you. They don't want to lose to you, and it's not like it never occured to them that you might get AA, too. When you have been raising 6xBB all day long, and then come out with a 4xBB raise, don't think they didn't just notice it. They did.

The best way to get action with AA is to make the same raise with every hand.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

So i bet the flop I bet the turn waht do I do when people push.?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (9 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

UTG ($23.25)
Hero ($25.75)
MP1 ($23.05)
MP2 ($23.20)
MP3 ($19.75)
CO ($25.35)
Button ($5.70)
SB ($21.90)
BB ($20.35)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of $0.10.
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $0.75</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP2 calls $0.75, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, SB (poster) calls $0.65, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>.

Flop: ($2.50) 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $2</font>, MP2 calls $2, SB calls $2.

Turn: ($8.50) 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
SB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $10</font>, MP2 folds, SB calls $19.15 (All-In), Hero calls $9.15.

River: ($46.80) 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: $46.80

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Like directscooter mentioned, at Party 25NL you really have to rasie more PF. Most tables will call $1+ with any holding so you need to keep track of PF raises and see what gets calld, and what doesn't. My standard would be $1.50, and go up from there.

This KK hand, in EP, I would make it $1.75 to go PF. Flop with 2 callers, I would bet the pot, maybe a bit more, theres some draws. If you still have 2 callers, its time to slow down.

BTW, these 2 King hands you posted got plenty of action! :P

Re: how do you get any action.
 

ohh they sure got action but only from freakin sets or worse

How about this Play... Preflop ok..? Call the all in must be pretty marginal..?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (7 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

MP1 ($24.25)
Hero ($36.95)
CO ($17.55)
Button ($25.10)
SB ($24.50)
BB ($23.50)
UTG ($28.85)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. CO posts a blind of $0.35. SB posts a blind of $0.10.
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP1 calls $0.25, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $2</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Button calls $25.10 (All-In), <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, MP1 folds, Hero calls $23.10.

Flop: ($51.15) 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Turn: ($51.15) J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

River: ($51.15) 5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players, 1 all-in)</font>

Final Pot: $51.15

Re: how do you get any action.
 

85% of the PF re-raises at these stakes are AA/KK. People play so passive that you are preying your up against AK and looking to coin flip your money. FOLD he definatly has a bigger pair!

Re: how do you get any action.
 

I agree with some of the recommendations here so far. Only 2 people mentioned another factor slightly. Have you considered your table selection? You play online I assume? There is tons of information available as to how tight/loose a table might be. You can't get blood from a stone.

By the way, raising a $0.25 blind to $0.75 doesn't strike me as "protecting" anything.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

ok about table selection what do you use to figure out the table VP$IP before you sit down..?

I know that 0.75$ is not protecting much but I can't figure out how to get anything from these fit/fold guys.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

if anyone at the tiable is paying attention THIS hand is a good way to get action.

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Uh, you just called an all-in pre-flop with TT. You do know that, do you?

Re: how do you get any action.
 

Yeah the thing is I won over 88 but I thought this TT call was very marginal too. Problem is how was I suposed to play these TT..? limp preflop and take it from there..?