[dfscott]

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btw I may be one of the few people on this forum who think so, but I really don't like making large open raises with a hand like AK. I mean I really really don't like open raising to 70-80 or whatever when the blinds are 10-15. I'd rather do so with a hand like QQ, but even so I think it's best to just raise to 40-50 (I usually raise to exactly 45) with almost all opening hands in round 1 in every buyin of sit and go.

This is of course my personal preference and obviously not the clear correct way to play. However it makes your decisions postflop a lot easier, especially with a hand like AK. You can make a continuation bet against one opponent without risking too big a % of your stack, (Have fun raising to 75, getting one caller and having to make a 100-125 chip bluff bet as opposed to a 65-75 chip bet) AND if you get more than one opponent and miss the flop, you can get away cheaply. Also when you flop top pair, it's less likely that someone has you beaten as opposed to having an overpair with AA, so I don't feel that it's as important to protect your hand preflop.

I also like to play this way with QQ+JJ, because I feel I am generally good at figuring out whether my hand is good, and the deeper stacks give me more betting leverage to find out where I'm at. If I make a huge open raise, I basically lose the chance to make smaller information type bets on the flop.

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I'm really glad to hear this because after reading this thread I was starting to doubt some of my basic strategy. After leaking tons of chips with the sequence of: AK, big raise, big continuation bet on missed flop, check/fold turn, I'd really backed off of it a lot pre-flop. Now instead of hitting level 4 with 650 chips, I'm hitting it with 775. With AK, I'm not looking to score big and double up -- I'm looking to preserve/build my stack for the later levels.

IMO, the small pre-flop raise lets you do two things when you miss. First, you can see the flop relatively cheaply. This means that you can afford a continuation bet which often takes it down right there. If re-raised, the pot is small enough that you can easily let the hand go if re-raised. If called, you get another shot at hitting your TP on the turn, and if you have position, you can often see the river as well. This may sound weak, since you won't get people pot committed when they hit their weak ace on the flop, but I think it's a viable trade-off in the early levels.

With QQ or JJ, I don't really care about seeing all five cards. I'm looking to drive out the junk with a decent sized pre-flop raise (4BB or t100, whichever is more). I might raise more in LP with tons of limpers. Once the flop comes down, I'm looking to either go to the felt or check/fold. I don't have much chance to improve, so I want the drawers to pay.