[elysium]

hi joe

by similar hands i mean hands like KJo, QJo, etc. enough times to make calling pre-flop correct. maybe i'm not explaining it exactly right, but to fully explain why raising with ATo is wrong would take a detailed analysis of loose late position play.

on the surface it looks like diplomat's hand is best and therefore he should raise, but when the raise is being made to increase the size of the pot, the strength of the hand must be significantly stronger thsn the hands that call the raise. this is so because the raise makes the field play better than they otherwise would had the pot size been kept smaller. given the fact that the field of callers will be playing better and that there is a greater chance of a showdown, even though ATo may be best pre-flop, the best course of action for ATo may not be to raise. add to this the risk of having your ATo reraised from behind, and taking down the pot before the showdown soon gains greater merit. by keeping the pot smaller, you also give ATo a better chance to win unimproved.

this isn't to say that ATo isn't a worthy hand to raise with pre-flop in this situation, nor is it to say that the raise doesn't have value. it does. so why not raise? because you improve the playability of any hand that calls the raise and create a competitor where once you ruled the field. you also reduce the chances of getting away from the hand if things go awry.

never raise from the button with ATo or KJo or even KQo for that matter. don't raise from the CO with it either. don't be such a hothead. call fool, call. and don't try to scare people out with your raise with one of these hands either. your hand plays better when you call.