Re: AA - What the?
I think there are a number of reasons to open raise AA from early position. In no certain order:
1) bad players will call anyway, particularly before the flop - charge them now before they get the chance to miss the flop and fold cheaply
2) meta game - if you raise a lot from early position with AJ, KQ, 99 type hands then you should raise your really big ones too - keep 'em guessing
3) your hand is easier to play post-flop when you raise - if you don't raise and the flop comes 6 handed you'll have no idea how to read a raise on most boards. By showing some preflop strength you define the hands that call you a little bit and can hopefully make more profitable decisions on the big bet streets. You prevent your own hand from being too well defined with #2 above
In low limit games I think #1 is the most important and the main reason to raise. Your profit in poker comes from your opponents making mistakes. Give them a chance to make one of the most profitable mistakes in the game - cold calling preflop. With another limper or two, the guy playing 76s isn't making a mistake to call even if you show him your Aces. Any time someone makes a +EV decision, it's -EV for you. Maybe you're still making a profit on the hand, but it's not as big as it would have been if that player made a poor decision.
|