[stevepa]

[ QUOTE ]

But now I realize that the fewer showdowns I see, the better, and if I have the position and chips to take it down or force a surrender before it gets to that point, I have guaranteed myself a stack of chips - and doing this fairly regularly not only gets you a lot of free steals, but makes a re-raise easier to read and get out of the way on.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think I replied to one of your other posts where you said this but I still feel like you're misunderstanding something here. You're not guaranteed anything. Those raises have a certain probability of winning the pot, just like you have a certain chance of winning an all-in preflop. Especially online, where it's difficult to have very reliable reads, there is no "guaranteed stack of chips". I'm not saying you shouldn't be making those raises, obviously if they're +EV you should. But you should be pushing (basically) every edge, whether it's a bluff raise, a value raise, or an all-in preflop coinflip with some dead money. It doesn't matter, they're really all the same in the end.

Steve