[Malachii]

Hey whittiphil,

I play the same game and do a lot of the same stuff. IMO, this game is so weak/tight that preflop stealing from LP is mandatory.

A few things:

1.) I would make it 3$ to go preflop, not $2.5... it's nit picking, yes, but I think that does give you some extra folding equity.

2.) I have lost a lot of money trying to master these so called steals... specifically, it's a +EV play, but only if you don't respond overzealously when somebody says they have something. You don't invest a lot of money trying to bluff them. If I raise with a suspect hand preflop, flop nothing, and somebody leads into me, I'm going to fold. I'm not going to play a big pot with nothing trying to bluff them, that's how this move turns into a -EV one.

3.) Plays like this are important because you want to take away your opponents implied odds. Not only will I make plays like this from the button, I'm also raising suited connectors in EP so that opposing players can't show a long term profit calling my EP raises with small pocket pairs. The trick is doing it with the proper frequency.

So in summary, good idea. I fold the flop. There's really an art to this preflop stealing, but I think what it comes down to is you either want to pick it up preflop or lose as little as possible when somebody catches something. The idea is that if someone calls your preflop raise and flops a set, they get no action at all.