A Challenge

[DrPhysic]

I have a couple of times recently paraphrased Al Capone Jr’s remark about “chicken****, lilly livered, post oak, min raises.” One time referring to my own hand. I am beginning to understand that he was right.

I propose a challenge. To myself. Anybody else that wishes to play is invited.

When I return on Sunday, (I will be out of town and away from the computer until then), I am going to put a pad beside my computer. I am going to put a mark on the pad every time I make a min raise for one week. I will count marks at Noon EDT Sunday Sept 5. I will also put a mark in a separate column for each SNG or multi game I play, so I can report min raises per game.

The challenge is to play poker for one full week without making a single 1BB raise.

That does not count the forced bet when I am in the BB, or the bet first out on any round starting with the flop. It does not count limps. It only counts raises.

I’ll bet I can’t keep the min raises to less than one a game for a full week.

But I’m going to try. I will for one week attempt to make folds, calls, or real raises.

Anybody else that wants to try (you have to promise to keep an honest count), sign up on this thread. Reports will be after Noon EDT Sunday Sept 5.

A secondary question that will be asked is “Did your ITM, ROI, or bankroll go up during the experiment?”

Doc [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Note: Since the question will obviously come up… “post oak raise” is Doyle Brunson’s term for a min raise. To the best of my knowledge he never explained its origin.

[mackthefork]

I think i saw you do about 20 of them in the euro sng, I hate the bloody things, I personally stopped doing them a long time ago, I also hate the min reraise, if everyone could stop these moves the world would be a much nicer place [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img].

Regards Mack

[DrPhysic]

Your knowledge and mine of a weakness in my game is why I am doing this.

Doc

[Tosh]

To say that a 1BB raise is ALWAYS wrong is wrong. If I can steal someone's blinds by raising the minimum why would I raise more?

[DrPhysic]

I had a circumstance in the Tuesday 2+2 SNG that I made a min raise from either the button or CO, I don't remember. I hoped it left the blinds wondering whether I was stealing or had a monster. heyrocker thought about it a long time in the BB then folded. Successful steal. I think there is a place for it. I also think I do it far too often. Therefore my challenge to me: try to learn to play without it for a full week. And I think I am probably not the only one who plays with this weakness. It is too easy to hit the raise button, which is a 1BB raise.

Doc

[Tosh]

I don't do it often, and when I do it is only when blinds are big late in a multi and noone will get involved without a big hand.

[nogoodatpoker]

I used to use the buttons almost exclusively when I started at UB. The min raise and bet pot buttons were just too convenient. My solution was to type in every bet I made. Using the slider can give you "suggestions" - oh, it says 200 in the box, that sounds good - where, if you have to type the number yourself, you have to think about why you are making that particular size of bet.

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
To say that a 1BB raise is ALWAYS wrong is wrong. If I can steal someone's blinds by raising the minimum why would I raise more?

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course this is correct, but remember 'if' is the longest word in the world. I can't remember stealing many blinds with these raises, maybe when the blinds are a significant portinion of the average stack, but not in the early stages.

Regards Mack

[rybones]

I also agree that to say the min. raise is always wrong is wrong. What about the time you come up against someone that loves to come over the top of your min raises? what if you have the hand and if you check or bet the pot she will fold? will you still count that?

That said, I love the challange!!!

there is something to be said for forcing yourself to play in a disciplined manner! the other day, I tried to go three game without playing suited connectors. I only gave in once and that was with A,K and I lost that hand. Talk about carma. Anyway I was in the money all three games. Alas, I am sure I play much smaller limits than you all. But I still think the challange is a good one.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I don't know what to say, Doc. In all the NL tourneys I've played this year, I've min-raised exactly once. It was in a 2-table SNG, I was 2nd short-stack with 5 left and 9 BB left with the blinds going up in 1 minute. I got AA UTG and minraised, and got reraised all-in and doubled up.

That was my one and only time.