Choose your preflop plays - sort of a quiz

[Tosh]

Assume typical 10 handed online low limit game - between $5/$10 and $10/$20. The game can be quite laggish, nothing totally crazy though. Pots are 4 or 5 handed on average but a good percentage are raised. Just pick your choice from raise, fold or call for each one.

1) 88 after 2 folds.

2) Fairly aggressive UTG raises, you hold 99 UTG+1.

3) It is folded to you on the button, you hold K8o. BB is extremely tricky and defends his blind religiously, SB is tight.

4) 44 UTG.

5) KTs UTG.

6) Tight UTG raise, 1 cold call from a fish, you hold KQs on the button.

a) Both blinds are loose. b) Both blinds are tight.

7) 77 in your BB after an extremely aggressive button open raises and SB folds.

8) 22 in MP after 4 folds.

9) Tight UTG raise, 2 calls from LAGs, you hold deuces on the button.

[Clarkmeister]

1) 88 after 2 folds.

Raise or call.

2) Fairly aggressive UTG raises, you hold 99 UTG+1.

Fold.

3) It is folded to you on the button, you hold K8o. BB is extremely tricky and defends his blind religiously, SB is tight.

Raise

4) 44 UTG.

Fold or call

5) KTs UTG.

Call or raise

6) Tight UTG raise, 1 cold call from a fish, you hold KQs on the button.

Fold regardless of the blinds

7) 77 in your BB after an extremely aggressive button open raises and SB folds.

Call or raise

8) 22 in MP after 4 folds.

Fold

9) Tight UTG raise, 2 calls from LAGs, you hold deuces on the button.

Call

[BottlesOf]

I just did the quiz on a piece of paper and I got the same results as you except for 5. I mucked KTs UTG. I thought this is an easy muck and aggressive game. Am I throwing it away too much?

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
I just did the quiz on a piece of paper and I got the same results as you except for 5. I mucked KTs UTG. I thought this is an easy muck and aggressive game. Am I throwing it away too much?

[/ QUOTE ]

If 4-5 people are seeing every flop, then there are enough loose opponents that I will be doing more than my share of dominating. That, coupled with suitedness and good postflop play make this hand +EV. If the game had been described as aggressive and 2-3 ways, I'd muck.

[Saborion]

[ QUOTE ]
4) 44 UTG.
Fold or call

[/ QUOTE ]
77-22 UTG in a game that is raised pre-flop around 30 % of the time and usually have 4 players seeing the flop, occasional 3, occasional 5, depending on if there's an early raise and so on. Those condititions are good enough to limp in with these hands UTG right? Would the same hold true for Axs? I know some players rank the pairs higher than Axs in these spots, some rank them lower. I'd prefer any pair over Axs, but that's most likely because I'm weak.

[ QUOTE ]
5) KTs UTG.
Call or raise

[/ QUOTE ]
This one surprised me. But I suppose the fact that it's almost always 4-5 players in the pot that makes the hand playable in this position, regardless of it's 1 or 2 bets pre-flop? When do we want to raise with it? Occasional, to throw our opponents off?

[Chazbot2000]

Yeah I was suprised by these statements too. Would appreciate advice if I'm getting this wrong.

In an early position, I'd far prefer a low pair to A-x suited or K-10 suited for that matter. Either you hit your set on the flop or you don't, irrespective of position.

With A-x suited or K-10 suited, you're playing for straight or flush draws. In either case I feel you really need the advantage of late position to get free cards and make this profitable.

Why am I wrong here?

Was also suprised by folding 9-9 with a raise before you. Seems like a case where you want to reraise to isolate.

[anatta]

I was surprised cold call of 22 on the button. I understand that with some LAG you might make great money, but I think its more probable than normal that there is a bigger pair out there which does reduce the value of 22 somewhat (I know set over set is rare, but if AA-TT is going to the river, thats 4 cards that he has to get a set, this will happen what 16%, I know he doesn't have to have those hands and if he does, I'll make great money when he doesn't make a set...hmm...okay...I call, you convinced me [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]).

Raising KTs is another one, I almost always call, sometimes fold. If I am in a Feeney game like the one with JTs, "Expert thought": These guys like to cold call raises and chase big pots, they normally put me on a big hand to raise here, but since the aren't scared, I'll vary my play...But normally the guys in my game aren't so gullible to call my UTG raises with worse than KTs, some are though. Perhaps if I get KTs or similar UTG, I will raise more and experiment with the effects.

[SA125]

#2 - Like folding 9's here, though few players seem to make it.

#4 - Surprised you may call UTG w/4's, but see why based on expectation of 4-5 callers in raised pot scenario.

Comapring the two hands, I guess in hand #2 you weren't expecting multi-way action?

[sthief09]

2) Fairly aggressive UTG raises, you hold 99 UTG+1.

Fold.

what if you were on the button? just wondering if your main concern here is not having a great hand, or running the risk that you're cold called.

3) It is folded to you on the button, you hold K8o. BB is extremely tricky and defends his blind religiously, SB is tight.

Raise

how do you play this? do you call him down unimproved if he shows any aggression?

5) KTs UTG.

Call or raise

I agree that it should be played, but can you explain the merit in raising it? is it because you'll be cold-called by worse hands? what if the tables consisted of tight players who don't play well post-flop?


6) Tight UTG raise, 1 cold call from a fish, you hold KQs on the button.

Fold regardless of the blinds

what if UTG plays predictably? what if you're playing live and both blinds call before you get a chance to act? is being dominated in a 5-way pot that bad? would you prefer a better drawing hand that's less likely to consist of a card in you opponent's hand, like QJs or JTs?

9) Tight UTG raise, 2 calls from LAGs, you hold deuces on the button.

Call

what if both blinds fold out of position? still a call?


if you or anyone else can answer these questions for me, it would be very much appreciated!

[Sleepy Weasel]

[ QUOTE ]
6) Tight UTG raise, 1 cold call from a fish, you hold KQs on the button.
Fold regardless of the blinds

[/ QUOTE ]

Is the important part here "Tight", or "UTG", or is just "raise" enough to fold KQs on the button? I play 2/4, not 5/10, but this is one of the few hands I'll consider cold calling with. Am I giving up a lot with that play?