(11) Raise 5xbb with 1010/JJ from EP according to HOH?

[SonnyJay]

My only comment on the pineapple-everyone else argument on the issue of varying your raises is that it's really immaterial. If you feel like betting 70 sometimes and 60 others, it's not a huge difference. However, I do think that a lot of the people that would be "observant enough" to notice things and take advantage normally are multitabling and thus aren't paying enough attention to notice.

Anyway...

Harrington wrote a very good book, but I think its concepts are misapplied at the STTs. HOH/I is referring (mostly) to full tabled, deep stacked, gradual blind-increase multi-table poker. This is not a Party STT.

The raise 5xBB with JJ in EP may be optimal advice for the situations in the book, but the STTs are different. A reasonable raise will be called very often, and you'll be out of position. If you raise 5 BB (never mind 7...don't do that) you'll find yourself building a large pot with a hand you're not going to be thrilled with often once the flop comes. The pot will be too big to manage. A continuation bet after a few callers will be a large portion of your stack, and anyone coming along with you will freeze you. Limp, call a reasonable raise if necessary, and hope for a set or undercards.

Once the blinds are at 25-50 and a few opponents are eliminated, I usually raise this to 3xBB or so (if my stack allows), but I don't know if this is a leak. I figure that there are fewer opponents behind me, people are less likely to call with medium/bad hands, and stacks are shallower. I may be giving the situation too much credit however.

-SonnyJay