To Raise? Or not to Raise? That is the question.

[defence18]

I've been playing a good amount of .25/.50 on Paradise Poker and I've been finding raising hands in the BB. So my question is should I be raising with AQ, AJ etc. in the BB with 4-6 limpers? I've tried both ways, and it seems to me that not raising has been more profitable. Any thoughts?

[Rev. Good Will]

AJo i think its kosher not to raise from the blinds. For AQo, or either of those hands sooted, you should be arrested for such a criminal act.

If you find not raising is more profitable based off of experimenting, I'm curious, how large is your sample size?

edited for punctuation and clarity

[Stinkybeaver]

I doubt that yo've played enough of these hands to make anything but assumptions. You could easily have run lucky when limping and unlucky when raising.

I thing its close. Giving your very bad position it might make sense to call. On the other hand SSH clearly indicates that these hands in general benefit from a lot of calls.

You'll win less pots but bigger pots.

Overall I think this is more a temper decission. If you prefer to be very aggressive Raise otherwise just call.

[D'OH]

You should definitly raise in a game where there are 4-6 limpers in each pot. On average your equity preflop will justify a raise for value even if you're out of position.

[topspin]

[ QUOTE ]
So my question is should I be raising with AQ, AJ etc. in the BB with 4-6 limpers?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Your equity edge is too big not to push.

[ QUOTE ]
I've tried both ways, and it seems to me that not raising has been more profitable. Any thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Either you're dealing with a small sample size issue, or raising preflop causes you to overplay your hands, or both.

[Dorez]

I hate it when you get hands in such early position. Generally I raise. I consider myself aggressive so I raise a lot pf. If I've been playing at the same table for the past 2 hours. I may check just to switch up my game and hope that if someone hits with Q 10 or A 10, they'll bet into me thinking they have me outkicked.

[Fantam]

AQ and AJ are both hands that play well against few opponents, where you are hoping to make top pair with a good kicker.

When the pot is multi-way, there is a greater likelihood of someone else drawing out to beat you with a hand like 2 pair,a set, straight or flush.

So if you are in the BB and there have already been 4 to 6 limpers, it is probably best to just call. You are going to be playing your hand out of position for the remaining betting rounds, and bloating the pot with a pre-flop raise is only like to encourage the drawing hands to stay in the pot for longer.

However, if your AQ or AJ is suited, then it would definitely be worth raising, because this makes your hand much stronger and gives you more chances of winning in a multi-way pot.

[jrz1972]

I just check with AJo, but I raise AQo, AQs, and AJs every single time. This is your chance to punish your opponents for having limped with garbage.

[defence18]

Thanks for the advice all. You're right in that my sample size is quite small, and it is just an assumption that limping is more profitable. Still it does not seem like I am pushing anyone out of the hand when I raise here. Still raise?

[Aaron W.]

[ QUOTE ]
When the pot is multi-way, there is a greater likelihood of someone else drawing out to beat you with a hand like 2 pair,a set, straight or flush.

So if you are in the BB and there have already been 4 to 6 limpers, it is probably best to just call. You are going to be playing your hand out of position for the remaining betting rounds, and bloating the pot with a pre-flop raise is only like to encourage the drawing hands to stay in the pot for longer.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Do you realize why that's not necessarily a bad thing?