I finally got to 3bet 98s !!!

[Danielih]

See when I play I dont really limp. So whenever I limp I am essentially mixing up my play and people dont know what I have. Then I will limp reraise depending on the number of players , action, position yadda yadda.

The thing is If I am adopting a holdem strategy that involved a fair amount of limping then I will mix in limp reraising and if I mix in limp reraising then I will do it with AA and AQs.

I believe the counter argument is that when you limp with AA and it does not get raised behind you then you are giving up way too much EV. Well I think it all balances out and people see you limp with AA, then know you can limp reraise with it, you know you can limp reraise with any hand that you are going to play here because almost any hand you are holding is going to have an equity edge over the field.

Whether or not this is worthless rambling or not I dont know. What I can tell you for sure is that in higher limit games some people play fairly well and tight and aggresive but their hands are too easy to read. This doesnt just apply to holdem but omaha8 2-7 and other games as well. When they enter a pot and play a certain way I can put them on such a narrow range of hands they can almost never valuebet against me because I know what they have. It is also coupled with too low a bluffing frequency. Complex bluffing. Not just betting the river in a big pot when you miss. Because if your opponent is good they will know this and they will often raise or CR bluff the river on you. It depends on what level people are thinking on.

Also I think your example is far too simplistic. Trust me when I say you have no clue what kind of hand I might be holding and how I am going to play it after the flop. If the flop comes As 9h 3h and I have 8s9s I may cap it. But I might also cap it with AA and AK and 33 and 99 and KKh and QhJh JhTh and the like.

Sorry this isnt structured well nor is it much of an argument. But I can say almost certainly than an argument of pushing an equity edge preflop vs. hurting your implied odds later on is kind of silly. Situations are far too complex to be able to evaluate the merit of one vs. the other. How have all of the previous hands at the table affected how this hand is going to play out. How will your play on this given hand affect the play at the table for future hands. How will it affect how your opponents play against you in future sessions.

Also given the range of hands with which I will limp reraise with (large if I am employing this strategy) I believe the percentage of flops for which I carry on very aggresively is fairly high. So you will not easily be able to define my hand. If the flop comes A83 rainbow I may jam the flop with 56s and the next time I have 88 how are you gonna play against me. I am a maniac. You either have to put in a lot of bets and win or lose, miss a lot of bets when you do win, or fold.

Once again this is just my opinion. And I am not sure if what I am about to say is contradicted in my earlier statememts but I am not a fan of limping. After 3 limpers what are you limping with, suited connected, Axs , small to medium pairs?

Really it all depends on the game. LRR with 89s at that time could be very positive EV at the time in the game you were in. In a different game with the same situation it might be much closer to neutral EV. Poker is about your opponents, The best strategy depends on your opponents strategy and how they will react to you and how you will react to them.

Then again this is all just my opinion Im typing out without rereading.

I think the answer is, it depends.