Raise pocket 9's in EP?

[SenecaJim]

I can't quote formulas to back it up, but I believe this is one of those really close decisions. That's why I like to use this hand to mix up my game some, feel minimal harm either way long as you play it well post flop. So sometimes I raises ep here, and sometimes I limp it from the button.

[crunchy1]

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My usual standard stops at TT in EP.

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Explain how raising 99 is significantly better or worse.

You should reason out that - it's not.

When you start discussing marginal situations like these you'll realize that the ones advocating raising this hand are: (A) pretty decent post-flop players, (B) who can maximize on the situation whether there's one caller or 8 callers and (C) are more willing to gamble it up, with a raise, on the small edge that they likely have over the remaining opponents.

[thejameser]

there are acutally alot of reasons to raise mid pocket pairs in EP. alot of time you have the best hand so you raise. you usually prefer less competition to the flop for your hand to hold up to the river so you raise. you want to eliminate as many people behind you as possible to minimize your OOP disadvantage so you raise. it disguises your hand to a certain extent, which is good for shania reasons. a mid pocket pair for me in EP is not an automatic raise, but most of the games inwhich i play tend to be those that i do raise. FWIW, i raise 77+ most of the time in EP. its all about game conditions and how you are viewed, really. you just have to play carefully after the flop and continue with properly faceted aggression to steal or win at showdown. and if i hit a set, watch the fireworks, baby!