Why Should I Raise?

[sthief09]

here are 3 situations where conventional wisdom says I should be raising. However, in each situation I see good reason to just call. please explain to me why I should raise.

1. You have AKs UTG+1. the table is very good and there are a few LAG's behind you. as is typical, they will call a lot of hands for 2 bets but a lot less for 3. UTG, a TAG, raises. why should you 3-bet?

2. you have AJs UTG. there are a bunch of loose players behind you, but again, as I think is typical, they will limp or overlimp with all kinds of trash, but they have some standards when it comes to cold calling. the blinds are typical. why should I raise (as opposed to limp reraising)

3. you have AA on the button. the blinds are both big LAGs who overplay their hands postflop and rarely fold for just one more bet from the blinds, but will be a bit selective for 2 more. a TAG opens from MP. why should you 3-bet?

[stoxtrader]

calls are fine in scenarios 1 and 2, the implied odds you are getting justify reducing the value of your current equity.

scenario #3 I dont think the same argument applies because the value of your current equity is very large, and there are dominated hands that will call 3 out of the BB as well. But this one is closer.

[ QUOTE ]
here are 3 situations where conventional wisdom says I should be raising. However, in each situation I see good reason to just call. please explain to me why I should raise.

1. You have AKs UTG+1. the table is very good and there are a few LAG's behind you. as is typical, they will call a lot of hands for 2 bets but a lot less for 3. UTG, a TAG, raises. why should you 3-bet?

2. you have AJs UTG. there are a bunch of loose players behind you, but again, as I think is typical, they will limp or overlimp with all kinds of trash, but they have some standards when it comes to cold calling. the blinds are typical. why should I raise (as opposed to limp reraising)

3. you have AA on the button. the blinds are both big LAGs who overplay their hands postflop and rarely fold for just one more bet from the blinds, but will be a bit selective for 2 more. a TAG opens from MP. why should you 3-bet?

[/ QUOTE ]
No play in poker is automatic, the right situation can change any book strategy.
1. In my opinion this is a great situation to just call with AKs. In this situation calling will make more money than 3 betting in the long run in my opinion. I would rather play AKs six handed than one on one, but maybe thats just me.
2. With AJs utg i usually limp in a tight game to encourage multiway pots and raise in a loose game. Your description still sounds like a good situation to raise AJs since youll probably get atleast 3 callers. However if you felt that raising AJs would likely win you the blinds or get you heads up, but just calling would put you in a 6 handed situation, then limping looks fine.
3. If you think that both the lags will come in if you just call, then I love calling here also. Sure if you just call here you will not win as often as if you 3 bet, but your goal is not to win, your goal is to make money, letting in 2 bad players will make you more money in the long run than 3 betting them out of the pot in my opinion.

[InfernoLL]

I'll take a crack at it.

1. While AKs is a clear equity favorite over a bunch of loose callers, it may not be as big a favorite as you think. In EP, letting in a bunch of loose callers behind you is good the times you end up winning the hand, but is bad when you make a pair and have to pay off some weird holding that flopped something unexpected. It's also bad when you miss and can't win the hand unimproved because everyone is still in. A hand like this has terrible reverse implied odds, so I want to put the money in as a favorite before the flop.

2. I don't think AJs is a good enough hand to want tons of callers. Is it an equity favorite? Yes. Does it play well after the flop? Usually not, especially if you haven't taken the lead. You can play this hand like a suited connector or low pair, but I think it has more value limiting the field for its high card strength.

3. I agree allowing the blinds to overcall may occasionally (or often in the right game) be the best move. The problem is that after the flop it's likely to go check- check- bet- raise- fold- fold- call anyway, so you're basically giving the blinds good odds to outflop you or make an easy fold. I'd rather greatly increase my chances of winning the pot while getting in almost the same amount of money preflop, especially in a situation where your three bet looks like a common isolation move that can get you action from a worse hand while limiting risk.

[NMcNasty]

You want to raise in situations 1 and 2 because there's still a significant chance that you can win the pot with just ace high. When you just call, not only do you have to hit your hand to win, but all the extra players that came in with connectors, and small pairs, and suited garbage can't hit their hands. Another way to think of this is that if UTG raises with AQ and you 3 bet with AKs you're about a 3 to 1 favorite to win the hand, but if you just call with AKs and someone else calls with 22, you won't even win the pot half the time. The amount from small pots that you win with ace high far outweighs the couple extra bets you get when you make a flush.

[B Dids]

Hand one I can see calling.

Hand two I feel like raising makes it easier to play post flop, maybe, but I'm not sure that's a fantastic reason to do so.

Hand three feels like a spot where I auto raise by maybe I shouldn't.

[amulet]

1. calling is fine. however, as you know, if you raise limiting the field gives you the best chance of winning the pot. while aks plays well multiway, you are out of position vs the lag and you make a flush less then 6% of the time. yes, there are many additional ways to win, however as you allow each opponent to join the pot your positive ev goes down. the question is where is your ev greater. while the call wins you more big pots, i think the ev of 3 betting is greater over time. additionally if you 3 bet, the way to describe the table you might get 1 or 2 to join anyway. also i like to get the most money in the pot when i think i have the best hand.
overall both are ok plays. however, again, i think your ev is somewhat greater with the 3 bet. you goal is not to win the most pots, or to win the biggest pots, it is to win the most money over time. therefore, i 3 bet most of the time.

2. as is everything in poker, this is somewhat game dependent. and you do not want to be 3 bet with ajs. however, i think raising has even more value here then question 1. you want to limit the field here more then above. winning a big pot would be great, but winning the pot is the goal. again we have the same positive ev question as above. raising forces out some k's and q's that could beat you if the flop comes j high. yes, this hand plays well multiway, but i like it with a limited field much better. i like forcing kqo, aqo, qts, etc. to fold. and from what you say several of the players behind you will join anyway. i think your here ev is greater with a raise.

3. this one is the only must raise in my opinion. AA vs 4 opponents is not 50% to win. you will lose more often then you win if you do not raise and both blinds join. of course both plays have a positive ev. but if you raise, and one of the blinds calls anyway that puts more $ in the pot with the best hand, vs calling and having both join (and the extra opponent). with only 1 pair, even AA, i think not raising costs you $. in this case your ev will be significantly more positive then a call (even if you end up heads up). of the 3 questions, in 1 i think it is a little close, but a raise increases your ev, in 2 while both plays are ok the raise has a bigger positive ev then in 1, and in 3 the positive ev will be significant vs 1 and 2.

[flawless_victory]

i dont think ive ever just called in the sit described in hand 1... given your relative position, i think its not a good play.
hand 2 and 3 i "just call" pretty regularly...