adjusting bet sizes

[Bartman387]

As I have played and discovered my own poker style I have found success always raising when I open and always raising the same amount no matter what my hand, be it AA or 72.

The idea behind sometimes raising 3x BB with AA most of the time and then raising different amounts other times is to disguise your hand. However wouldn't always raising the same amount be the best disguise?

I'm sure I'm forgetting something from HOH, but as I have found success with this method I see no reason to vary bets, as both methods disguise your hand. All varying your bets does is make people try and find a pattern to your bet sizes.

Can someone with more experience correct me or give me more insight on this topic. Also, I should let it be known I am focusing more on tourney poker than ring games.

[AKQJ10]

The reason to vary is hinted at by this sentence:

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All varying your bets does is make people try and find a pattern to your bet sizes.

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The more time people are wasting trying to find a pattern where there is none, the less time they'll have for finding genuine tells.

That said, I've heard making every raise consistent offered as an alternative to Harringtonesque mixing it up, and IMO it's a close second. Both are far preferable to "raise to seven times the BB with aces but only to twice with KJs", or conversely "raise to seven times with KJs to steal the pot but only to twice with aces because you're really sneaky and you want action." Either one is obviously bad against sentient opponents; making the same raise all the time is far far preferable.

Sometimes for randomness I do silliness like raise to 5x if my pair is two red cards, but only to 3x if it's two black cards. Then on a whim I might switch it to the reverse. Doesn't matter as long as there's no pattern discernable even by the hyper-observant.

[ninjaunderwear]

I like to always bet the roughly the same amount, randomly varying the bet size by an insignificant amount, thereby getting the best of both worlds. "Good" opponents love to overthink why I chose to bet 3.25 BB or 2.75 BB.

[pzhon]

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As I have played and discovered my own poker style I have found success always raising when I open and always raising the same amount no matter what my hand, be it AA or 72.

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There are many good reasons to open-limp, particularly in early position when the stacks are deep. Some hands are profitable if you open-limp, but you risk too much to gain too little when you raise. You might expect to be called or reraised too frequently, and you might regret raising instead of limping or folding too much when these happen.

When you raise after limpers, you usually want to raise more. After some of the blinds or limpers fold, the next limpers will be getting much better pot odds if you have only raised to 3 BB.

Many good players prefer to make smaller open-raises in early position (when you demonstrate more strength, but do not know whether the pot will be multi-way, and you may be out of position against a premium hand) than in late position.

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However wouldn't always raising the same amount be the best disguise?

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When you raise instead of limping, you are revealing information about your hand. If you do this properly, the benefits outweigh the risks. The same is true about varying the sizes of your raises based on which hand you have. You give up some information, but you try not to make it useful information.

The goal is to win, not to confuse your opponents as they take your chips.

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All varying your bets does is make people try and find a pattern to your bet sizes.

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No. Raising different amounts with different hands changes the ranges of hands with which people call/reraise. It changes the likelihood of taking the button. It changes the likelihood that the pot will be multiway. Raising different amounts can make your postflop decisions easier and improve the efficiency with which you attack the blinds.