Coldcalling first in

[SA125]

I've been finding more and more that re-raising is so much better than calling when first in that if the hand isn't good enough to 3 bet with first in I'll fold. It's much more effective and makes the hand so much easier to play.

Take 77-TT for instance. Assume you're against an EMP opener with a range of 77+, AJo+, ATs+ and KQs. Your 77-TT is a 55-45 dog. If you have a reasonable image, spending 1 more bet and 3 betting will give you these advantages -

1 - More info about the players coming in behind you.
2 - The likely chance of getting h/u.
3 - A better read on the opener whether he calls or caps.
4 - Deception.

Those 4 are worth a lot more than 1 extra SB and maybe 2.

Now take AJs. H/u against the opener's range it's a 60-40 dog. Throw in a random BB and it has 31% equity. Does that make it a better call than raise? I don't think so for the same reasons above.

The amount of times you can win the hand when the other player misses his overs, by 3 betting instead of calling with 77-TT-AJs, or making a better hand and getting paid off, seem to me to make it a clear case for 3 betting when first in.

Coming in late to the party multi-way obviously eliminates almost any chance of taking it down with a flop bet and makes a strong case for just calling. But with a hand like 77, I wonder why it makes sense to call first in knowing that if they come in behind you the odds of you winning unless you flop a set are dramatically reduced and have practically turned the hand into an all or nothing flop hand.

Comments would be welcome on what hands are worth being called first in, rather than raised, that have a decent chance at the pot on the flop that wouldn't be better served by a raise.

[wdcbooks]

This is something I have been meaning to post about for a while. I see the most powerful advantage of three betting is buying the presumption that you have the best hand. Even if you feel you are a small dog to your opponent's range you increase your chances to win with a raise.

I see a lot of analysis that that looks at the odds of one specific hand against another. Say AQo raises and AJs three bets. The AJ is a big dog if the hand is taken to the river. The equity is made up with the times neither hand hits.

Given two opponents of equal skill I would guess that the AJs would win more than half the time despite being a heavy underdog in the traditional sense. This is why raising rather than limping is so important. Much of the time no one hits their hand. Your profit comes from winning more of those confrontations than your opponent.

I am sorry this seems obvious. It is just something I think about when I am tempted to limp behind a player who likely has a hand similar in quality to my own. I want to be presumed to have the best hand going in as it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Schneids]

The tougher the competition the more useful cold calling first in becomes.

[stigmata]

[ QUOTE ]
The tougher the competition the more useful cold calling first in becomes.

[/ QUOTE ]

could you eloborate please?

[elindauer]

Hi SA125,

Here are a few quick thoughts on this topic.

First, it's clear that with the weakest hands you hold, reraising makes more sense than calling. This is simply because you don't really want other people to play against your vulnerable holding, and you want to represent a stronger hand than you have to get the other guy to fold asap.

Two situations can develop where calling does make sense though.

The first that occurs to me is when you in fact are very strong and don't want to telegraph your strength. Say UTG raises and you are next with AA. Do you really want to shut out the field with a 3-bet? Probably not.

The second is when you have a pretty strong hand, and find yourself against a tight raiser but with lots of loose opponents behind you. Again, say the raise is from UTG, and you hold AKs. OK, you can 3-bet and get it heads up, but your equity isn't that great. Why not coldcall and let the loose bad players who will now call 2 cold with XXs and Ax into the hand? I find many players will call raises with unbelievably weak holdings, but very few will call 3 cold with anything near that same range.


So yes, 77 and AJs, you probably want to 3-bet if you choose to play. Other, stronger hands though, especially if the raiser is tight and the players behind you are very loose, you may want to call.


-eric