Should my PFR% be lower at the lower limits?

I play almost exclusively at .25/.50 and .50/$1 limits. My pfr% is only around 4%. I am reluctant to raise pre-flop with hands like JJ and TT at these limits b/c so many players will play any ace, any king, etc., and I know when I'm in against 4-5 players and an ace, king, or queen comes on the flop I'm beat. I always raise with AA and KK, and I almost always raise with QQ, but I'll sometimes limp in in MP or LP with JJ and lower if 3 or more have already limped (I'm actually more likely to raise with JJ in early position if I feel it will narrow the field). Should I be concerned to increase my pre-flop aggression?

don't be so passive. not raising good hands because you think you're going to eventually get outdrawn is poor strategy. push the edge when you have it. raising TT or JJ depends on how many opponents you're up against and your position of course.
you make money when the singleton ace or king holders don't fold and don't hit their 3 outer. if raises don't thin the field of these players, and an ace comes and there's a lot of action, you can know you're beat at least. (for the most part)

Thanks for the reply. I see your point, of course--not raising pre-flop with premium starting hands is bad strategy. But, I guess my question is really something like this; if I know that there will be four or five callers to my pfr, is raising pre-flop with a hand like JJ really +EV? The chances that at least one of those four or five players hold a Q or better are very high, and the chance that an A, K or Q flops and no J when I hold JJ is 59%. Given these facts, is my pfr with JJ still +EV?

the probability forum would be good for answering this i suppose.
JJ can often win unimproved but not against a lot of people, but don't adopt this mindset "AK, and JJ, TT, etc are drawing hands and could be ruined by a bad flop, so i don't raise preflop. i like to see the flop cheaply."
what you're up against is implicit collusion. preflop you have an edge against the 5 random hands, but you can't expect to win every hand when you have the advantage.
playing semi strong hands really depends on the game and your opponents though.

ok to sum up, i'd say a preflop raise with JJ is +EV because you also have good implied odds in those loose passive games. i wouldn't get into a raising war with JJ but i just think you're giving up too much by not raising it pf.

Implicit collusion is the bugaboo of micro-limits!

Thanks for the input.

[Forbillz]

You should still be raising with JJ even if you expect 6 to every flop. It's about equity here, IMO. You're going to win with JJ more than one out of every 7 times (again, you're assuming 6 to the flop) so it's a +EV move to raise. You may not win this hand wiht your JJ, but in the long run, you're still charging those players with the weakest holdings to call additional bets.

Think of your JJ this way....there are four cards that can come that may pair a singleton holding better than your jack. The Q is iffy, because many players won't play Qx against a raise. But then there are 9 cards that can come that are lower than your JJ and won't beat you if they pair a singleton.

You will hit your trips on the flop roughly 12% of the time (2 outs 3x) add the times that you win unimproved and the times you make straights and flushes, and you've got great odds against the 4-5 players. Punish them.

[AKQJ10]

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You should still be raising with JJ even if you expect 6 to every flop.

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According to HEPFAP, the exception would be when you expect three or four to the flop if you raise but 6 if you call. Then you want to play for set value because JJ doesn't play well against precisely two or three opponents*. At least that's Sklansky and Malmuth's take. In low limits it rarely matters because people will merrily call two bets as easily as they call one.

Keep in mind that JJ is about even money to flop either an overpair or a set, and both of those can be extremely profitable in a multiway pot. If your pot equity is well above 16%, but less than 50%, and you're guaranteed a 6-way pot regardless, you want that pot to be as big as possible so that your share can be as big as possible.


*I'm 90% sure it says "two or three opponents" but don't have it handy right now.

[AKQJ10]

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...The chance that an A, K or Q flops and no J when I hold JJ is 59%. Given these facts, is my pfr with JJ still +EV?

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I need to rerun the numbers, because I came up with about 51%. But regardless, your JJ still has MUCH more equity than its "fair share" in a six-way pot. If you're putting in two bets to win ten, you don't need to win 50% of the time. Winning 25% or even 20% of the time still makes raising EV, especially if it won't limit the field.

[SheridanCat]

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If you're putting in two bets to win ten, you don't need to win 50% of the time. Winning 25% or even 20% of the time still makes raising EV, especially if it won't limit the field.

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This is important and bears calling out. Remember, we're playing to win money, not win pots. As long as your bets and raises are consistently going in when you have an equity edge, they are +EV by definition.

Yes, you will suffer painful losses when some joker catches an overcard, but we're playing for the long term and betting/raising when you have an equity edge is the best way to make money.

Checking and calling may save you bets in the pot right now, but it's going to cost you overall long-term.

Regards,

T