Play a Hand With the Masters #2 Pre-Flop

[Lloyd]

I think asking Gigabet to talk about how he thinks he's perceived by others is asking a bit too much. I believe he has a general reputation of being an exceptional player (at times even referred to as the best online player), very good at reading opponents and putting people to a test, creative, and aggressive where aggression is warranted.

What could be interesting is for people to discuss how someone's reputation might influence their action and the action of others.

[nfpceo]

I raise to T400. If any of the stacks below T2000 raise me I'm willing to go all in. For the other stacks it will depend on the size of their raise and my view on their play.

I'm rarely limping with this hand but if any of the players are very agressive pre-flop or the big stack likes to put pressure on players I will limp hoping to trap.

[adanthar]

I got that from Fossilman's posts way back in the day...yes, it's a means of keeping the pot smaller, makes folding to a reraise easier, plus some other things. Search the archives for Greg's post (somebody have the name?)

[KramerTM]

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I think asking Gigabet to talk about how he thinks he's perceived by others is asking a bit too much. I believe he has a general reputation of being an exceptional player (at times even referred to as the best online player), very good at reading opponents and putting people to a test, creative, and aggressive where aggression is warranted.

What could be interesting is for people to discuss how someone's reputation might influence their action and the action of others.

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Anyone have any links to some "classic" Gigabet MTT hands handy in the archives?

[Lloyd]

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Do you call or raise? If you raise, to what? Since most players usually raise with AK in this spot, under what scenarios would you just limp and why? If you raise and get re-raised, what's your plan (which obviously could depend on which player re-raises you)?

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I am always raising this to 275 or 300, barring something weird like a maniac behind me that's gonna raise it himself so I can push.

If I get reraised, it depends on the stack size and read I have on the player.

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Ok, I assume the read means that if it's an uber tight player raising you'll fold if not getting very good odds assuming all of the chips go in. Other than that type of a read, how does stack size effect your decision?

[Lloyd]

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Raise to 300 and I'm calling all-in/pushing versus a raise.

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So if an uber-tight player pushes you're calling?

[Mr_Oog]

I would raise to 300, planning to call a re-raise unless the re-raiser is very tight.

The only time I would limp is if I am trapping a maniac AND the rest of the table would fold to maniac's expected raise. I'd hate to trap a maniac and have someone isolation push before it got back to me.

-Mike

[KramerTM]

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Raise to 300 and I'm calling all-in/pushing versus a raise.

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So if an uber-tight player pushes you're calling?

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I thought we have no strong reads?

[adanthar]

Any of the shorties pushing means my chips go in, obviously.

Otherwise...I think the raise size can be a big tell sometimes. Let's say I'm more likely to fold if a 2300 stack makes it 1000 than I would if a 3K stack did it.

In my mind, AK in early position has everything to do with table dynamics. If I think I've got a loose reputation, I'm making my standard raise (usually 3x) and probably calling a push. I think this gives me the best odds of getting it all in against a hand I dominate. If it's an aggressive table or there is a particular player who tends to attack limpers, then I like a limp-re-raise or limp-push; this is a good way to take down a reasonably sized pot while still generating fold equity against a fair number of hands (pocket pairs) that are slight favorites pre-flop. There's also a good chance one of the medium stacks will push a hand like AQ, especially if I'm known to limp a lot.

Raising to 300 is my default play.