2/4 open limping..

[Ringo]

I'm still having trouble getting me head round this whole "dont open limp" thing. At a 9-seater table, if seat 1 is sb and seat 9 the cutoff - are these plays standard?

1) I'm in seat 6. Folded to me with 7c8c - I raise 4bb. Comments? How does this change if its folded to me in seat 4?

2) All fold to late position limper (seat 7). Seat 8 and nine fold, and I find AJ - is raising 4bb here madness?

[kagame]

1. bit early pos. for this, why not just fold?

2. youll have to raise more to get most people to fold, and if called you have to make a continuation bet on most flops, this gets really tricky OOP

[evil_twin]

1) I'd just fold. Ideally you want a multiway pot with position in order to play this. The problem with raising this when it's been folded to you is that unless only the BB or SB call then you're likely to be playing a raised pot OOP with a crap hand... not ideal. Of course a raise is fine sometimes, but it certainly wouldn't be my standard play.

2) You're on the button with AJ? Well, a raise is probably in order. The issue that often arises here is that because it's been folded to you and then you raise on the button the blinds assume you're full or crap and call/raise. This isn't so bad since you have an OK hand with position, but without care one can find yourself playing a big pot when you didn't really want to. I'd like to hear the better players view on this situation.

[AceHiStation]

Why raise 4BBs? I raise the 7c8c up about 1/6 times, and only raise it 3BBs. I'll raise the AJsuited about 2/3 of the time. The point is to always do things differently. If you need help doing this, take Harrington's advice... use your watch second hand as a random number generator. If seconds is between 50-0, raise 78suited, otherwise limp.

[Marlow]

[ QUOTE ]
If you need help doing this, take Harrington's advice... use your watch second hand as a random number generator. If seconds is between 50-0, raise 78suited, otherwise limp.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's freaking brilliant. I gotta get me that book. It's obviously got some good stuff for ring games, too...

Marlow
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[KKsuited]

the obvious problem to me is the 7,8 is not a playing hand most of the time in that position. I believe the rule is don't open limp with "playable hands", unless you're in late position, then I'll raise with a ton of hands.

You can also see that raising with 7,8 will norrow the field, which is not what you want. You want to play that hand mulit-way so the odds are favorable.

[Ringo]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I see the points regarding hand 1. It is a bit early, and with no limpers before, it probably is a fold. What I was thinking was the "don`t open limp with a hand I'd be playing anyway". So if the 7c8c changes to 66, and it`s folded to me in seat 6, should I open for a raise?

Lets say I have KQ in seat 4 (utg+1) - can I really open for a raise here - or does the open limping only apply to hands that I'd be playing anyway, _and_ in late position?

Oh, and 4bb is my standard pf raise, regardless of my hand. Is there any advantages to mixing this up?

[gomberg]

If the game is passive, then don't feel "bad" about open-limping. Sure, in a normal, aggro game it's not going to be a good idea, but I open limp all the time in passive games if most preflops aren't raised. If you do open limp and are raised a decent amount, just fold. If you do this a couple times, stop open limping till you get a good hand, then lay down a limp-reraise --- even from MP or LP.