Question on Raising in HE NL from a Tourney Newbie

[brianmarc]

I'm an experienced HE cash player at the 20/40 and 30/60 level and have started playing single-table tourneys for some variety. My problem is, what are the kinds of considerations on the level to bet when you are raising? I can figure out when I need to raise-e.g., what hands are worth it, whether I'm protecting my hand, getting more money in the pot, semi-bluffing or on an outright steal. Most of the players in my games either use the auto-raise amount-i.e., doubling the bet, or go all-in. There's a big gap between those two, and I have not been able to find anything online or in my extensive poker library that discusses this issue. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Bluff Daddy]

If i have a decent stack compared to the players in the blinds i min raise alot. When the blinds are high most people that wont call an all in wont call a min raise either. The only time im going all in is when im short stacked.

[wjmooner]

Raising the minimum is rarely the correct play. Most winning players will raise around 3x the BB every time they raise. If you have about 8x the BB or less (say 1200 with BB at 150) then a normal 3x raise would pot commit you, or very close. Thus the push with shallow money becomes the correct play.

Chris

[brianmarc]

Tx for replying, but you're a bit cryptic. I don't understand a couple of things: What do mean "would pot commit you", and how does it relate to the 8X? And what's to "push": check, all-in?

[eMarkM]

Go with a standard 3X BB when open raising preflop. Pot it or a little less when reraising, you can vary this, but don't vary based on your cards but just kinda randomly. If the raise is going to be more than 1/3 of your chips, push all-in.