Pre flop check up posts.
I thought it would be helpful to start an ongoing thread where people can post pre flop situations they have questions a
JTo is the easiest fold of this set. The A7 is the next one up for me. If the limper is the type who is limping better aces or 88+ we just fold. But if the limper basically always has something worse than you, you can go ahead and raise. Same with the A9, this is a pretty straightforward raise versus weak ranges IMO, but against strong limping ranges (which can be common at low
You are just looking for trouble ISO raising with A7o from the HJ against any range.
BTN small-mid PPs...this comes up ocassionally in my 4/8 8/16 games....3-4 limpers to me CO/OTB with 22-77.
Blinds generally will call raise with almost ATC, auto raise for me, yes?
This is a rare situation where I'd be looking to overlimp and set mine/mine for an otherwise very favorable board. And I don't think raising with the goal of buying a four-card flop is worth it because you're doubling your cost of entry for the benefit of basically one more chance at a two-out draw. Buying yourself a four-card flop is much more useful with hands that are going to have a more outs when they miss the flop. A pocket pair is going to be drawing more thinly than basically any other hand when it's behind.
BTN small-mid PPs...this comes up ocassionally in my 4/8 8/16 games....3-4 limpers to me CO/OTB with 22-77.
Blinds generally will call raise with almost ATC, auto raise for me, yes
It’s actually fine to do this imo. And no set no bet.
But stick to 4+ limpers even if you know blinds are coming along.
This is a rare situation where I'd be looking to overlimp and set mine/mine for an otherwise very favorable board. And I don't think raising with the goal of buying a four-card flop is worth it because you're doubling your cost of entry for the benefit of basically one more chance at a two-out draw. Buying yourself a four-card flop is much more useful with hands that are going
It’s for value, board coverage when raising preflop, image, overall deception
BTN small-mid PPs...this comes up ocassionally in my 4/8 8/16 games....3-4 limpers to me CO/OTB with 22-77.
Blinds generally will call raise with almost ATC, auto raise for me, yes
I over limp with 22-55. I might raise after multiple limper’s with 66+. This would be to build a big pot to tie players in and get paid off when I flop a set. 66+ have some playability other than flopping a set. I do not raise for image purposes or board coverage etc. low limit players are simply not paying enough attention. Also, even if you have a tight image they are gonna get in there with what ever they would anyway. They love the idea of busting your Aces.
Recent HH, 4 limps to me OTB with red 7s, I overlimp, blinds come along.
Flop is 762cc. Checks to me, I bet, SB calls, BB raises, 1 call, I 3!, SB folds, BB calls, fold.
Turn is Jc, BB checks I bet, he calls.
River is a 4th club. He checks, I check behind. He shows 6h2c. Not sure if a pre raise(or a river bet?) folds him out at 4/8 or not, but why I posted, I have been mixing in limps and raises in this spot(mostly raising 66+ and limping others)
It's super results oriented to base your preflop strategy off how a specific hand played out. It's especially egregious here because you were actually in a great spot here on the flop. It's absolutely amazeballs to flop top set against a lower two pair. The fact that it came running clubs has nothing to do with your preflop strategy.
Eh, against reasonable low stakes limping ranges, which can actually include hands that are quite strong, I expect 77-55 to be a slight equity favorite and 44-22 to be more like breakeven equitywise. But it's pretty hard to realize your hot-and-cold equity with these hands when you don't flop a set. And to whatever extent we need to care about board coverage (and I'm not convinced it matters much), I'd rather be raising suited aces or even suited connectors.
BTN small-mid PPs...this comes up ocassionally in my 4/8 8/16 games....3-4 limpers to me CO/OTB with 22-77.
Blinds generally will call raise with almost ATC, auto raise for me, yes
I never raise here. You're not an equity favorite; the only reason these hands are profitable is implied odds when you hit a set.
If I’m playing from the button in a family pot I’m raising, never limping. If for no other reason than rake consideration. There are other reasons as well.
Half a complaint but.. decently soft 20/40 game, Hero opens KQo UTG and MP and SB call. Passive fish in BB raises closing the action and...
It seems insane to fold but what are we really trying to flop here? Trip Queens or Broadway? Have to range BB here as KK+ and mayyybe AK/QQ/JJ. But he's the kind of player that makes nonsensical flats and raising a big street with trips on the board you just know it's quads.
Also I have seen a rather surprising number of completely baffling backraises in this type of spot so no promise it's strictly 11:1 to call either.
If the cap is 4 you can’t fold. With KQs in this game it’s probably a shrug cap. If the cap is 5 then perhaps there’s some merit in a fold but wouldn’t feel good about it. Assuming of course your read on BB is 99% certain.
It's super results oriented to base your preflop strategy off how a specific hand played out. It's especially egregious here because you were actually in a great spot here on the flop. It's absolutely amazeballs to flop top set against a lower two pair. The fact that it came running clubs has nothing to do with your preflop strategy.
I should have been more clear, this was obviously an extreme bad case but as I said I have been mixing raise/call and there is some disagreement among the gurus on META here so I feel better.
What do you mean by an equity favorite?
You don't have >50% equity? OBV
You don't have > average of the bets going in? You sure about that?
The latter. It depends on what ranges you give to the other players, but usually small pocket pairs have slightly lower than average equity.
Plus, as someone else pointed out, the equity that it may have unimproved is hard to realize. The reason to play them is the high implied odds when you flop a set. The more you put in preflop, the lower the implied odds.
Here's a sample hand I made, and I did not cherry pick - this is one of the more favorable scenarios. If any other player has a pocket pair larger than yours, your equity goes considerably further down.
