Bet sizing relative to pot and stack sizes for live $2-100 spread limit

I've recently started playing some live cash games at my local casino, and I'm having some trouble with figuring out appropriate bet sizes relative to the size of the stacks and the pot.

The max buy-in for this game is $200. Blinds are $1/2. Preflop raises of $8-15 are common, and there are frequently multiple callers. So, for example, if there is a PFR of $12 and there are 3 callers, that's $50 in the pot before the flop ever comes, which amounts to 1/4 of my entire stack. I like to make 1/2 to pot sized bets depending on whether I'm trying charge people for drawing, take down the pot right then, etc. etc. The problem is that after a couple of streets I could easily be all-in with top pair, which doesn't seem like good poker.

Does anyone have any advice for how to maneuver effectively in this type of game?

you have some choices
A. buy-in bigger
B. happily stack off with TPGK+ on the turn with a PSB left
C. make your preflop raises smaller
D. Buy in for 50 BBs and stack off pre or just stick it in on the flop with top pair/8+ out draws.

probably C is the least favorable. Online you can get people to fold the SB for $1 in a $1-$2 game but the SB is probably calling 99% in live games.

Thanks for the reply baudib1. Unfortunately $200 is the maximum buy-in for the game, so buying in bigger isn't an option. Also, with smaller preflop raises I don't think anyone would fold. The standard PFR sizing is probably on average ~$12, ranging often between $8 to as much as $15.

Buying in smaller is an interesting idea, although I'd hate to miss out on value with a monster hand...

i guess you could raise even bigger. go up to $25 or $30, which is not uncommon for my $1-$2 games.

you then raise less often in EP and rarely call raises before HJ/CO.

One option is to play ultra tight (which is not fun). Once I played in a game like this and played exactly 5 hands in 3.5 hours. Bought in for $200 left with $800. That was also several years ago and YMMV.

I have the same situation at my card houses. All I do is play in position like a boss. Often I get several hands where everyone just limps in and we get 5-7 ppl seeing a flop for the minimum. I like playing suited connectors and suited 1 and 2 gappers here. Just make sure you dump them if you miss and if you hit, you really have to get a good read on your players to get to showdown. Keep the pots small and I'll bet for value on the river if I feel im good.

Set mining in any position is profitable if you can get in cheap.

As far as TPGK+ I find that betting 25-35$ into a 50$ pot with 3 callers will often take the pot down. Some of the times I'll get 1 caller who either has a draw or middle pair. Sometimes they will have a better kicker than you or 2 pair but if you are playing your position correctly and they keep checking to you, you can keep betting. Alot of times a bet on the turn will take the pot if they were on a draw. If I get much resistance I will rely on reads to determine weather to check or bet the river.

Ahh dude. I had EXACTLY the same problem. I was playing at Star City super casino in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and I bought into the 1/2 games with 100 dollars. Im only 19 but I figured I could afford to lose 100. Anyway, at first I assumed that all these proportionately large (in comparison with stack size) raises pre flop meant huge hands and I was constantly folding. When I did get a hand I would bet and then get raised and raised and I thought that my tptk must not be good, anyway I went right down to 30 dollars after only 40 minute or so. But then the cards started going to showdown and I was watching how every one play and I realised they were retarded donky's so I rebought for 100 giving me 130 dollars starting stack. And I played only premium hands and when I hit I raised large and hoped my cards held up. They did.

I had a risky start tbh, JUST after I rebought, I landed my self pocket aces. So I raised to 20 dollars pre flop and to my surprise I got 2 callers. After the flop I bet hard with 30 dollars I checked the turn, noob bet, I called. Then the river gave me a third ace. He bet again. I called. The idiot had called a large pre flop raise with 4-5 offsuit. He flopped 2 ****ing pair. I won the pot on the river. After that I was lucky that my TPTK Held up and I was able to almost triple my buy in.

In total I played about 1 hand an hour for the 5 hours I was there. I got pocket Aces twice, Pocket kings, which I had to fold :/ and Ace King and King Queen. I won all of the pots that I entered into.

My advice, if it's good would be to wait for premium hands, not to bluff. Because if you are patient and finally make a hand, you WILL get paid off for it. These idiots are calling 40 dollars with bottom and middle pair :S

One example of a hand I played a while back helps illustrate my dilemma. I had pocket kings and faced a post-flop raise on a dry board from a very aggressive player whom earlier I had seen make some somewhat strange plays (ex, called 3 streets of bets from an EP player with A 4 offsuit with no draws on board, spiking an A on the river and taking the pot.)

I raised him and continued betting on the turn, which he called, and then I spiked a 3rd K on the river. At this point I had only enough chips left to push all-in with a smallish sized bet relative to the size of the pot. He called, and turned over trip sevens to lose to my trip kings. I thought I was ahead the entire hand, but I could have easily lost my entire stack in this hand with just an overpair. And I don't feel like I was overvaluing the overpair, just that that's how the bet sizes/pot sizes/stack sizes play out in this game...hence my confusion!

Sounds like a pretty standard hand to me. He got lucky and spiked a set on the flop. As long as you realize that an overpair isnt invulnerable and you are thinking about what this guy who keeps calling you could possibly have and get away from the hand when you think you are beat you'll be fine.

In your KK vs 77 example you are going to win 4 out of 5 of these matchups. So if you have a donk that is going to keep calling your bets down and your pot is 200$ long term this is profitable. The place it gets tricky is where you have to have a read on your opponent. If hes a good TAG player and he keeps calling your bets you should have some red flags going off saying WTF is this guy still calling me for?

Haha your 3rd river king saved you, just as my 3rd river ace saved me. Our hands are almost identical play wise. It's just so hard to put people on a hand in live play because the bets are so large in comparison to stack size. My one rule in live play, is once you significantly enter a hand, be prepared to go to showdown. This means if I call on the flop I must have a very clear idea about what I am going to need. If it's a flush draw it's very simple, I will either shove or fold. If it's TPTK, once I call that first bet from them, I am commitited. If I dont think my tptk is good on the flop I will fold.

This suggests you folded kings pre, which is badddddd