Open Limp with deuces, Fold, or 3-4x BB raise

Open Limp with deuces, Fold, or 3-4x BB raise?

So whether UTG against a VERY tight table... which of the three would u do?

I don't need the run down on how bad 22 is in early pos...

Just want your feedback on how you would play it. I would have a decent read on everyone on the table and be able to outplay them after the flop.

Since you say it is a VERY tight table, I say raise. If you get reraised you're pretty much beat, so it would be an easy fold. Chances are you just get one caller or just take it down there. A tight table (I would think) will give you credit for a big hand raising from UTG.

I say limp. It's a drawing hand and you'll get paid handsomely if you hit (obviously) and as it's a very tight table you'll be able to bluff at some point as the hand develops.

If there is a big raise behind you preflop it then becomes an easy and not very costly fold.

Fold.

If the table is tight then you will not be able to assume you will get paid off if you hit a set. A set is the best hand you can really hope for with 22.. so the answer is to fold.

9 handed or 6 max?
stack sizes?
what is ur image like?
blind to stack ratio?
cash game or tournament?
if tournament, what stage is it.bubble or late stages or early?
are u deep stacked or short stacked?


we need to know this before deciding what we will do, no 2 situations are ever the same in poker so there is no default play

Fold, 22 is trash only call if you are getting the right odds to call.

Raising is too risky, you may take down the pot and get called.
Then what if all overcards come on the flop then what the hell do you do.
You will prob C-bet and prob get away with it, but if your called then you could be on your way to losing your stack over a crap hand.

Well depending on my chip count,in most cases against a tight table I would make a raise.
try to see a flop see how the rest of the table reacts to the raise etcetc...

22 is a limpable hand that can pay off extremely well if you hit a set. If you were on or near the button, I'd raise. Since you're UTG, just limp and fold if anyone else makes a raise of 3xbb or more. If you raise and others call, you're putting yourself in a very bad spot, since you'd probably need to make a big continuation bet.

And are at a table prepared to play for stacks with less than a set.

The OP described the table as tight.

Since one has a 1/8 chance (approx.) of hitting a set on the flop, is it worth limping in and risk getting re-raised and then having to fold? or limping in and not having 8 or more people for there to be favorable/even odds? Or are the odds more complicated? I have wondered about this, since 22 is a coin flip against pretty much any hand (including 34 off or suited for example). I started folding my pocket 2's a while back, because I didn't really know what to do with hands like that (seemed like I lost too much/ didn't know how to play them). Same story with 3's.

i would simply set mine and look to see the flop cheaply. people are overplaying small pp a lot.

Of course 22 is not a very strong hand to be raising with in any position, but if you're at a very tight table does it matter if it is 22 you're opening with? I hear alot of the common knowledge saying "Hands like 22 -44 are better to open with in late position if nobody had opened already." But i ask why only in late positions?

I know the common arguement is: if you get raised you are playing 22 out of pos, if called and you don't hit a set or strong draw (A, 3, 5 for example, which is unlikely) you are likely beat by any overcards that flop.. ect...

IMO, at certain times in a session or tourney, raising UTG with any two can be profitable. At least 22 and the like is (are) a made pair with set potential, and you don't even need to connect to take a pot if called. and I'm not just talking about the standard c-bet play.

Condsider this: It is a very tight table, and you (I assume) are fairly tight as well. In this example stack and blind sizes are not entirely relevant. Anyways, think about it. At a tight table, with a fairly tight image, what kinds of hands do your opponents expect you to be opening with? 99+, AK,AQ AJsuited and the like are the likely range for a tight opener UTG. Now you see the flop and you completely whiff. If there are any cards in your likely raising range, you can either c-bet and represent strength, and if you get called, you can re-assess on the turn depending on texture, and play the hand based your reads of the caller and the story you are tyting to sell him/her. OR, you can pull the handy check-raise if they fire at the flop. Either play can be +EV if you have fairly solid reads on your opponents, and have the image to pull it off. This will not work if you are frequently the aggressor, or are generally very passive

Before I go further I just want to touch on the posters who ask for all details such as stack sizes, cash or tourney, reads, ect.. Most of these OP's are just posting for some general guidlines that they can apply to these general situations. They are not looking for a detailed hand analysis or synopsis. Just some general info to help them out.

Ok, back on topic. On certain tables, at certain stages in the tourney or times in the ring game, there comes a time where the table is tightening up and not throwing around chips for no good reason. If you have any experience at the tables, you've noticed these times. This is the time when a hand like 22-44 can play very well pre and post flop, especially if you can be fairly clear on your opponent's calling range. Once again, exact details don't really matter as this is purely a positional and read based play, instead of a straightforward UTG raise.

One thing though, you don't want to make a habit of doing this. Once in a while is fine if it is concurrant with your image, but if you get caught, all credibility goes out the window. I have had some small success recently employing this train of thought. Though I must admit, it still needs some fine tuning. Hence me stressing not making it a habit. GL

raise 4x bb from utg

Limp and hope to hit a set. that way you don't have too much invested if there is a raise behind you. If you don't hit a set you really don't have a playable hand as anything else will dominate you. If you limp you stand some chance of building the pot with other limpers so that if you do hit you'll get something. If you raise only better hands will call.

If you open with hands like 22 occasionally then you are correct that your opponents will not expect this.

However if you always open with hands as weak as 22 then your range will be noticably wider and your opponents will not view you as a tight player.

You cannot open with a large range and be considered a tight player.. the large range means that you are a loose player.

So once in a while it would work, but if you open with every or most 22 (and other small pairs) then the deception is lost.

I would bin the 22. Im sure there would be more profitable situations to play rubbish pocket cards than this one.

Out of position, even if your bluffing after the flop your only going to win a small pot or loose a big one if you can't lay it down)

(assuming Im in a 10/9 handed cash game).

UTG with 8-10 players is a likely fold - there are too many players yet to act. Shorthanded it might be worth limping, but fold if raised. Heads up you can think about raising. Seeing as you can fold, limp, or raise UTG, there is no simple answer - there may be other considerations as well, such as stack size, tournament stage, players' tendencies, etc.

On a very tight table this is a raise with large stack sizes(cash game) and probably a fold with smaller stack sizes.

This.

In cash game, raise. The pot gets bigger and if we hit, we get some value, mabye even full bi.