pre flop raising

i was just wonderin if anyone has tips for betting or reraising preflop
the standard 3 or4 bb is not working for me because i am still getting called by to many players and am not winning or getting outdrawn on the board
and as of late this has been happening on the bubble where blinds are at 100/200 or 200/400 and this is anoyying me because i am getting donked
any tips would be helpful
cheers matt

thanks champ will certainly try this

It depends on the buyin. Free or cheap MTTs you need to raise more like 5x the bb and even that might not work. You don't say what level you are playing at.

3xBB raises on the bubble in a SNG probably aren't going to cut it unless you have a lot more chips than anyone else at the table. It's hard to say without seeing the actual hands though.

Do you have an example hand history or two that shows the problem you are experiencing?

This is from an article that Phil Gordon wrote. It seems to make a lot of sense and is based on position,

"My pre-flop strategy is this - its raise or its fold, there's no in between. I'm not injured - I don't have a sprained ankle or a broken leg - so why would I limp? There's nothing wrong with seeing flops, but why let your opponents get in cheap with an inferior hand?
I like to size my pre-flop raises based on my position. A lot of inexperienced players raise based on the strength of their hands, but good players will pick up on this play before too long. If you always raise four times the big blind with pocket Aces, Kings, and Queens, but only three times with everything else, skilled opponents will notice these patterns and exploit them later on.
If, on the other hand, you always raise a predetermined amount based on your position, your holdings will be much better disguised. By adopting this strategy, it doesn't matter if you're holding pocket Aces or 7-8 off-suit (which is the kind of junk I highly recommend you don't play), your opponents will have a much harder time putting you on a hand after the flop. Cards aside, here's how I like to play before the flop:

• From early position - including the blinds - raise two-and-a-half times the big blind. You are more susceptible to a re-raise from this position, so it's best not to risk too many chips. Still, this raise lets everyone know that you mean business.
• From middle position, raise three times the big blind. Hopefully a couple of people will already have folded to you, so there's less chance of being re-raised. Hence, you can afford to make a stronger push and possibly steal the blinds.
• From middle/late position, raise three-and-a-half times the big blind. You really want to encourage those last couple of players to fold so you can go heads up with the blinds or just steal them outright.
• From the button, raise four times the big blind. You either want to steal the blinds or make it really expensive for them to re-raise you."

Depend...

usually 2.5 to 3 BB, but depend on the position, and the type of players...


chikiloka

lets say i had ace queen offsuit on the bubble i am chipleader and i raise to 3bb and shorstack(8bb) reraises all in is this an easy call or will he donk me like always with ace rag
so what im trying to say is it alright to play 50/50 on the bubble

With 8xBB left, the short stack would be correct putting you all-in with any reasonable hand from the BB. If you aren't prepared to call them here, you had no business trying to steal their blind, since you can frequently expect them to push here.

Incidentally, if they do push here (and get lucky) with something like A5s, why do you consider that to be a "donk" play? I don't think it is.

^^^^^^^^^^
This is it in a nutshell.

On the bubble with blinds 100/200 or 200/400, I assume you are playing single table SNGs? Then you have no business limping or raising 3bb at this stage. The only options you should have are fold and shove all in.

Take some time to learn about push/fold strategy, ICM and related concepts. For instance, read Why All-In? The Beginners Guide To Understanding Push / Fold Poker Strategy

h

by donk me i mean my aq is way infront of a5 and he will get lucky and hit a straight or a 5
thanks for the reply anyway champ

ok jus tried the shove/fold thing and it didnt work but only because my 88 got beat by ak (rivered straight) and my a10 got beat by a4 (ace to 5 straight)

Take some time to learn about push/fold strategy, ICM and related concepts. For instance, read Why All-In? The Beginners Guide To Understanding Push / Fold Poker Strategy

Amazing article

Only use the push fold strategy if your M is 10 or less. To calculate your M take the blinds and ante's and add them up then divide your stack by them and you will get a number. For example at blinds 100-200 no ante and lets say uou have 2800 in chips. 2800/(100+200) =9.3 which then your moves are push or fold but if you have say 4000 in chips same scenario 4000/(100+200)=13.3 and you no longer have to push or fold you can see a flop. If it is a SNG and blinds get to 200-400 it is always a push fold scenario unless you have about 60% of the chips in play

Wow, not a chance that "strategy" would work with me.. You get no information from your opponent with just a quick shove. Yeah, 90% of the time you're going to call the rest of their stack when they push all in. But say someone with a bigger stack then me decided to make a big move after I pushed all in.. I'm stuck in a situation I would probably rather get out of if I didn't throw it all in the middle.

I could see myself losing alot of money playing that way. Alot of other great advice on that site, it's just that one article I don't agree with.

When you bet 3xbb (which is what I would recommend), you are not going to get everyone to fold. You will only be able to steal blinds if you shove, but that is not the point. A preflop raise is meant to narrow the field of players down to you and one (maybe two) other player(s). You still have to outplay them after the flop, extracting as much as possible when you are ahead, folding and getting away from the hand when you are beat. What you say is true, but that is poker (especially internet poker). It is sometimes impossible to get someone to fold, so you have to pick and choose carefully who you bluff and when. Most of the time you have to have a decent hand, unless you are willing to take a big hit. And you are going to get beat on the turn and on the river, over and over. That is the nature of the game. You have to value bet when you are ahead, when they hit their hand, fold. That is all you can do...

I am not a fan of playing like that, but I think it does take account position. I mean you are not going to shove UTG everytime? If you have less than 10xbb I guess you would but... This is the reason why I am not a fan of "turbos". Within the first hour, all of the small stacks starting shoving and you end up with 3 or 4 different guys in the pot. Even if you are a big favorite, you end up losing alot of these pots, simply because there are so many chances for someone to suck out.

?? It's not supposed to work out every time. AQ is a 72/28 favorite over A5, but that also means it's supposed to lose 1 out of every 2.5 over the veeery long run. 88 vrs AK is the proverbial coin flip, and AT is a 70/30 fav over A4.

These examples show you getting your money in when the situation is decent, though in every case blind size relative to stack size and player reads are crucial elements as well. But in general, you can't win every time, you hope to get in when you're a favorite, or, if you're short stacked, at least when you're not a huge underdog.

As others have indicated, it sounds like you're at a low buyin level where the play is weaker, limpier, and has more calling stations. If so, you just have to accept that players will call with weak hands, and hope that your better hands hold up. This just isn't going to happen every time.