Do you fold?

Anybody got any advice on this situation, because i find myself folding hands i would not normally.

This is the situation...Tournament/SnG, any stack size, any early position, you land KQs or 88 and its yours to open the betting, now normally (depending on so many factors tho) i would raise it to~ 2.5 BB, but, the last 2 or 3 hands you have just won, none of which went to the showdown so your hands were never shown, you bluffed the last one and felt relieved when the last person folded, so, you have been playing the last few hands and people are maybe gonna start to think you're trying it on (or will they?), so if you bet and somebody raises a large amount (low stakes lol) what do you do? I feel like i dont know if they're bluffing/half bluffing or do they have a hand or if they're just playing me and not the cards, if you call there is defo going to be a C-bet and you're not gonna know where you are unless you hit nuts. This is when i then decide to fold pf wanting no action.

Basically what im trying to say is that i find myself folding a good starting hand when im in early position, if i've just been on a bit of a roll of at least 2 hands running, because im scared (lol) that im gonna get raised massive or pushed on and and have to fold and waste the chips.

So..do you think in any minor or major way, that the past few hands you have played, have any 'say' in what you do next?

Thanks for all your opinions, they're greatly appreciated.

Your previous hands do have an effect on future hands, in the form of what's called "metagame". As you suggest it can make it correct to fold in many situations where you'd normally raise, and vice versa. Basically, the fact that you've been aggressive recently will make your opponents more likely to raise, and you need to account this when making decisions.

I agree with cj. What has happened in the last few hands does matter. If you raise preflop 3 hands in a row, and the others never see your cards, they start to get antsy. So that 3rd or 4th time, you are really going to need a top hand since you will get called or raised.

This is why I like Rush. The other guys have no clue that you just raised the last few hands preflop. But in a tourney or a regular ring game, that last raise could be trouble for you.

Agree with above 2 posters, although I have 2 more comments.

1. I would fold.
2. 88 and KQs are not strong enough in early position, so normally I would try limping with these anyways.

Maybe I'm too nitty?

I would fold KQs but play the 88 to try to hit the set.

Im sorry but i must clear up the fact that these were just example hands and i would be in this same situation with many other hands.
Try to think of it as been a hand you would normally like to play, and then what would you do?

To me, it depends on my stack size relative to the others.

If I have a huge stack, I keep raising it and fold depending on how much resistance I come up against or my reads on an opponent.

If I'm medium-stacked, I probably limp it and see if I flop a monster. Maybe fold depending on the tourney cash structure and how many people are left.

If I'm short-stacked, I might limp if I have more than 4-5BB, I might shove depending on how many there are to act after me, I might fold depending on the table.

Hello MrMonkey, thankyou for your reply, i feel it is my place to reply to your post and hopefully expand on what you've said and who knows..maybe help ya out a bit :

Huge Stack - The more you raise, the more resistance you will come up against, eventually you will have to be prepared to call an all-in bet almost everytime you play, not only because this is probably standard to push in these situations, they will just assume you're trying to steal all the time. You have to decide if you're prepared to fold chips away all the time or call big raises. This is why i tend to feel i gotta fold pf (in this situation).

Medium Stack (by this i assume around the average) - You may limp if you wish to try see the flop, but this would definately cause a raise because you're in early position and have just raised the previous pots, although these are the type of hands you are looking to play with and build up your stack, i still like the sound of fold, in my opinion i would not be able to afford to call a big raise with these type of hands and i highly doubt it would not be raised, i would either have to fold or push....fold been the obvious choice, so i would prefer to choose that option pf to save my chips.

Short Stack (4-5+ BBs) - Im very sure you would not be in this situation with a SS, having won the previous few pots...but... everytime (99%) you have 10 or less BBs you will have to push with these types of hands (i would be very happy to push knowing im the 1st raiser. GL on the felt

I appreciate the exchange! Always good to hear different opinions and gain insight into how others think about the situation.

While you may get someone shoving against you, they will still usually not be doing it without a pretty strong hand. If they don't have a hand, they are not likely shoving with any two just because of the last two hands in which you were aggressive, and particularly not now because you are UTG, UTG+x.

I like to remain aggressive with the big stack because that allows you to take people's stacks when you do line up with a monster... they think you are full of it so they shove light thinking you are trying to steal. Having the big stack means I'm able to see a lot more small pots without consequence and make decisions post-flop -- not committing unless I have a monster or a great read, and keeping pressure on my opponents and not letting them see extra cards cheaply.

I think the thing is... I usually play a pretty conservative game, particularly in MTT. So I feel like even having taken a couple pots without showdown the people at the table know I am not doing it the majority of the time. When I've got a huge stack, I'm more than happy to open bet with marginal hands that can make monsters from early position until I start seeing some resistance. Once the table is ready to prove they are going to fight back, then it's time to tone it down. Some tables though they are quite happy to hand you their blinds, whether you've won the last 3,4,5 hands or not. Then you have a strong LAG image which can be incredibly useful when you land a monster.

This is also highly dependent on the type of players at the table. If they have been extremely tight/passive, then I'm always open limping to see a cheap flop. If I feel pretty certain there will be a raise somewhere down the line, then I'm likely folding KQ, possibly still limp-calling with 88 depending on pot odds. If I'm playing these hands, I'm playing them to make a monster and will fold easily post-flop when situation dictates.

You're probably right -- SS probably wouldn't have won previous couple pots but yeah, I'm usually shoving in this spot unless the tournament payout structure is weird and it makes more sense to try to blind out through the bubble. I I limp/fold this sometimes because the tournaments I've been playing have weird flat payout structures where you're playing for the bubble and not for first.

The onlything I would do different is I'm shoving with short stack

Surprisingly 'yes' in the micros but typically when someone's opening their 4th pot in a row (and previous hands went further than just preflop) in all likelihood they actually have a big hand (but of course 'it depends'... on many factors, ie. is guy sitting with bigger stack nearing bubble & running over a table that isn't playing back at him < even then though.. 4th time.. this could easily be when he actually wakes up with a big hand (more likely than the first two hands imo). In micros though, it seems like most players look at things differently, more like > "he's raising all the time... he couldn't have anything much at all this time"

Yes, this must 'usually' be the case, why would someone raise their 4th time without a hand? they wouldnt...so what would you suggest for me at micro stakes Poker Orifice? ($1-$5) What you say is true...they assume you're just bullying, of course this sometimes works in my favour, but usually im not strong enough to call an all-in, so do you reckon i would be better folding my 4th unless im strong enough or willing to risk all/most of my stack?
All or Nothing