Need some help with pre-flop raising

Thank you in advance for any advice.

I was taught to never adjust my pre-flop raise so as not to reveal any information about my hand but I find myself wanting to raise more than the standard 3x big blind with more than one limper behind, in order to isolate/gain position. This is amplified when it is early in a tourney and a 3 or 4x big blind raise doesn't seem to get anyone to fold.

I realize, in tournaments, I can pick a standard raise per blind level and stick with that but when you are opening the pot with a raise, and you would like some action...raising too much doesn't seem right either.

Any thoughts on this?

It's standard to raise your normal amount and then +1bb per limper.

So if you raise 3x and the blinds are 50/100, raise 300 if no limpers before you, 400 if there's one, 500 if there's two etc.

Just raising 3xbb will price everyone in.


Also, consider raising differently based on position. As long as you're not changing your raises based on your cards then different raise sizes are fine. I believe in tournaments smaller raises in EP are better and bigger raises in LP are better. The exact opposite is true for cash games.

Thank you for the quick reply.

Would you please elaborate on cash game pre-flop strategy. If it matters, I typically play .25/.50 full ring games.

Sarah

Nothing else to say here thepokerkid explained it perfectly.

The most simple method that I agree with is to raise 4bb from any position +1 per limper, and to raise bigger UTG and maybe UTG+1, so say 5bb as standard from those positions.

If you want to take it further you can lower your button raise size, but that's kind of questionable and you've got to be playing a really wide range to justify it.


Just consider how many hands you're playing from each position, it should be more in late position and fewer in early position, the stronger your range the bigger you should raise (regardless of what actual cards you have at the time) and weaker your range the smaller you should raise.

The pokerkids advice is good. I know a lot of players raise with consistent amounts but I like to vary my raises. This can be confusing for other players and can be effective.

wow you guys seem to be real presice about your raiseing, now i'm not afraid to raise, and i do raise when i feel the cards are right or if i feel the need to steal a pot, but damn you all have it down to a science and i feel a little confused about my raiseing now

Listen to the pokerkid!
And you can adjust your raise, but you have to vary it. Do not always raise more if your hand is better......

Also...I've always heard (pro's from training sites, etc) that when you're deep in a tournament 2.5 -3 x the BB max is best. I've watched alot of videos and always get a chuckle when the pro will be watching someone playing deeper and they raise like 5-6 times the BB and the commentator say, He's probably a bad player.

In cash games I just like to hit the "bet pot" button. That way its about 3.5x if there are no limpers and then as you add limpers it goes up 1x each time. Honestly this button works wonders.

There are a few types of PFR to take into consideration when it comes to tournaments.

One, already mentioned, is the 3-4x BB + 1BB per limper. I think this is probably the most commonly known style and is probably the safest. It's not position or hand depended and is very effective. This is one I use the most.

PokerKid mentioned not basing your raises on the strength of your hand. In MTT's I have to disagree with this. [This is during the early to mid stages] Assuming there is no limpers, I might raise 3-3.5BB with hands like mid pairs, suited connecters, suited Aces, K10, etc. But with bigger pairs or hands like AK, QQ+ I might raise it 5-6x BB just to get more value on my hands. The argument is I might be giving my hand strength away with my raises, but I'm usually not at the same table that long/dont get big hands that often for many players to pick up on this. So, I think this something that can be safely incorporated into you PFR game.

I absolutely agree, and my not including this in my previous post was shortsighted.

Using the same raise sizes for strong and weak hands is used to balance your range and make you less predictable. The more you balance your play the less you exploit your opponent's weaknesses.
If they really wont notice, then varying your raise size based on your hand strength is optimal but the more exploitive you play the more exploitable you become, so if they do catch on you'd better adjust quick.

the whole point of raising pre-flop is to limit the number of people in the hand if you raise don't expect to everyone to fold every time. If people did this then there will be no money moving in the table and make it really bad poker

There's no single magical formula. As amply noted already, the main thing to avoid is correlating your bet size to the strength of your hand. But at low limits, there are plenty of people against whom this won't matter much or even at all since they won't notice and/or won't adjust their play accordingly.

i find pre-flop raising after an early flopper to be dangerous early in a STT/MTT, because you are vulnerable to an all in after you to steal your chips OR force you into a coin toss.

I only do it with an AA/KK/QQ.