H
HooDooKoo
Visionary
Platinum Level
S
SamBush
Enthusiast
Silver Level
You should be just calling raises with small and medium pairs, unless you hit a set the hand will be hard to play, also you are wanting as many people to get into the pot for a cheap price as possible so you can play not set no bet... hit a set you can get paid handsomely by these people who cant find a fold with 1 pair...
Raizz
Rising Star
Silver Level
To me position matters most. Im not going to open with a A-Q/ A-J/ K-Q or K-J offsuit. If someone raises my limp in and everyone folds and its a 4x raise or less i might call depending on the player not just position, but if I dont hit top two or a set im very hesitant expecially in early position. Im not going to call bets with a open ended draw. If i have top two on the flop and theres a straight possability out there im not putting money into the pot out of position,but if they check and i have position with top two and theres a straight draw, im betting. If I hit top pair with A-Q and its a rainbow and im in position and they check to me im betting, if they pull a check raise, im out, again it also depends on the player and the size of the reraise. You can tell if a player is intelligent if his re-raise fits the criteria of the pot and your bet.
H
HooDooKoo
Visionary
Platinum Level
To all you players attempting to learn the game, this is HORRIBLE poker strategy. Absolutely HORRIFIC.
Until you're an outstanding post-flop player --- which most of you NEVER will be --- you should NEVER be open limping. Raise or fold. And please don't wait for top two with no draws out or sets to be betting/raising, as you'll get exploited and bust very quickly.
This post is textbook tight/passive play, and against reasonable competition these types of players get run over --- all day, every day.
Good luck.
-HooDooKoo
C
CactusCat
Rock Star
Silver Level
I know what you're saying Raizz. AJo and KQo are a little marginal, and KJo is really a speculative hand, but AQo is definitely a worthy hand for an open for any player and is playable from early position. What's going to happen if you're hesitant and limp is that someone 'wakes up' with A10o behind you and thinks he's got the best hand because you didn't raise.
Just calling preflop is losing money. Let's say hypothetically you and someone else have the same hand: AQ. If you're the one who's limping, and he's the player who's raising, then you call, and both of you miss, he's the one who's taking the pot down, no? You'd have to call him down potentially 3 barrels with ace high just to get your rightful half of the split pot.
Playing AQ and AJ like that is a waste, and turns inherently +EV hands into -EV hands. They rate to be the best hands dealt in the table - if you have AJ, there's an 18% chance that AK or AQ is out there. If you have AQ, there's only a 10% chance that AK is out there. Pocket pairs will often fold on the flop if they don't hit a set. They're the most likely hands to win the pot in a vacuum, and in practice to win without showdown postflop.
I agree about the importance of position, but you'll have sessions where, while not card dead, you're picking up these hands in early position, and only trash like J4 or 10-5 offsuit in late position.
Playing limp, call, fit or fold poker yields a certain EV for that session. Probably negative.
Playing them aggressively yields another EV for that same session. More likely to be positive.
We can't choose which hands we get and which position we're dealt them.
The value in AQ/AJ/KQ is that it doesn't need two pair or trips to continue past the flop, even OOP. But you have to raise and narrow the field to reduce the likelihood you get outflopped by random two pairs. *That's* the purpose of raising preflop - so that you force the rest of the table to hit big in order to continue in the hand.
Just calling preflop is losing money. Let's say hypothetically you and someone else have the same hand: AQ. If you're the one who's limping, and he's the player who's raising, then you call, and both of you miss, he's the one who's taking the pot down, no? You'd have to call him down potentially 3 barrels with ace high just to get your rightful half of the split pot.
Playing AQ and AJ like that is a waste, and turns inherently +EV hands into -EV hands. They rate to be the best hands dealt in the table - if you have AJ, there's an 18% chance that AK or AQ is out there. If you have AQ, there's only a 10% chance that AK is out there. Pocket pairs will often fold on the flop if they don't hit a set. They're the most likely hands to win the pot in a vacuum, and in practice to win without showdown postflop.
I agree about the importance of position, but you'll have sessions where, while not card dead, you're picking up these hands in early position, and only trash like J4 or 10-5 offsuit in late position.
Playing limp, call, fit or fold poker yields a certain EV for that session. Probably negative.
Playing them aggressively yields another EV for that same session. More likely to be positive.
We can't choose which hands we get and which position we're dealt them.
The value in AQ/AJ/KQ is that it doesn't need two pair or trips to continue past the flop, even OOP. But you have to raise and narrow the field to reduce the likelihood you get outflopped by random two pairs. *That's* the purpose of raising preflop - so that you force the rest of the table to hit big in order to continue in the hand.
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