Raising when you can check and see a flop for free

Say your the big blind and 3 players limp in , you have AA,KK,QQ or any pocket pair ?? should you check and see the flop or raise??

If there are 3 limpers, you should always raise. If you check, you run the risk of one of the limpers flopping open-ended draws, flush draws, etc. and the value would be too much for them to lay down after you bet the flop.

Raise, you don't want to play even AA with too many ppl. It also adds value to the pot.

Raise. Multiple opponents tend to crush AA quicker than a single opponent. If you get 3 callers, be prepared to fold post flop if there is opposition to any raise.

when they all limp ahead of you and you have any sorta hand you have to bet. that's my opinion. trying to smooth play PP or good hand can comeback and zap you and your chips - lol.
unless your in a tournament that any raise invokes a reraise of allin - hahahaha, no i'm serious this happens a lot in low limit rebuys. at least the one's i'm in. hahaha
well i still can laugh the bad beats and plays away.
so good luck to you and peace.

I agree. I learned the hard way by always checking it down and letting someone else catch their straight or two pair. It's brutal, but now I always raise and it always plays well for me in the end. =)

Good luck, hope your AA KK QQ hold against those suckout callers!

raise if there are several limpers.. and raise enuf to make em fold. Call if you are only up against the blinds and you in on the button. Want to win some cash.. but then raise after the flop, especially if a face card hit

Raise.

Raise for value. Raise for the lulz. Raise to "protect" your hand. Raise to define your opponent's ranges. In about that order of importance. Just raise. Then do it again for value, and just one more time for the lulz.

It's interesting that pretty much every reply so far has given "raise so you don't get sucked out on" as the primary reason for raising. That's backwards, IMO - we have a premium hand, everyone else has just limped and we haven't even seen an overcard or a drawy flop yet. We don't need to be scared. Value should be the first reason we raise.

Oz - what is "lulz"?

Carot - you want to get value for your hand as Oz pointed out and you definitely want to knock out weaker hands that can out flop you. Prime example is this past Saturday I was in a live tourney at the casino and on the bb with 34 os. A calling station at my table limped in with AA and there were 2 other limpers, the btn and sb.

Flop came out J44. I checked, AA bet 2x bb, btn folded and sb called with KJ su. Chances are good if she had raised everyone would have folded (I would have) or just the sb would've called because he had been calling for 3x bb's or less with crap hands and AA would've made big money from the sb. Instead the turn comes a 3, now I've filled up and end up doubling off the AA player who goes out in the bubble a few hands later.

^^ i was just gonna ask wat "lulz" was too..first time ive ever heard that around here...or anywhere for that matter

Raise to create a big pot with your big hand and chase out the people who are limping with cards that you can't predict.

With a big hand like A/A your goal should be to play a big pot with only 1 or 2 villains.
The worst case scenario is to play a small pot against a lot of players who can draw out on you.

Question: If someone limps with their 6/4, what sort of hand will they willing to get a lot of chips in with?

Answer: A hand that crushes your one pair of Aces.

+1
Never, ever limp AA when there are already limpers ahaed.

Does it matter how if there are only 2 or 3 in the pot ahead of you. Definately would raise with 5 or more all in before.

For those that were asking...

Lulz = bastardisation of LOL.

Therefore to do something for the lulz is to do it for your amusement. Legend has it that pretty much every action in life can be explained or excused if you state afterwards in a loud, clear tone of voice (or just type it, since so many lulz originate on the interwebz) "I did it for the lulz".

Example: raise from early position with 62o. Call when one of the blinds shoves with QQ, suck out on the river and take their chips. While in general this is a bad play, if you respond with "I did it for the lulz" while the other player is abusing you it automatically becomes the best possible play you could've made because you've hit the trifecta - you've got a tilted opponent, chips and lulz.

Another little known fact is that "I did it for the lulz" (IDIFTL) is the greatest legal defence known to man. Not even Alan Shore and Denny Crane can argue their way around it and if Bill Clinton had've employed it instead of his second rate advised-by-expensive-lawyers defence he'd still be president to this day. True story.

Thus endeth today's lesson in internet lore *nods*

You definitely have to raise if you have a strong hand. You should only check if you have a bad hand. You want to have a pair in a match with as less limpers as possible, even if you have pocket aces. In some circumstances you might even make them all fold without even seeing a flop.

more a question than a reply...
i would also raise with any high pair, but what should you do with a hand like A-10suited or anything similar?

I think I might have pissed myself a little laughing at this.

Ditto. It's so serious and funny at the same time. =) He must be a great writer also along with poker. heehee

If you got a big pair you should raise!
If you got a small pair you could limp and try to hit yout set....

I like you.