Small PPs from EP

F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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OK so I ran the free trial of GapBuster on HM2, now that I have 25k hands so it might just about be a large enough sample. One of the (many) things it told me off about was that my VPIP is too low (FR, 13%), and it gave some starting hand charts, both for 6-max and for FR. All those charts include all the pocket pairs as something that you should open raise with UTG, even in the full ring tight starting hand chart.

So would you guys usually be raising 22 from EP in FR?
 

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F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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Would you ever raise 22 - from any position?
 
A

Aldito

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If you're opening then you should always raise.

I play 6max and most certainly raise 22 UTG. With FR, I'm not in a position to give advice tbh. 13% VPIP sound very nitty though.
 
F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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If you're opening then you should always raise.
Thanks, yes I would certainly never open limp with them.
I play 6max and most certainly raise 22 UTG. With FR, I'm not in a position to give advice tbh. 13% VPIP sound very nitty though.
Actually I think I found a reasonably comprehensive answer in an old CotW about PPs.
Playing small pocket pairs in early position is going to be table-dependent. I looked through my last year's database of 280,000 (about ½ are 25NL and ½ are lower, I was a VERY marginal winner both in the 25NL-specific hands and the lower levels) hands and was a slight winner open-raising (including 22). I don't open raise blindly, however, and won't raise if I have a bunch of shortstacks after me (although I try not to sit at tables with more than three normally), if it's especially aggressive. I don't normally raise UTG with 22-55 and won't raise 22, 33 or even 44 sometimes UTG+1. Blindly open-raising any pair in any position will likely burn you unless you are extremely skilled postflop, or playing deeper.
The only challenge with CotW is that they were written a couple of years back, and a lot has changed in online poker since then.
 
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msufan

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I would simply fold a small PP in very early position.
 
F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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I would simply fold a small PP in very early position.
Yes, well LeakBuster is telling me that I'm not playing enough hands, but opening low PPs from EP is definitely not something that I intend to start doing any time soon. What I have found is that widening my openings ranges a little in mid position and quite a lot from late positions has been profitable, from the small number of hands that I have sampled so far, anyway. I have also narrowed the gap between my VPIP and PFR stats.
 
jbbb

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6max i'll always open unless there is a habitual 3better behind me and i'm surprised KQs isn't included in their range either (i'd probably cut out AJo depending on the table too).
 
F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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6max i'll always open unless there is a habitual 3better behind me and i'm surprised KQs isn't included in their range either (i'd probably cut out AJo depending on the table too).


---
2,097,572,400 games 2.448 secs 856,851,470 games/sec

Board:
Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 63.563% 62.54% 01.03% 1311720573 21564781.50 { AcJd }
Hand 1: 36.437% 35.41% 01.03% 742722264 21564781.50 { random }


---



---
2,097,572,400 games 3.019 secs 694,790,460 games/sec

Board:
Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 63.400% 62.41% 00.99% 1309061790 20807571.00 { KcQc }
Hand 1: 36.600% 35.61% 00.99% 746895468 20807571.00 { random }


---


AJ appears to play marginally better against ATC, any particular reason why you prefer KQs?
 
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MaxStevenson

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If you are utg in a 6max game with say 2 fish to your left and loose aggro regs on bu-sb-bb then i'd limp as u can be fairly confident the 2 fish will limp behind and 1 of the regs will raise.. providing the fish are shortstaked.. This will give u odds to call the raise whereas if you raised pre the fish might still call your raise but then when 1 of the aggro regs Re-raises you won't have odds and you'll have to ditch the pair.
 
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MaxStevenson

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If you have the 2 fish in the blinds i'd raise all day as when you do hit that magical set you'll most likely have position on 1 of them and as a bad player they are usually more likely to pay you off with marginal holdings :)
 
jbbb

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AJ appears to play marginally better against ATC, any particular reason why you prefer KQs?


KQs is a lot easier to play and gives you more flop potential. TPGK, OESD, FD or a big combo of all three. Also when people call you're usually not dominated. We can assume they'll 3bet QQ,KK,AA and AK so AQ is the only hand you need to worry about if someone calls and can bet strongly each street.
AJo has less potential, and you can only really flop TPTK, gutshot straight draws or a weak pair of aces.
KQs is just easier to play imo.
 
F4STFORW4RD

F4STFORW4RD

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KQs is a lot easier to play and gives you more flop potential. TPGK, OESD, FD or a big combo of all three. Also when people call you're usually not dominated. We can assume they'll 3bet QQ,KK,AA and AK so AQ is the only hand you need to worry about if someone calls and can bet strongly each street.
AJo has less potential, and you can only really flop TPTK, gutshot straight draws or a weak pair of aces.
KQs is just easier to play imo.
Nice answer, thanks :)
 
Worak

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Nonetheless I almost always open fold both AJo and KQ utg.

If you want to open your range I'd do that from late positions, being nitty utg isn't that bad I think.
 
Shwiggler

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Hand charts are always to be taken as basic guides to build your own style from. The chart shown seems to be a solid foundation for beginners.

BTW you did take this from Leak Buster right? OP says Gap Buster...never heard of that one.
 
F4STFORW4RD

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OP says Gap Buster...never heard of that one.
I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of it. It's a system that a major UK supermarket uses, whereby a store manager walks the floor in the morning after the main night-shift have finished their shelf-filling activities. Any gaps that they find are put through as an urgent order to their local distribution centre, who try to send it out to them later the same day. ;)
 
Poker Orifice

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Nonetheless I almost always open fold both AJo and KQ utg.

If you want to open your range I'd do that from late positions, being nitty utg isn't that bad I think.
same
 
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