what is the correct raise amount for certain starting hands??????

can someone give me the correct bb times for raising with ace king s/os ace queen s/os and ace jack s/os..:dontknow:

i been busted out of alot of tourneys by been raised back all in, calling it with a better hand but get cracked by lesser hands..
wondering if im raising to little or to much......

any advice would help thanks

scruffy mojo

Scruffy ... there is no hard and fast rule it depends on what your reads are on your opponent(s) and your table image. For AK 3 to 5 BB is reasonable. However if you are up against a LAG player you have more reason to raise higher. Against a tight player keep it lower as they will not commit their chips needlessly ie you want them to call you with a weaker hand but if they reraise they probably have a monster (think AA KK QQ).

Also your image comes into play... do they see you as loose or tight...aggressive or not?

Chip stacks also come into play as if someone is short they may push all in with a weaker hand than they would normally.

Lastly the tournament type may also come into play. In a rebuy people may play looser as they can rebuy as opposed to a freeze out. In a freeroll anything goes....expect to get called with any two cards depending on the opponent and dont be surprised when your pocket aces get cracked by 72o.

Remember in poker you win when other people make mistakes. We have all had monster hands beaten by rubbish but this is the exception rather than the rule.

My advise would be to get some decent tracking software like Poker Tracker and use it to analyse where the holes in your game are. Plug them and keep playing good poker.

This is extremely situational.

Of course position/chip stacks/players make a huge difference everytime, but as a general example....

You have 1500 chips

BB = 5/10
3xBB = 30 = not much

BB = 100/200
3xBB = 600 = (almost) half your stack

If everyone at your table has 4500 in chips, they may call your 600 just to see what you have, if not put you all in.

You really just have to read the situation. If you have a strong hand, make it hurt for someone to call you. If they suck out... they suck out. Otherwise you'll make them pay post flop.

There are so many variables that an answer is impossible. One thing to remember. POSITION is king in Texas holdem, far more important than hand value. At least thats my opinion.

It all depends on the players. If I feel people are aggressive I will limp in with hands like AK or QQ,10 10 and hopefully see a cheap flop. Depending if someone raises and how much is if I decide to call. I think it's best to get in cheap and get out cheap if there are bad players at the table and your hand doesn't hit. If I had AK and the flop comes A K 3, I may lead out and bet small or big I switch it up hoping someone limped in with a dry Ace and hit top pair so they can put me all in with the better hand and I will double up. At a tight table with blinds say 30/60 I would raise most of the time 4x the blind and try to take the pot without a flop. Other times I will limp in with big cards hoping someone is getting scared of getting chipped out and If I hit a flop I will take it down, If they hit better than me and go all in I can fold with minimum chip loss. Some may agree with my style and some oppose but it's up to you and how you adapt to the players and not the cards you are dealt.

You've pulled out a few specific hands to ask about, however I think you're looking at it wrong. It isn't about playing different hands different ways. When you're stuck in a rut/pattern (e.g. 5xBB with QQ-AA, 3xBB with suited connectors, limp late with garbage, etc), it won't take long for opponents to peg you. What you should be doing more of is playing different hands the same way. If you're going to raise 5xBB for levels 1-3 of a tourney, then make that your raise regardless of what you're coming in with. AA in early position = 5xBB, KJs in the SB =5xBB, etc. Those are just examples, not direct input on how much to raise. My point is that you need to be consistent in your bets so that opponents cannot put together a betting pattern.

I had a guy at a table recently that was super consistent. He raised about 3.5-4xBB any time he opened unless it was a big starter (QQ+, AQ+ from what I could tell), then all of a sudden he's min-raising his open. And it wasn't about being tricky/trappy, he was playing a specific way and appeared to have no clue the info he was giving away. Had he learned to play those hands the same way he played other hands, he would have taken away a huge read that I had on him.

Jack Daniels said:

You've pulled out a few specific hands to ask about, however I think you're looking at it wrong. It isn't about playing different hands different ways. When you're stuck in a rut/pattern (e.g. 5xBB with QQ-AA, 3xBB with suited connectors, limp late with garbage, etc), it won't take long for opponents to peg you. What you should be doing more of is playing different hands the same way. If you're going to raise 5xBB for levels 1-3 of a tourney, then make that your raise regardless of what you're coming in with. AA in early position = 5xBB, KJs in the SB =5xBB, etc. Those are just examples, not direct input on how much to raise. My point is that you need to be consistent in your bets so that opponents cannot put together a betting pattern.

I had a guy at a table recently that was super consistent. He raised about 3.5-4xBB any time he opened unless it was a big starter (QQ+, AQ+ from what I could tell), then all of a sudden he's min-raising his open. And it wasn't about being tricky/trappy, he was playing a specific way and appeared to have no clue the info he was giving away. Had he learned to play those hands the same way he played other hands, he would have taken away a huge read that I had on him.

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Yeah, this is something that Chris Ferguson has noted in repeated contexts/places. From this article:

"Chris explained how “mixing up your play” did not mean playing similar hands different ways. It meant playing different hands the same way, folding or raising a specific amount independent of the hand. One of the most important considerations in executing poker strategy, he explained, is keeping opponents from knowing what you have. Playing all hands the same (e.g., with 50-100 blinds, raising in late position to 300, whether you are playing 8-7, 4-4, or A-A) accomplishes that better than playing the same hand in different ways (e.g., with 50-100 blinds, limping with A-A 20% of the time, raising to 250 20% of the time, and raising to 400 60% of the time). “If you fold or raise the same amount, your opponents are going to have very little information, because your raises never vary and you make them with a wide range of hands.”

aliengenius said:

Yeah, this is something that Chris Ferguson has noted in repeated contexts/places.

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Yes, and he's not the only one that advocates this. I've seen this same topic published a few times now and/or discussed in strategy by others as well.

there is no set rule on raises... mix up your game so it makes it hard for anyone to put on an exact hand... make them use a range of hands to put you on..

just wanted to say thanks for all the input and the very useful info

Just to add to Jack's and AGs points. If you are going to vary your raises, you can do it based on position. You would not be giving out any info since your position is not a secret.

scruffy mojo said:

can someone give me the correct bb times for raising with ace king s/os ace queen s/os and ace jack s/os..:dontknow:

i been busted out of alot of tourneys by been raised back all in, calling it with a better hand but get cracked by lesser hands..
wondering if im raising to little or to much......

any advice would help thanks

scruffy mojo

Click to expand...

4 xxx bb early play 6- 8xx bb late play while in the money. Also trap with this hand by making just a call in late position with maybe only 3 limpers. If you hit 2 pair go all in as people never expect you to have that high of a starting hand. Go against the grain when the time is right. If you constantly raise the same 4xx bb they never will have any clue what you have. Hell I will raise against loose passive players with q 10 os if I think I can push the limpers out the pot. Its all about how you play the game and note how the players react to your bets at certain times in the game. Best of Luck as I hate AK and AQ!!! Seems like I lose more chips then gain after the flop comes up empty.

Should I point out what got left out? Will anyone get mad at me if I do? It's a very important aspect...

Well, you need follow through + a decent read on your opponent(s). Yeah, I mean a pre-flop bet's great and all, but if you just check afterwards, you're doomed(unless you get the cards you need on the flop). Have to take a stab. Just have to. Sometimes an opponent will stab back(but they can be bluffing as well), and if u think it's the case, you re-raise and if you guessed right, muahaha you get the pot.

Lots of educated guessing. Lots of uneducated guessing as well.

And yeah, I'm the girl who was whining in the strategy section about a bad beat. But still, this is good stuff. Incomplete but good.

Owing much thanks to that Phil Gordon article + a good friend .