To raise or not to raise....

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lost2qandisa

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To raise or not to raise, that is the question.

Ok, from pretty much everything I have read, it is a bad idea to call to enter a hand most of the time. You should always raise when entering a hand. I am trying to remember the adage I read that said, "Raise or fold. Caller never be."

Anyway, I like to play low connectors like 5 7 suited or 9 10 suited. I usually will not play these unless I am in late middle to late position. Sometimes I will play them UTG or early position if I know I can call and see the flop.

So, now for the question. Playing low connectors or even baby pairs, do you raise 3 X BB to enter? 5 X BB? Mix up and do 3, 4, 5 X BB? Or just call? Would you call a 3 X BB with a hand like this against a loose player?

The reason I ask, these hands when they hit, they usually hit big because someone will call the push.
 
Arjonius

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So, now for the question. Playing low connectors or even baby pairs, do you raise 3 X BB to enter? 5 X BB? Mix up and do 3, 4, 5 X BB? Or just call? Would you call a 3 X BB with a hand like this against a loose player? .
It depends. When you open a pot, it's generally better to bet whatever your normal size is. If you get into the habit of limping, you'll make yourself pretty easy to read. Sure, you can also limp premiums, but the large majority of your limps will still be connectors and baby pairs. Of course, you still need to consider factors like stack to blind ratio, stack sizes, position, the other players' styles, etc. before making any decision.

As for what to do with such hands against an opening bet by loose player, that also depends. In position, especially with hands that flop well, you can 3bet to isolate, but obviously, you want the opponent to be someone you can outplay post-flop. It's not simply a matter of stacking opponents when you flop big. That won't happen often enough to be particularly profitable, which means you also have to win some pots when you miss. And as above, there are various factors to consider before deciding to act.

Keep in mind as well that simply folding is seldom awful.
 
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matiusaa

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with speculative hands, I would try to see a cheap flop, having big implied odds. With baby pairs I would play it hit or fold. With suited connectors you are searching for draws, if you don't get the odds on the flop to call you fold. If you strictly follow this rule, you will avoid getting into trouble or tough decitions most of the time
 
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locha2013

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So for the first part I only raise if I have good cards and only in the beginning stage, however I like to look at the flop with cards like 9 10 suited or J 10, just to see if I hit something or not.
At the middle and late stage I only look at the flop with good hands and only raise with monsters like KK, AA. I don't even play hands like 44 or 9 10 for example. It often happens that I miss a good pot, but that's not a tragedy, therefor I stay at the tournement and don't loose the high blinds always.
And I'm always looking at my opponent's playing style I guess to know better when to call or to fold. A bad player I will call with a high card and a good player not always.
 
micalupagoo

micalupagoo

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if im playing a hand, no matter the cards, chip stacks or position (mind you theres always exceptions to this) i do a 3x bet
that way you never give your hand strength
 
Mr Sandbag

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When you have a lot of pot/fold equity and low implied odds, raise. When you have low pot/fold equity and good implied odds, call. When you have low pot/fold equity and low implied odds, fold.

That's from the book Professional No Limit Holdem.
 
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rumsey182

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your missing the math of why it is or isnt bad plus there is a game theory element this is so vague i suggest you work on learning fundementals
 
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rrph3rtbkr

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it depend mostly what my position is at the table , if i am in late position and everybody folded around to me then i would definitely raise around 3x and if there has been call and i am in late position then i would call the bet and see the flop cheaply as i dont wanna invest more with suited connector and hoping to flop a monstor
i have read somewhere that with suited connector u should call a raise with 5 -10% of ur stack at most and with small pair it should b between 3% and 6%
i hope it will help u
read some poker books ,m too reading
gl at poker table
 
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