Preflop open raise size?

[rssurfer54]

People should really clarify in their OP whether this is for tourney/sng play or cash.

The amount will vary depending on each and unless there is some clarification you are never going to get a satisfactory or useful answer on why each size is preferable.

this is a cash game subforum.

WVH has it again. You have to exploit your opponents. If you have someone who doesnt care how much you raise, why wouldnt you raise more with better hands?

 

[TheKAAHK]

this is a cash game subforum.

WVH has it again. You have to exploit your opponents. If you have someone who doesnt care how much you raise, why wouldnt you raise more with better hands?

You're right. I goofed. I just clicked on the "all new posts" function, didn't notice. Whoops.

 

[x2486]

Chris Ferguson is a definitely a smart guy but I think this is backwards, after all which hands would you prefer to play in a multiway pot AA or 55? KK or 76s? With a big pair you want low SPR's to deny implied odds to anyone calling your raise. The best way to accomplish that is to raise more preflop.

Keep in mind that this was from a FTPA lesson & challenge, not a book on strategy. For a challenge, they need goals that are clearly defined, but not so narrow that the situation will hardly ever come up during play. Obviously, a pro will take many factors into consideration, and will not have a completely mechanical process for determining bet size.

Regarding your examples, 55 and 76s are not hands that he recommends playing from early position. AA & KK are lumped in with the others probably just to keep things simple. In his video, he states that any pre-flop raise he makes from early position represents a strong hand, so I'm guessing he doesn't get into a lot of multiway pots when he does this. (What kind of hand would you need to call Chris Ferguson's early position raise? )

I think most people would raise AA or KK a bit more, but what about JJ or AQ? If you bet 3-4xbb, do you really want to call a re-raise with those hands? If you're called and don't fit a scary flop, do you c-bet OOP? It seems to me that your decisions are easier if you get the junk hands to fold, but are not too committed to the pot.

From the button you have the advantage of position on every other player so you don't need the blinds to have worse odds to call. In fact you want them to call often enough that you can flop a well concealed monster and stack them. Furthermore since you are opening with such a wide range you will probably get 3bet more so if you need to get away cheaply from a hand the button is the place to do it and if 4 bet you can do so without necessarily playing for stacks.

What about when they have a well concealed monster because you gave them good odds to call with a marginal hand? Most of the time I'll be happy if the blinds just fold. If they don't, then I want them to pay a premium for calling OOP. On the flop, I should know more about their hand than they know about mine, and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.

In the end, I think the techniques in the challenges should not be thought of as hard and fast rules that apply in every situation, but they are good for expanding your thinking and adding tools to be used when the situation allows.

 

[Exit141RTe1]

I must say I like the 4bb opening raise. It will generally separate the contenders from the pretenders.