i personally dont like raising on the SB with AJ , AQ , TT , maybe even AK

[Baldy86]

even if according to "textbook" you should do raise even as a small blind

when you raise as SB then the other players have position on you and can exploit you ....knowing you have AJ+

i rather just call and look at the flop and then decide what to do . anybody agrees ?

 

[makisaa]

I agree, at the small blind I can just call, except if I am holding something very strong! You are exposed also if you just call!

 

[Luvepoker]

even if according to "textbook" you should do raise even as a small blind

when you raise as SB then the other players have position on you and can exploit you ....knowing you have AJ+

i rather just call and look at the flop and then decide what to do . anybody agrees ?

It not always that simple by the textbook. There are time you should just flat in the SB to be honest. Yes you will be OOP but that not the end of the world. When you have a hand you want to make the other players pay even if they have position. You should though look at becoming better at playing OOP. While yes your not losing as much when you lose a hand you are giving up a lot of value here. I know its not easy.

 

[MK_]

....the other players can also exploit you when you flat call and reraise you, i think flatting from the sb is generally a huge leak, if your hand is good enough to play then play it otherwise fold and save your chips...

 

[StealTheButton]

....the other players can also exploit you when you flat call and reraise you, i think flatting from the sb is generally a huge leak, if your hand is good enough to play then play it otherwise fold and save your chips...

If you have a weak player who allows you to limp you are getting great odds to call. Also if he is a weak player you will be able to take some extra pots and you need to exploit this. Regardless, you should not do the same thing all the time. If the BB suspects you are only raising with AJ and better than limp occasionally. But you need to get more money in the pot when you have the better hand, and repeatedly limping with AJ is a mistake- you are also taking it down when BB has 10 4 offsuit when he might have connected big on the flop.

 

[StealTheButton]

even if according to "textbook" you should do raise even as a small blind

when you raise as SB then the other players have position on you and can exploit you ....knowing you have AJ+

i rather just call and look at the flop and then decide what to do . anybody agrees ?

You can mini-raise, thus keeping the pot size more manageable.

 

[Station_Master]

even if according to "textbook" you should do raise even as a small blind

when you raise as SB then the other players have position on you and can exploit you ....knowing you have AJ+

i rather just call and look at the flop and then decide what to do . anybody agrees ?

Obviously slot of factors like who opened from what position, stack sizes etc. But in general it's better to 3bet a good strong linear range. I dont think your opponents will easily exploit you as you will also have AA and KK etc in your range. Could through the odd 76s, A5s for board coverage/bluffs too

 

[fundiver199]

I you only raise very strong hands like AJ+ or TT+ from SB, and either limp or fold the rest, then thats extremely unbalanced and anything but "textbook". If fact it would be like the worst poker book in the world, that told you to do that, so I have no idea, which "book" you are talking about? Maybe one thats 20 years old or something? The correct strategy from SB is to either raise or limp all the hands, you want to play. In no-ante games you should usually always raise, but with antes limping is often the best strategy, and your strongest hands (and some bluffs) are then used to limp-reraise. So for example with AJ, you limp, and if the opponent raise, you put in a solid 3-bet. Or if stacks are short enough a jam.

 

[Andyreas]

It depends a lot on if the pot is unopened or not, how many player are in, etc.

If there's a 'steal' raise of a late position, like CO or BN and you make a decent raise of 4x their bet, chances are high that they'll fold all their bottom range and you may take the pot down preflop.

 

[Snake2007]

Yes, I also agree with this.