Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob148
I don’t think about punishment when I play poker. It’s all about profitability. As the opposition plays more and more hands, it follows that more hands receive the most profit by raising preflop.
Yup. You're not raising because "f*** this guy and his limp", you're raising because it makes the most $.
A common situation once you move up will be: weak, fit or fold type player limps in, and you raise him with a wide range. He isn't feeling "punished" by your action, because this is kind of what he suspects will happen: someone will raise and he can see a flop for 2 bets instead of 3. Then when he misses, he check folds.
If someone is check folding > 50% of flops routinely, then you have an easy exploit and can punish their overall strategy. OTOH if the guy is getting to the river with hands as weak as a bare overcard to the board, then you may wanna save your "punishment" for someone else when they limp in and you have 87s.
In your games, your raises are pure value. And since you have position, you can also decide if you want to build a bigger pot if you flop a good hand or a strong draw (or occasionally, a board so dry that it's hard for your opponents to continue without a strong range, like Q33r).
Remember that beating poker isn't just playing good cards, it's taking advantage of your opposition's mistakes.