Quote:
Originally Posted by SABR42
Opening to 10BB is fishy because hopefully you're opening more than just the top 5% hands, and then what do you do with your weaker hands? Open to 4BB? Fold? Still open to 10BB?
Most of the time I won't have the big hand they're hoping to stack if they flop gin. You deny implied odds against your range by playing more aggressively with a wider range.
Bingo, if you have a non nit opening range I am going to only get called by hands that have me crushed the majority of the time if my standard open is 10BB. If you get a table that flats 67os for 10BB than good for you I guess, I havent played 1/2 in forever so maybe that's how it is. Or if you are at a table with no real competent players and you don't have to worry about balancing then it might me max EV to open up 10BB with all top tier hands, and open to a more standard amount with 89s hands, etc. I saw you included j10s in your range, which of course is a standard open, but lets pose a hypothetical for opening it to 10BB. On most standard 1-2 tables, not full of crazy drunks, gamblers, etc, when you open that much, in my experience at least you will only get called by hands that mostly crush j10. Now like you said they are most likely fit or fold players so you can still win the pot the vast majority of the time when they pick up no equity on the flop. But you are essentially playing the hand in hope that they don't hit, in which case you might as well be opening any 2 to 20 by that mindset. Now obviously there are still times when you can flop a lot of equity with that hand and get paid when they hit as well, but I think you get my point. Like I said, I haven't played 1/2 in ages, so if ppl will call 10BB raises with ranges that j10,qj etc is still in decent shape against then by all means go for it. But I have no qualms with a $11 open with no limpers. And if you are playing with complete droolers who don't study bet sizing then you can raise your premiums more and forget about balancing.
As for the KK hand you have to look at the dynamic of the entire hand, it's not really the same situation you were mentioning in the beginning about only having a bluff catcher. This isn't the same thing as some nit c/r you on a ragged dry flop. It's a player with fishing tendencies who made a smallish raise in position, most likely to see where he was at. Against a player like this I don't mind getting it in with KK, if he has no fold button I might consider 3betting flop, but I think most optimal line is flatting flop and leading the turn and being happy about it.