Why raise preflop? - Beginning Poker Questions

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Why raise preflop?

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05-08-2021 , 11:53 PM

murph69

enthusiast

Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 58

In the games I play (1/2 NL cash and tournaments) raising 3xBB doesn’t weed out anybody that wouldn’t have folded anyway.

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05-09-2021 , 01:03 AM

murph69

enthusiast

Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shuffle

1. you should raise more than 3x in live games ($10-$20 is common for 1/2 live)

2. you want to raise your hands that are likely to be ahead of the remaining players to act (you have a good hand, get more money in the pot!)

3. as you gain experience or move up and play against better players, you widen your raising range slightly for deception (if you do this too much though, you will lose money)

By live do you mean in person? I play online exclusively.

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05-09-2021 , 02:57 AM

murph69

enthusiast

Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 58

UPDATE: Lost another $200. Hand that got me was FH over FH. I hate this f$&@ing game!

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05-09-2021 , 04:08 AM

Yeodan

Micro NLHE Coach

Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3,621

Just keep increasing your raise size until people start folding, also tighten up your range a tiny bit every time you increase the size.

If you end up shoving something like AQ+, TT+ and people still don't fold, you'll print money.

People will start folding if you raise 10x though.
Just don't do this with bad hands.

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05-09-2021 , 09:14 AM

madlex

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 17,434

Are you talking about blinds of $1/$2? I would highly recommend to play a much smaller game.

If people don’t fold no matter the raise size, you can wait for QQ+/AK and go all-in.

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05-09-2021 , 09:18 AM

browni3141

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 5,678

1|2 NL is midstakes online. This stake is enough to support professionals playing for a living, so you'll encounter a lot of good players unless you're on the softest of sites. Play lower if you don't like getting smacked around.

I find it hard to believe that 3x raises never win the blinds or get people to fold marginal hands, but there is another reason to raise. You want to raise to build a pot for your strong hands.

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05-09-2021 , 01:19 PM

antialias

grinder

Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 590

Quote:

Originally Posted by browni3141

I find it hard to believe that 3x raises never win the blinds or get people to fold marginal hands, but there is another reason to raise. You want to raise to build a pot for your strong hands.

Maybe it's just that others have pegged OP to be a fish and will call any preflop raise just to be in a hand with him?
Given some of the other threads OP has started I'd put at not unlikely.

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05-13-2021 , 06:21 AM

John Holliday

enthusiast

Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 90

People probably aren't folding to you because your post-flop game is poor.

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05-13-2021 , 01:24 PM

santiniii

stranger

Join Date: May 2021 Posts: 2

I also struggle with this but I also see Pros using different sizings and I have heard/seen that in softer fields they would raise bigger with their stronger hands and smaller with more speculative hands like small pocket pairs.

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05-13-2021 , 02:53 PM

#10

VBAces

veteran

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,474

Quote:

Originally Posted by murph69

In the games I play (1/2 NL cash and tournaments) raising 3xBB doesn’t weed out anybody that wouldn’t have folded anyway.

2 questions:

1) How could you possibly know this?

2) If they are calling you with marginal hands (raising you with bigger hands) what part of them calling you with hands weaker than yours don't you like?

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05-13-2021 , 04:40 PM

#11

SpewingIsMyMove

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2015 Posts: 3,529

Quote:

Originally Posted by santiniii

Altering bet sizing based on hand type\hand strength is basically turning your cards face up

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05-16-2021 , 11:34 PM

#12

Yeodan

Micro NLHE Coach

Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3,621

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDailyGrind

People have been saying that on this forum for years and yet every single strategy behind NLHE advocates specifically doing just that: Altering your bet sizes according to your hand strength.

Altering bet size based on hand strength and expected villain's range/hand is better than not doing so against bad players who don't understand what you're doing.

Once you start facing better opponents, if you alter bet size based on hand strength they will quickly get reads on you and exploit you.
This is where GTO comes in, basing bet sizes on your entire range in that spot, not on your actual hand.

But I disagree with the original statement, altering bet size based on hand strength is probably fine (and even better) against 99% of players.
Pre-flop most people catch on quickly if you raise bigger with strong hands though.

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05-17-2021 , 05:25 AM

#13

Brokenstars

Verified Coach NLHE

Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 16,102

What stakes you playing OP? What site?

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