Hi Guys,
I’m playing a low stack LO8 game 4/8$ (with 6/12$ kill). Chatty, friendly table with a couple of crazy raisers (straddling Kill and raising in the dark). Most of pots involve 6 persons at least preflop. Raising in that game has no fold equity, lol. I am far from an expert . I have half of my session where I’m winning money. I don’t win big (nor loose big either). I have a tight approach of the game as Tight is right
I start to understand that what makes you winning is adjustment in your betting strategy and folds.

Yesterday night I played the following Hand: A28T rainbow in middle position. I raised it preflop trying to build a pot (if re-raise, I wouldn’t cap). 6 guys in the hand.
Flop 47Q: I open Bet. 6 guys in the hand. (If Vilain had open, I would have raised)
Turn 47Q8: Vilain in SB bet. V2 bet, V3 bet, H raise, call , call,…. 4 players
River 47Q8K: SB Bet, call, call call. I think I’m probably quartered and just called.

Few questions as I’m not sure this is good betting line:

1) Would you raise PF ? I’m not sure I should raise in this spot. This is among the weakest A2 (but still A2). Would you raise 100% if 2 cards were suited ?
2) Are you ok with Flop. Would you raise an open on Flop ?
3) Ok with Turn line ?
4) Should I raise 100% of hands when it was aggressive when 4 players ? I notice that often, it ends in 3 players and I’m often quatered. Yesterday, I played few very agressives hands (raise / Reraise withour flush or obvious straight), I ended just calling on the river with nut low and 4 players being sure we were at least 2 with nut low. I ended up winning the low but the feeling of missed value was hard. You have few spots and you want to take as much as possible. I shouldn’t be result orientd either. Would you have a “golden rule” for the river with 4 players ?
5) Anything else ?


Thanks

I prefer check flop 6way with very limited redraw potential and as played would call turn (no counterfeit protection,very limited hi potential and sometimes we are splitting the lo - also calling encourages worse Los to tag along)

I would generally not raise this hand preflop from middle position. I might raise it occasionally from the cutoff or button, but it's a very speculative raise—sort of like raising 9T suited on the button in a multiway hand in LHE.

According to ProPokerTools, A2 hands rank from 1.0 to 92.0 (the latter is for A222 rainbow). Your specific hand actually ranks 15.0, which is not that weak.

What strengthens an A2 hand?
1. Another Ace
2. Backup for low, preferably a wheel card, the lower the better
3. A suited combo to the Ace
4. A second suited combo, the higher the better
5. High card strength in the form of a Broadway card, the higher the better
6. High card strength in the form of a pocket pair, the higher the better (like A2KK)

I don't have any hard-and-fast rules on which A2 hands are raise-worthy; a lot depends on my position and table dynamics. But in general I'm looking for a hand that has three or four of the above attributes.

So consider a starting hand like (A2)(4K). That ranks 2.0, and I think you can clearly see how it's significantly stronger than A28T rainbow.

You have no real backup for low (I discount the 8 in a multiway hand), and no immediate prospects for high. So you have 15 outs for half the pot at best. Regardless of whether I raised preflop, I would take a check-call approach to this flop. My equity is not that high. I could miss my low draw completely, or make it on the turn and get counterfeited on the river. I could be quartered. I want to see a turn and river as cheaply as possible, and I don't want to push anyone out. What if someone bets, you raise, half the field folds, and the original bettor reraises? Now you're three-way on a draw for half the pot at best.

It's OK. Now that you've made the nut low and a pair, your equity is higher than what it was on the flop. As long as you're confident that no one will fold on the turn after your raise, your risk is not that great. But what happens when an Ace or a Deuce comes on the river? Now the guy with 56, who made both a straight and the worst low possible on the turn, has you beat for low. Or what if the original bettor has A2 with two pair or a Queen, and he decides to reraise, and everyone else folds? Now you're getting quartered heads-up. So with the naked nut low on this turn, it's probably better not to raise unless there are five or six players still in the pot. But if raising the turn is a mistake, it's only a small one.

Your river dilemma is a common one. A lot of people are afraid to raise if they think they're getting quartered. There's also some peer pressure not to raise (in my experience, anyway) in that the other person getting quartered might berate you after the fact for your poor play that cost him money. But look at it this way:
• If there are four people in at the river and you raise and get quartered, you get your money back. Your raise made no difference to your bottom line whatsoever.
• If your raise leads one person to fold and you get quartered in a $4/$8 game, you lose $2. That's all. You put in an extra $8, and you get back an extra $6 (one-fourth of $24).
• But if you're not getting quartered, your raise earns you an extra $4 in a three-way hand and an extra $8 in a four-way hand.

I don't have any Golden Rules here. It helps to know your opponents to get a better sense of when you're up against another nut low, though you still might guess wrong sometimes. However, based on the risk/reward ratio described above—and your own sense that you're giving up value by not raising enough in these spots—perhaps you should be more inclined to raise with the nut low when it's four-way on the river.

In the particular hand you described, a river raise seems safer to me than a turn raise, because you no longer face the risk of being counterfeited.

Good questions. Good luck!