Online Poker Forum - limping vs raising preflop question

Pacey Witter · Two Pair Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

question for anyone whos been playing for awhile, i'm currently at the $11 s&g level, only been playing real money for a little over a month. Heres the thing- i stick with the concept that if you're first to enter the pot either raise or fold, however questioning best strategy if a couple of people limp in b4 me, heres an example- say i hold pocket jacks & 2 people have just limped in front of me, normally i would still raise, but would it be wiser to just limp? then what if someone behind me raises, should i reraise or just call? how about same scenario with something like ak? or kq suited? or even pocket 10's? (assuming the table isnt shorthanded- so im talking at least 6 people still playing if not more & no one is really shortstacked yet) I question this only because there seem to be a good number of maniacs who will reraise (sometimes all in) with hands as weak as aj offsuit, & if its still early on in the s&g i usually give them credit for a strong hand. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

GripHoldOn · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject:

Tournament Poker is all about winning what's in the middle in marginal situations. When you get dealt pocket jacks, you want to give yourself a good chance of winning the pot. With the blinds ever increasing, you need to take down pots to keep yourself afloat. When you just limp with the jacks, yes you won't LOSE a big pot, and you have a very small chance of winning a big pot, but your chances of merely winning the pot aren't nearly as good as they would be if you raise. Put in a large raise usually. AK, 10 10, same thing. With these hands you want to be up against as few opponents as possible. If you simply take down the pot preflop, this is okay, as you are accumulating chips at no risk to your stack.

BOYNAMEDSUE · Moderator Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 9112 Location: Mypos

If you've only been playing for cash for one month, play the $5 sngs. What's the rush? I think I played 6 months before I played the $10 sngs.

Rule of thumb, the less competition you want the bigger the raise has to be. This is especially true if there are already limpers in the pot, because they already have chips in the pot. So, like Grips says, put in a nice size raise with JJ or TT.

AK, I'd let the amount of limpers before you (The more limpers the bigger the raise), and your position after the flop determine the size of the raise. If you're out of position, make a big raise to win the pot there, or get heads up against one opponent. The worst that could happen by raising, is that you induce an all-in reraise, but since you already have an A and a K, it's unlikely someone has 2 of the remaining 3 A's or K's. You'll probably be up against QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ or even AJ. Online, people go all-in with weak hands.

Sometimes I just call, if I'll have good position after the flop. The reason for this, and this is something I learned from Dan Harrington's first book, is that you'll be able to pick up some pots just because of your good position, like if it's checked to you.

Regarding limping, you should sometimes limp with all hands, just to mix it up. But online it's just not worth it. People don't pay much attention; so mixing it up is less effective. Plus, you might end up with 4 or 5 callers.
At a table with raising maniacs I'd limp though, hoping for a raise, so you can reraise with your premium hands.

UrbanMeyer1 · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 7:42 pm Post subject:

Each table, each SNG, each blind level, each chip stack of yours will decide how you should play those type of hands. Post them when you come across these situations for advice. It's a much better way to learn then getting a general response.

Limping w/ JJ & 1010 in L1 & L2 and in early position is completely fine.

KQs I only advise to play in LP with a raise later on in the SNG.

AK can actually be limped very easily in lower level SNGs in EP during L1 & L2, but bring it in for a pot raise in M to LP. L3 it can be open raised in any position obviously.

Pacey Witter · Two Pair Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

so urban- kq suited basically shouldnt play from early or middle position early on in s&g?

UrbanMeyer1 · Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:44 pm Post subject: Re:

Pacey Witter · Two Pair Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

Urban- shorthanded do u reccomend raising with the KQs from any position?

UrbanMeyer1 · Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject: Re:

Pacey Witter · Two Pair Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

Urban- can i email u for any specific sng advice?

UrbanMeyer1 · Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:19 pm Post subject: Re:

bigzach322 · Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:32 pm Post subject:

i think in a small tournament environment, raising pre flop is more than likely the better decision

KGBlovesOreos · Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:12 am Post subject:

in the situation where multiple ppl have limped in while you sit there w/ JJ, i would consider overbetting the pot a little to try and take the pot down right there... if somebody calls and there is only one over card out there (lets say a Q), proceed with caution and your strategy from then on should be based on "feel"

mikestj · High Card Joined: 03 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: flanders

Realize also preflop if you are willing to play that hand for all your chips (i.e. if the flop comes 649 and you have ak are you going to call a big raise) ( even know you shouldnt call with your hand post flop) If you are willing to call all the way to the river just move in. If you are more passive after the flop or feel you cant "outplay" your opponents than either make a standard raise or flat call and see a flop.

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