[mjws00]

This does NOT work well at an aggressive table, or probably with observant opponents. However, I think there are lots of opponents we can exploit with pot building bets.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]They won't cold call 4BB+1 in error. They will call 2BB and then another 1-2BB from you in LP. They are still just as likely to fold to a psb on the flop. In fact more so because the bet is a much larger percentage of their stack and MORE THAN THEY ARE USED TO. When you fire the second barrel either with or without the goods, these weak players are extremely uncomfortable. Scared uncomfortable money is DEAD MONEY.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]Absolutely this is some weird kind of game that is twice as expensive. It's even worse by the turn and river where it is multiplied. Granted I don't have the game or the nads to pull this crap at 100NL+... but the nano fish will happily pay double or triple and still see almost every flop. We have position, a hand, and the ability to play post-flop. They are uncomfortable, out of position, and praying for a miracle.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]The point is not minraising. The point is finding the threshold of pain for our opponents. Maybe it is 2BB maybe 4BB. At some point they are making an optimally large mistake that we can capitalize on later. When we have nice deep stacks the earlier we can get them committed the easier it is to get our stacks in.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]Dump the minraise. Look for the largest error you can induce preflop. We're looking for something to leverage later in the hand when our edge is highest. You want action when you hit a hand. Commit them early and you have something to work with. You can still control pot-size on later streets if necessary.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]The key is understanding your edge and how it relates to your opponents. If you are going to be outplayed, wtf are you doing building pots with speculative hands? And if you aren't building on both speculative and strong... you are giving away information to observants. I would expect an expert to be able to drop down a couple levels and exploit the hell out of most of us on the early streets. They are going to bump it, or pound it, early and outplay you for larger pots than you are used to every time.

I'm over the semantics. I want optimal. Typically that is more than a minraise down here. Building big pots is certainly a viable strategy. That is always going to involve getting as much money in there early as we can.

Just two bits. Lots of ways to skin a donk at NL, imho.

Mike