6-Max UTG Raising ranges

[AJFenix]

You underestimate both the value of fold equity and of overrepresenting your hand. A simple continuation bet accomplishes both of these things. In NL Hold'Em, a CB is the most profitable opportunity for bluffing, which I have no doubt you realize. A hand such as this one provides you many +EV situations to overrepresent your hand, and generate fold equity, while still having outs that you can be confident in that can win you a big pot.

Heres an example. You raise 3.5bb UTG with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. One person calls, doesn't really matter who, everyone else folds. Flop comes something like 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Your opponent has something like 88-JJ. Its either checked to you or you are first to act, and you bet 3/4 pot. He raises you big. You push. Either you win the pot right there without a showdown, which you will a lot of the time, or if he decides to call, you have a coinflip with all of that dead money in the middle. Good scenario either way. If he doesn't believe you in this situation, surely he won't when you flop a great hand on a board of 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] or 2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] or similar, as he certainly cannot put you on what you have and you are representing the same exact thing you were in the other situation which he didn't believe or wasn't good enough to realize (even though you may not necessarily play this hand the same way as you DON'T want to generate as much fold equity).

Another example could be with the same hand. Lets say he calls your CB in the 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] situation. You turn a 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. You just picked up more outs, and you are now 38% with only one card to come vs something like J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. When you fire that large second barrel on the turn, you are pretty much representing a big pair, and you will be able to fold out many hands, with a lot of equity to fall back on in case they do get stubborn (which they often will, no doubt). However, if he calls, the pot on the river will be something like 60bb's, and he has to realize that he may be forced to call a big river bet as well. By the threat of that larger river bet being there, your turn bet is exercising a LOT more leverage than just the amount you are shooting at him.

Hell, you could turn an ace and win a small/medium pot as it will generally stall the hands I mentioned. Or you could turn a flush, or straight as well, which will happen a decent % of the time. Sure, the vast majority of the time you flop nothing, but the fact of the matter is, the CB alone will often work enough of the time to show a profit based on pot odds, and your hand's equity and various options it provides you make up for the situations in which it doesn't. Even though a hand like ATo is a stronger hand when looked at in isolation, it doesn't provide you with nearly as much in terms of flexibility/possibilities/opportunities.