I have a question pertaining to calling out of the BB...

[Talibankweli]

with a specific hand. I'm new to the forums, but not to poker. I was having a discussion with my friend about calling out of the BB in a short handed limit game with a raiser while you're holding 4-7 off suit. My friend said he calls every time, but I did not find it to be too profitable.

I was wondering if it is a profitable situation to call and is it profitable in the long run to call out of the bb with 4-7.

Thanks, much appreciated.

[Harv72b]

It depends largely on how good your friend plays postflop, and especially to how he plays relative to the raiser. He'll be out of position (unless the raiser was the SB), which will definitely handicap him.

Me personally, I will usually call a late position raise from the BB with 74o, but not if my opponent is generally passive and/or does not steal often. I'm less likely to call with it against an extremely aggressive player as well, as his style of play + having position will force me to make more FTOP mistakes after the flop. In a short-handed game I'd be more likely to defend with it.

[Allday Everyday]

I think it depends on the opponent's range from the position he is open-raising from, how you both play postflop, previous hands that have been played, and other things. I think the best general opponent would be one who steals frequently PF, and is aggro and bad postflop. An opponent who also lays down hands often and rarely gets to SD could be good too.

As a general rule default play in the games I play, I would often call agaisnt the button, and the SB. However, I would sometimes call against players from other positions, and would sometimes fold to certain raisers in these positions.

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I was wondering if it is a profitable situation to call and is it profitable in the long run to call out of the bb with 4-7.

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IMO, it would be only marginally profitable in certain situations. If you folded it every time, I don't think you would lose very much at all. If your friend is calling every time, I think he is making a significant mistake.

[Talibankweli]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate them.

[Lucky_River]

4 7o and 4 7s against a raiser easy fold every time no matter how good you are or how bad the raiser is fold.

[Talibankweli]

More replies?

[Allday Everyday]

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4 7o and 4 7s against a raiser easy fold every time no matter how good you are or how bad the raiser is fold.

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But it's connected 2-gapper!!

When we defend PF from BB against a single raiser and no callers we are getting an immediate 3.5:1 on our call (assuming there is a SB in play), and an implied 4.5:1 after the highly likely continuation bet from the raiser. Though in SS games odds are slightly less when the large rake is subtracted. They are also slightly less when it is the SB who is stealing. I think many hands are profitable in this situation, and that 4 7 can be profiatble under certain conditions. That said, I would still muck 4 7 most of the time. It's quite a horrible hand.

[James.]

call getting 3.5immediate/4.5implied. flop a pair or better. go to showdown and win money.

[Ricks]

Stocktrader's new book deals extensively with defending in the BB. He suggests that you defend against a steal attempt, if the raiser has an ATS% of 40, with 75s and 75o as well as 64s,65o,53s,43s. The 40% is a baseline so your calling ranges widen and shrink. You also give more credit to the CO than you would the SB. He believes that your hand is worth defending if it has at least 35% equity against the stealer's range of hands. If you PokerStove 74o you will see that there are not a lot of ranges that meet this criteria.

You did not mention if you were asking about steal attempts or about calling in general. If these raises were not steal attempts (CO forward) from very aggressive players, who attempt to steal way over 40% of the time, then I think that defending with 74o is a mistake.

[DudeSurprise]

I'm the goofball in question, so I'll explain my reasoning.

I've played with OP tons over the last few years and don't mind entering marginal situations against him because I have a general feeling of how he plays post flop. I don't blindly call out of the BB with any 2 gaper in any situation. This was not a full ring situation, as we were 3-handed and he raised from the button. Against a decently aggressive pre-flop button raiser, I feel like 74o is a fair enough hand to give action. I'm not turbo mucking if I miss the flop, as I feel there are enough times I can get value out the hand by taking it away when we both miss.