Do you bet 2.5x bb at 25/50 on Stars?

[dave1mo]

Vague post, I know. But I really hate going 125 at that level. To many donks will make calls out of the blinds with junk, and seems to just leave me in awkward positions. Anyone else get this feeling?

[mortimo]

My standard-raise is t150, but I like t140 from CO/BTN

[Collin Moshman]

Hi dave1mo,

Whether to bet t125, or make any other move, really depends on what you want to accomplish. For instance...

Suppose you are on the button, you and the tight blinds all have around t1500, and your hand is T Jo. Then a raise to t125 is solid. You'll often take the pot immediately; if reraised, you can make an easy fold losing comparatively little; and if called, you are playing a small pot in position with an average top pair hand. Looks good.

But now let's suppose you are in mid position with several loose guys yet to act. You have A A. Then raising to t125 is not your best option, because you will often get a few callers and you will be put in a difficult position post-flop when there is heavy action and you don't know whether to risk it all on an overpair.

So here, you would want to either bet more (say t200 or so) to narrow the field and make a later position player pay too much to take away the absolute position you would prefer. Or against some maniacs, you might just call, hoping for a reraise, and if not getting out at the flop if there is heavy action and you miss your set since the pot will be smaller.

Lastly, smaller pre-flop raises are more suited to guys who don't mind some post-flop play. If you're uncomfortable after the flop, tend to fold or raise 3-4 BB rather than a more callable amount to avoid such dilemmas in the first place.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Collin

[kyro]

Relatively offtopic but I think my VPIP at Level 3 is like -40%, specifically for that reason.

I generally raise to 150 though, and sometimes but to 200 after a limper, but I am ubertight at that level.

[The Man]

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Best Regards,
Collin

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You put an extra L in there. Good post though!

[AMT]

collin,

your example seems reasonable but you need to factor in chasing away players with a hand like AA making it 4x when you do want people to play with you...finding a balance between narrowing the field and not chasing everyone away with the nuts is important, and often that would not be t200 at many tables....just a side thought

dave1,

making it 125 in certain situations such as the one above set by Colin is certainly reasonable, and I agree is often useful. At many tables/with specific players i find that this diminishes FE over making it 150, however, and there are many times where I feel I should raise but do not want to make it 125 as i run the risk of losing that FE/table image...generally, however, it is a good blind level to incorporate opening to 2.5x in certain spots, and there is nothing specifically wrong with it.

[DeuceSeven]

150 is standard, but I'm raising 3.3% of my hands so when I get action post flop I almost always have a hand I can go with or I have a missed AK, AQ that I play differently given how many and what type of players saw the flop. If I have AA, get 3 callers and the flop is J9x 2tone or rainbow, I don't care what the action is (at least at my stakes) I'm getting it all in somewhere if I can.

Given how tight I play in level 3, my decisions post flop are pretty easy. If you're opening up with a wider range of hands and are getting called a lot when you raise to 3x bb then maybe tighten up and let the donks go broke to your monster. Or if you're not getting enough callers, loosen up your raising range.

I rarely get more then 2 callers with a standard raise in level 3, seems like the sweet spot. Level 4 I start raising about 2.5x.