AA2x in the BB at Mid-Stakes, do you raise?

[wiseheart]

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Personally, I feel this is a mistake, cause Im generally playing against thinking players and don't
want them to know my hand.

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If everytime you raise your opponents know you have A/A/x/x where one of those x's is a wheel card, then you're making mistakes somewhere else.

You could just as easily be raising a premium low holding with suited cards:

A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
A [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Or, maybe you've seen a boatload of players coming into the pot at a generally tight table. As such, you assume the majority of them are on low-oriented hands. You might then raise some of the following holdings to build the pot in hopes that the flop is 2-3 high cards:

10/10/J/K
K/K/Q/J
J/J/Q/Q

etc.

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So your raising 20% of your hands in the BB?!?
And does it not matter to you at all, that if
you don't raise and the flop hits you, your opps
are most likely not going to know it or believe it.

[grandgnu]

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So your raising 20% of your hands in the BB?!?
And does it not matter to you at all, that if
you don't raise and the flop hits you, your opps
are most likely not going to know it or believe it.

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I'm not at the right computer to check my stats in PT, but I don't believe I'm raising 20% of my BB holdings.

Also, I try to practice good table selection so that enough opponents are huge calling stations or overaggressive with marginal hands.

And I also try to raise from the BB with enough different hands that it will be difficult to pinpoint my exact holding.

[slcseas]

Pot Limit or Limit? That makes a huge difference.

I raise this hand 9 of 10 times in Pot Limit.

If it's a limit game and it's 4 or 5 way, I check. If an ace and/or the nut low draw hits the flop i, it's a great spot to check raise.

[Ray Zee]

here is my answer. if your raise is such that it gives away your hand very closely you arent playing properly. and in higher stakes games if you have this leak it is likely you wont be a long term winner.
but to go on-- the higher the stakes game the less inclined you should be to raise. no, its not because in higher stakes games they will read you better. they will. but as the stakes get higher it is easier to knock players out on the flop. so with this hand in higher games you would not want to raise as much so the pot would be smaller to start and you could reap better benefits from skillful plays later on, by just giving up some ev of the good hand from out of position.
in smaller stakes games you get lots of callers and they stay around longer. so it is tougher to get the pot shorthanded if you desire. so then you might as well raise early and build a big pot with the best hand.