PP $11 @ work. Bubble hands (long).

[45suited]

Pay attention to who is in the blinds and what stacks they have. Unless the table was very loose, I think that against most players you can do some standard / 2.5BB raises more often.


Many times, I will raise to 400 here with any two. You'll take the pot down enough that this should be a good play. Read dependent of course, but even the BB is not so short that he will be calling with many hands here.

[ QUOTE ]
***** Hand History for Game 3516068525 *****
150/300 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (NL) (Tournament 19973636) - Wed Feb 08 09:34:59 EST 2006
Table Table 66813 (Real Money) -- Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 3: Luckbox 1 (1305)
Seat 6: Luckbox 2 (1855)
Seat 7: Hero (3295)
Seat 8: Donk (1545)
Luckbox 1 posts big blind (150)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ 2s, 5h ]
Luckbox 2 folds.
Hero folds.
Donk raises (300) to 300
Luckbox 1 folds.
** Summary **
Main Pot: 450
Luckbox 1 balance 1155, lost 150 (folded)
Luckbox 2 balance 1855, didn't bet (folded)
Hero balance 3295, didn't bet (folded)
Donk balance 1695, bet 300, collected 450, net +150

[/ QUOTE ]


Even here, a push is fine, but I honestly think that against most players, a mini-raise works just as well. If you raise to 400, the shortstacks are getting out of the way (or they'll have a hand that they would have called a push with anyway). BB guy is not going to want to risk his chip position without a very good hand. Sometimes, I'll even limp here, betting any flop when checked to. Much less risky than pushing, IMO, and damn near as effective, especially against low limit guys who aren't going to push from the BB just because you limped or mini-raised.

This is probably counter to most 2+2 philosophy but I think that vs most players, it works just fine. You gotta remember, the other guys are afraid of you, you can use this to your advantage in other ways than just pushing.

[ QUOTE ]
***** Hand History for Game 3516070832 *****
200/400 Tourney Texas Hold'em Game Table (NL) (Tournament 19973636) - Wed Feb 08 09:36:05 EST 2006
Table Table 66813 (Real Money) -- Seat 8 is the button
Total number of players : 4
Seat 3: Luckbox 1 (955)
Seat 6: Luckbox 2 (1780)
Seat 7: Hero (4220)
Seat 8: Donk (1045)
Luckbox 1 posts small blind (100)
Luckbox 2 posts big blind (200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Hero [ Kc, 6c ]
Hero raises (4220) to 4220
Hero is all-In.
Donk folds.
Luckbox 1 folds.
Luckbox 2 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $4520 with Hero
** Summary **
Main Pot: 4520
Luckbox 1 balance 855, lost 100 (folded)
Luckbox 2 balance 1580, lost 200 (folded)
Hero balance 4520, bet 4220, collected 4520, net +300
Donk balance 1045, didn't bet (folded)

[/ QUOTE ]