Basic bring-in question

[Brocktoon]

When you have a strong hand but are the bring in, ex: (AA)3 or being rolled up with small trips, do you bet the full amount or bring it in for the minimum as usual to disguise your hand?

Following up on that, if you just bring it in for the minimum and are raised, do you tip your hand and re-raise or just call it and wait for a bigger street to raise/CR?

[Sevenfold]

In a loose game, i'd just go ahead and bring it in for the full bet, but there is nothing wrong with bringing it in as if you had no hand.

I'd say I raise it (complete) about 25% of the time, and bring it in about 75%. That is my personal ratio, but others might have drastically different ones. I see nothing wrong with either play.

I like just bringing it in in hopes of what you mentioned, having someone else raise. If that happens, I'd reraise it almost everytime.

One exception would be when a player on my left raises, there are several callers, and it comes back to me. Then I'd just call and see what happens.

Ideally you want to play aces against one or two other players, so depending on the game, I prefer to limp re-raise as my general strategy.

Good luck.

Edit---the above was for pocket aces. For roll ups, again you can go either way. Bringing it in and getting several callers isn't as bad here as it is with aces only. You can try and build a big pot right away. But I probably limp in with roll ups the vast majority of the time.

I think that the reason I like to limp is that I can pick a time later in the hand when a raise would do me the most good.

However, small roll ups are very vulnerable, so you might wish to raise and reraise every chance you get.

The last reason I'll limp, is that a full bring in, especially if you've been playing fairly solid, is an alarm to anyone paying attention. You're obviously not stealing the bring-in, and it just seems to be psychologically different raising (22)2 first in, and say (AA)4 after a bring in and a call for example. This is really a minor point, and just my own feeling about the game.

So really it is a personal choice. If you are unsure of what to do, raise it up. If you are taking a shot in a higher game than normal, full bet it every time.

[Micturition Man]

If you are playing with competent opponents you should never open-complete.

If you actually have a good hand you want them to try to steal your bring-in.

If you don't have a good hand you want a chance to get away from the hand cheaply based on the actions of the field.

[Eddie901]

It really depends on the game, limits and situation.

I find myself doing this much more in the latter stages of tournaments/SNGs than in ring games; in low limit loose/high-ante games it is also often the right thing to do (since disguising your hand makes little difference).

[lambchop]

I've probably played around 75k or so hands of stud, and I don't think that I've ever brought it in for the full amount. I think that it gives away too much information way too fast. I personally am very cautious when other players bring it in for the full amount, and throw away some hands that I would normally play/raise with...for example if I had (5T)T in late position with no over cards behind me, but this is player dependent of course.

[Micturition Man]

If you are playing a reasonably high limit I would make the exact opposite read.

When someone brings it in for a full bet it usually means they have a hand they want to play but they would really like to steal the antes if possible.

One of the most common is a split baby pair with an A kicker.

It takes a rare and stupid person to bring-in for a full bet with a big buried pair.

[Sevenfold]

"If you are playing a reasonably high limit I would make the exact opposite read."

So by bringing it in for the full bet with a big hand one would cause you to totally mis-read the hand. Yet you say only a stupid person would do so.

Seems to me those are conflicting statements.

Playing a hand the same way every time is a mistake IMHO.

[SweetLuckyMe]

Depends on who's at the table (if there's an aggro with an ace up I sometimes like to screw with them), but generally I rarely bring it in for a full bet. The exception being if there are a bunch of passive calling stations - I'll bring it in for a full bet and take the value of my big hand right there. I much prefer the limp-reraise to the full bet under most situation where I don't mind showing the big early strength.

[Andy B]

With the specific hands you cite, I will usually bring in for the minimum and hope to raise on the backside. There is nothing wrong with bringing it in full if the game is loose. Some will tell you that you should never bring it in full, but I have to disagree. The most common scenario where I will bring it in full is when I have a big pair in the hole and one of my trip cards is out.