help settle a debate and answer a question

[Fonkey123]

Raise PP's in EP fold SC's.

[raistlinx]

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this is a friend of mine who i met online and lives in england. i could ask my friends or he could ask his but there is not a single person in world that we both know. so unknown people seem like the best option.

i think the answer is simple and so does he, unfortunatley we both think the answer is different.

i regretted mentioning that i played for a living after i made the post as i knew i would have someone post something like this. if it makes you feel any better im obviously not doing that well since im presently playing 1-2 and 2-4 nl. i manage to make enough to support my family and not much else, i certainly wasnt bragging about my skills as obviously there are a number of things im doing incorrectly or i would have met with more success. i was simply trying to explain that i do not think that it is fair to assume that im inexperienced.

for the record since youve commented that the answer is simple and fundamental would you mind sharing your answer like the others who answered did or do you just want to break my balls some more?

matty

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That's fair. It did sound a bit like you were bragging.

The answer is simple/fundamental in that "it depends" on the table and the implied odds you expect to get, since, as you know PP and SC need nice fat implied odds to win and you also need position to extract when you hit, most especially with SC's.

Online you often find games that play very weak tight and you can limp with PP up front because you can still call a normal 3-4xbb raise with them because they play so easy after the flop. You can't get away with this with SC because your position will be so bad so these are always late position hands.

However, if the table is aggressive with big bets preflop you are better off just tossing the baby pairs up front because you just won't get the odds you need to play them.

I know many people on here will say "raise em all" but this is just not profitable in the long run and this is why...

A few times you will win the blinds and a few times you will win with a cbet on the flop (there will be many flops you can't cbet of course) but the amount you profit in these situations won't make up for the times you get raised and have to throw them away (and you do have to throw them away if raised unless you are super deep-stacked) and the times you lose on the flop. Also, because you will be raising more before the flop people will catch on to this and start 3betting you light, again forcing you to throw the hand away.

It's better to give up the marginal amount you may win in blinds to get a shot at winning the guys stack after the flop when you limp/call with a small-med PP

Don't listen to the people who tell you to raise them all to steal the blinds. You play poker to win money, not pots.

[betgo]

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hands like QTs in early-mid position. playable in mid but not in early?

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I'm tossing them but that does not mean it is incorrect to play them in a mid-ish position. Some posters here, like Betgo and FutureDoc, can get away with an unusually loose strategy because they read hands well and have good table control. They are very experienced players and pretty much know what they can and can't get away with at a particular table or in a specific situation. The fact that you are asking these questions suggests that it would be a good idea for you to be folding these hands in these spots.

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I generally open QTs from any position with either a limp or a raise. If I limp, I sometimes limpreraise and mix that with limpreraises with AA/KK or sometimes QQ/AK.

If the pot has been raised, I might call, fold, or reraise with QTs.

I never open fold small pps. I might open raise, open miniraise, or limp/call with them. I generally flat call raises with small pairs unless the raise is too large HU or 3-way.

In live NL, the play is much looser, so I usually play these hands, but am less likely to raise or reraise with them.

I usually play hands like suited gappers and small pps much stronger than unsuited broadway cards.

I don't advocate that beginners play this way.