flop small set faces raise on flop - push or call?

[myheadhurts]

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my standard open raise with a big hand is 4bb. but if there is one limper then it's 5. 2 or three limpers i add 2 or 3bb. when i 3 bet it's 2 and a half times the raise.

but i will raise 3bb with pps and scs sometimes just to build a pot should i hit and also to take it down if noone else is interested. it also allows you to fire a c bet if you want.

do you advocate not varying the size of raises?

i also limp kk and aa (and sometimes others) early on to mix it up (although only about 40% of the time)

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No, I fully recommend varying the sizes of raises. I don't do it nearly often enough because I 12 table, and it's out of bone-idle lazyness. But at least I'm honest about that.

However, if you are going to vary you have to do it right, and I think a smaller raise with a hand like 44 is a bad idea.

Basically, you are hoping for one of three things:
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Everybody folds pre-flop
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] You get called by exactly one player, who has high unpaired cards or a middle pair. He misses the flop and folds to a c-bet.
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] You get called at least one player and flop a set.

My point is basically:
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Raising less than usual encourages someone to reraise you
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]It encourages multiple callers, and c-betting into multiple opponents oop is -ve
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]It's hard to get value out of a set oop if nobody else has an overpair.

So I think this is a bad place to raise less than usual.

For the record, I think that the argument that you should never vary your raises so people can't get information on you in a terrible one. You should never play the same hand the same way all the time anyway, and by varying your raises you can manipulate how large a pot you are playing for. When done right, you are supplying a tiny amount of information in return for pot control.

Having said that, getting the right balance is really hard, and most people use the information excuse as a reason not to put the effort in. As I say, at least I'm honest about being lazy.

[myheadhurts]

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but i will raise 3bb with pps and scs sometimes just to build a pot should i hit and also to take it down if noone else is interested. it also allows you to fire a c bet if you want.

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I didn't spot this before - I think raising medium scs UTG is a much bigger leak that raising low pps.

Do you use pokertracker?

[disko]

sorry, just to clarify i only do this with pps in early and mid. i only start playing scs in late. yes i do use tracker.

[myheadhurts]

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You can do what you do if you think not enough people will notice.

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True, but I think 100NL is the borderline between people noticing these things and not. Any higher and people will generally notice, any lower and your fine. 100NL depends on the table.

[myheadhurts]

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sorry, just to clarify i only do this with pps in early and mid. i only start playing scs in late. yes i do use tracker.

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OK, I misunderstood. I have no real problem with a 3bb opening raise in middle/late position, as long as you mix up it up.