Preflop question. What are we supposed to do when there are posters?

[Allday Everyday]

In SS games (and higher for all I know) there are often players who post after they have missed their BB. I'm surprised how often there are more than one poster in the one hand.

I'm wondering how people here adjust their PF strategy when there is a poster or two, particularly when they are first to enter the pot.

I had been more inclined to raise PF when first into the pot with late position poster/s in front of me. I'd often raise with good HU/stealing hands from middle/late middle position. The theory behind this is pretty basic. The more money in the pot, the more you have to fight for it, etc. I'm looking to take advantage of the 'dead money'. However, now I'm not so sure this is always the way to go.

I think the situation is quite similar to the 'Playing against a live straddle' situation in HEPFAP. Rarely will a player who has posted fold when it is one more bet to them.

I'm starting to think I'm better off limping with good drawing hands, and encouraging other limpers. That is, if I'm in early enough position to encourage other limpers. I think it's usually correct to fold.

Is my thinking flawed? Should I tighten up my raising requirements? Should I loosen them? Should I fold more? Should I limp more? Does it vary much if the poster/s are behind or in front of you? Obviously, much would depend upon the paticular table. I'm just after general thought on playing posters I guess.

Any responses appreciated.

[Gazzbut]

If I have a reasonable hand and im first in the pot then I will most likely raise. Tight players will fold rubbish for the extra bet and loose players may call with anything for just 1 bet but the raise means you can thin the field and hopefully play hu with the poster when your hand enjoys a good equity advantage againt their range.

[JJH3984]

What about multiple posters? I ask because if you've played HORSE at stars, you know the hold em section often has 3+ posters on the first hand.

[SeaEagle]

With 2 (or more) posters:

Because you know you have enough people in the pot to provide proper implied odds, you can limp with drawing hands that you might fold without the posters. Raising UTG with 86s doesn't make any sense, but the posters will make it so that limping is OK.

Once I get to MP, I start open raising, typically with any hand that I'd play on the button (looser than I'd play in MP normally), and using similar logic to a button steal. I'll often get 1 or 2 callers but have a decent chance of winning the pot with a single bet on the flop. If you have two posters, you can win less than half as often as you would with a normal blind-steal and still make the same amount.

If, for some reason, I'm on the button and the pot is unraised, I'll raise pretty much any 2 cards. 1 3/4BBs is just too much potential dead money not to take a stab at.

[You're No Daisy]

When I sit down at a table, whether live or online, I always choose to wait for the BB so I can see a few hands and possibly pick up some tells (live), betting patterns (online), and/or what my opponents are showing down. When I see a player sit down at a table and immediately post a blind I assume he wants a lot of action. I typically don't change my style when presented with this type of situation. If I'm in EP and have a hand worth raising with, I'll raise and limp with drawing hand in MP. However, I think we need to think a few steps ahead when doing this. Specifically, if we limp with a speculative like a suited connector from MP, are we willing to call a raise with it? I don't know what your raising requirement are from middle position, but depending on your table dynamic (i.e. tight players), an open raise is a good play. Now, if I'm in late position with a decent hand and everyone has folded to me (with a poster in the hand) I'll be more inclined to raise and get heads up or only have to deal with 2 opponents. I don't think you need to raise with speculative hands in EP just to fight for the potential dead money in the pot. This may seem like ABC poker, but I have found this is what works at the small stakes tables.

When presented with two or more posters, I think you can loosen your open raising requirements because of the pot odd you're getting.

Adam