Calling the BB in a kill game

[Yobz]

I recently got back from vegas and was playing in my first kill game. It was a 4-8 game (at Mandalay Bay) that turns into a 6-12 game if 1 person wins 2 games in a row. MB has 1/2 blinds in the 4-8 game, including the kill pots.

Situation: it is a kill game with 6 limpers in the pot and the SB calls. You have $2 in the BB and need to put only $1 in to see the flop and close the action, what cards *won't* you call with getting 23-1?

[Hielko]

Calling here less then 100% of the time when getting 23-1 is a crime.

[kerowo]

The lollipop and the one with 2 red squares.

[lautzutao]

Nothing really, maybe not 72o...

Any A any K any Q any jack and lower that completes a straight, any 2 suited.

EDIT: That's a strange kill game btw, most casinos straight double the stakes.

[Shillx]

It is a 1/2 kill and wow a good player could really tear that game up. Call with A2C.

[Yobz]

[ QUOTE ]
It is a 1/2 kill and wow a good player could really tear that game up. Call with A2C.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem is the rake. It has a 10% up to $4 rake and a $1 jackpot rake. The Venetian, for example, has more games spread (with higher limits) and the rake is 1/10, 2/30, 3/50, 4/80 which is 10% at the worst and 5% at the best (generally 3/50 for 6%)

[lautzutao]

Kill games have juicy pots at lower limits. They're going to be $150 or more quite often. This negates the rake burden somewhat(putting you at around that 5-6% margin).

[Yobz]

Actually, I have another question about this kind of situation:

Should you be looser or tighter preflop because of the smaller blind? With the smaller blind it is often no longer correct to call some draws on the flop, but you can see more flops for the same amount...

[lautzutao]

When the SB is 1/2 the size of the BB you should be looser with your calls compared to games that are less than that, simply because you're paying less money to call. I don't see how this affects this table though.

[Shillx]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, I have another question about this kind of situation:

Should you be looser or tighter preflop because of the smaller blind? With the smaller blind it is often no longer correct to call some draws on the flop, but you can see more flops for the same amount...

[/ QUOTE ]

I wrote a reply to this effect and didn't submit it. A good number of people think that you should play tighter because you aren't getting odds to "chase" postflop. This is a fallacy. It is almost like a NL game in that stealing blinds has little value. The way that I would play the game is see a ton of flops and cut way down on PF raises from up front.

The reason why it is correct is because you aren't "chasing" when you flop a draw. Flush draws and OESD's (what you are looking to flop) have enough equity to overcome the worse pot odds. The hands that you want to avoid overplaying postflop are one pair hands that might not be best. The people that really get hurt in this game are the ones that chase 2-pair draws. Now instead of getting 8:1 or 10:1 on the flop, they are only getting 4.5:1 or 5.5:1 (and 10:3 or 4:1 in a 1/2 kill pot). So the fish who constantly calldown with bottom pair are the ones that you can really exploit. Strong draws as you know either hold their own or gain value on the flop so as always you would be inclined to play them fast and really punish people who opt to stick around with one pair.