Why is everyone raising 2.5xBB or other standard amounts?

[betgo]

HOH suggests mixing in raises between 2 and 5 x BB (with a large ante) and limps. Sklansky has posted on the board problems where his prefered solution was a raise of 5xBB or a limp.

It is true that if you always raise 3xBB put 1xBB per limper early and 2.5xBB late, you give away no information, but also lose flexibility. Also, people know how to play against standard raise sizes, but get confused by unusual ones.

If you always raise 4xBB with big aces or middle pps and nothing else, you give away too much information. However, you could make a large raise that gives you an easy decision to a reraise, and sometimes the decision is call and sometimes fold.

I think I am going to try raising 4xBB, as well as limping and miniraising more, because it screws up people expecting certain standard plays. Also, I can adapt these plays to what I want to do, and people may not make the correct read on why I raised what I did.

[JP OSU]

I don't like to raise bigger for the exact reason that you describe... People "know how to play" against standard raise sizes, which is to say that they usually play in a standard fashion which is much more predictable... In live play I can often glean which level a person is on, However online it is very difficult... I would need to have history and a good read to mix it up like this b/c I do not know how an unknown would react to someone changing their raise sizing abruptly... That is the most important part for me... I don't know if they interpret a minraise OTB as strength or weakness... I agree that if you are playing good thinking players with reads that this is optimal if you know what you are doing...

[djk123]

when i see someone open raise 4x+ late in a tourney, i say to myself nice play fish

[Kala1928]

I raise according to my and other players' still involved in the hand stacks and according to my hand. Sometimes I want to raise small enough to be able to fold if I get shoved on, sometimes I raise small to induce a shove or sometimes I just shove to induce a call (ie mix it up a lot). Having a fixed raise amount in tournaments where the stacks will at some point twindle to the usual 10-15bb is a bit umm, well too straightforward and I dont do that anymore unless I'm playing way too many tables and simply dont have enough time to make educated decisions.

[betgo]

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when i see someone open raise 4x+ late in a tourney, i say to myself nice play fish

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Exactly, that is why I am going to try it more.

[Vetgirig]

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when i see someone open raise 4x+ late in a tourney, i say to myself nice play fish

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Often see it from cash game players that not usually play turnaments and thus feel a bit uncomfortable playing in a tournament.

[betgo]

In mid and high buyin live tournaments, you see maybe half of the open raises 3.5xBB+. This may be due to the big ante and sometimes fairly deep money. Also, a lot of older players do this, maybe because it used to be the style or they don't want to see a flop.

[dibsy]

Biggest problem with raising 4x or more is that you mostly get called or raised by better hands and don't get value for your hand when it is best.

This is especially true towards the latter stages of the tournaments when the average stack is in the 15-30 BB range. A push by smaller stacks gives you odds of calling with a lesser hand, on average. This (and the fact that you're playing bigger pots in general) will increase the variance of your tourneys.

Early in the tournament when you're playing with 100x BB - playing 3 or 5 will make little difference.

IMHO I believe more skilled players (especially those with post-flop reading abilities) will tend to raise less (and vice versa).

[ShowUthExit]

Isn't it that late in tourneys online the stacks are usually so shallow that raising 2.5X or even less does the trick of scooping the blinds just as a 3X raise would but it also exercises pot control and doesnt cause the raiser to invest too many chips when hes only got like 15-25 BBs to begin with. I dont play many deepstacked tournaments, maybe raising 3X-5X works better there, I dont know. How often does Dan Harrington play online where the stacks get so shallow late?

[mastr]

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Isn't it that late in tourneys online the stacks are usually so shallow that raising 2.5X or even less does the trick of scooping the blinds just as a 3X raise would but it also exercises pot control and doesnt cause the raiser to invest too many chips when hes only got like 15-25 BBs to begin with. I dont play many deepstacked tournaments, maybe raising 3X-5X works better there, I dont know. How often does Dan Harrington play online where the stacks get so shallow late?

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ding