Strategy Q - Preflop facing limpers vs raisers when in position??

[maca9]

Hi

There is a lot of good advice for starting hands in each position from sources like HOH, SSHE and LGB. And of course here in the forums.

And In LGB there is an adjustment for 6 max too which is great.

I have two questions...


1) I have read that you generally should treat a limper before you like an unraised pot in 6 max. So raise with any hand you would open raise with. Is this an acceptable strategy?

2) When facing a raise in front of you how tight should you be when playing 6 max?

Based on the gap concept that is discussed in various texts you obviously need a better hand to call with when facing a raise. This makes sense of course but how tight should this be? Would a newbie be best advised to only enter pots raised before him with only the premium holdings like AA- TT, AKs - AJs, Ako-AQo?


I know each situation will vary in which case please base answers on $25uNL 6 max with no reads to say player raising in fron is either very loose OR very tight.


Thanks in advance

[Antinome]

1. We raise because either:

a.)Her limping ranges are way larger than her raise calling ranges,and a limp means either she will fold or call with a dominated hand or...

b.)Her limping range includes mostly SCs,S1Gs,lowPPs, which are looking for good implied odds (a large SPR) which we can deny her by raising.

2.When calling a raise you want to have good implied odds, an undominated hand that plays well multiway, and position. Most of the hands you mention are better candidates for a 3bet 100BB deep than a call IMO. A 3bet will isolate or have FE, help reach your target (low) SPR, while you have position and initiative.

[maca9]

So we should be more likely to call and early raise with JTs than AJo???

[Antinome]

In my opinion, absolutely yes. I would instantly ditch AJo and call with JTs if stacks were deepish and I had no squeezers behind me, and I wanted to be in a pot with the raiser and if I thought my call would encourage other calls from other people I wanted to be in a pot with.

I think gap theory as it is usually described is tailored to play 20-40BB deep, namely tournaments, cap games, and shortstack play.

[maca9]

[ QUOTE ]
I think gap theory as it is usually described is tailored to play 20-40BB deep, namely tournaments, cap games, and shortstack play.

[/ QUOTE ]


So when playing with deeper stacks hands that make straights and flushes etc are more valuable and worth the extra risk? Because the bigger stacks mean that the payoff is so huge when you flop something and stack the other player.

But with the smaller stacks you can't afford calling these early raises becasue even when you hit something and win the 20-40BB its not enough for all the times you don't.

Have I understood this correctly?