Need Help with my cold calls

[Lizard King]

I have some trouble cold calling. I have trouble judging whether I'm recieving correct implied odds to call a bet. So here are two situations I often have trouble with (I play 6 max mostly).

1. Lets say a TAG(20/8/2) raises about 5% of the stack from UTG, all fold and I have Q10s on the button should I call here? Should I call with 87s or even 45s? I guess my question is what is the worst suited/unsuited hand I should call with.

2. Lets say a LAG(40+/15+/3) raises 5% of the stack in the same spot as above should I call with hands like KJ or A10 or any suited connector?

Normally I don't call raises from TAGs with SSCs like 76s or 910s. I usually only call with KJs or better unless I have a read I fold KQo and even AQo if the raiser is a rock. Am I being weak tight here?

[kolotoure]

I fold to KJ to a UTG raise from a TAG

[Jamougha]

When a TAG raises in EP, 76s >> KJs IMO.

I don't typically call LAGs with AT and KQ, but I may reraise them.

[Shinobi]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Lets say a TAG(20/8/2) raises about 5% of the stack from UTG, all fold and I have Q10s on the button should I call here? Should I call with 87s or even 45s? I guess my question is what is the worst suited/unsuited hand I should call with.

[/ QUOTE ]

In my experience you will almost never be getting the correct implied odds for ANY of these calls. Plus you will find yourself donking off a lot of chips when you flop half a hand. These calls are only okay with multiple opponents.

[Lizard King]

So folding 87s on the button with only one TAG raiser is OK but with at least one other person calling the raise I will get correct implied odds to call up to 5-8% of his stack?

[carnivalhobo]

A lot of value from playing the SC's comes from being able to push people off of hands, which is tough at this level. I will rarely call a raise with a SC unless i think i can take the pot away on the flop easily or there are 2+ callers. I have no problem playing raised pots with SC's but i'd prefer to be the aggressor.

[Pokey]

Here's an easy way to handle cold calls. Note that I'm *NOT* saying it's an optimal play, but it's a good starting point that you can adjust from:

1. Only ever cold-call with pocket pairs 88-22 and AK, and play them as draws. Do NOT consider 88 a "made hand" on the flop. You're playing for TPTK or a set; otherwise, you're folding.
2. With AA-99, always reraise to quadruple the original raiser's bet if you're the first caller; you'll play these as weakly made hands, not draws.
3. With callers in between, consider smooth-calling JJ-99, playing them for set value instead of as made hands. Playing TT multiway with a Q on the board sucks, and you'll never know if you're beaten (which you likely are) until it's way too late.
4. Suited connectors should usually be folded here, but occasionally play them just like KK. Only do this with position, however. Don't cold call with these hands, though -- they don't flop solidly enough often enough to make it worthwhile to try.
5. After you reraise preflop, fold UI to an out-of-position flop bet of 1/2 pot or more, and make a 3/4-to-full pot sized continuation bet every time if it's checked to you.

I'll leave it to far more experienced 6-max players to refine this concept, but as a very rough starting point, I'd say this isn't a bad approach. Smooth calling preflop raises should be an exceedingly rare thing for you to do; if there's a preflop raise, it should be coming from YOU, not someone else.

[mother_brain]

[ QUOTE ]
These calls are only okay with multiple opponents.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is what is important. You want to play SCs with 3+ people to the flop, whether they cold call before you or you believe the blinds might come along.

Edit: Pokey you registered one day before me, thats groovy.

[Lizard King]

Pokey, thanks for breaking it down nicely.

[The Regulator]

[ QUOTE ]

4. Suited connectors should usually be folded here, but occasionally play them just like KK. Only do this with position, however.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure of the utility of this in SSNL, particularly in NL50 and below. A lot of times what'll happen is your TAG UTG raiser will have JJ, and he'll call your reraise. Then when you flop your top pair he checks to you because he's scared of AA, you bet 3/4 of the pot, and he flat calls anyway because he can't lay it down, and now you've gotta give up and you've just spewed a bunch of chips for no reason. Same thing when he calls your raise with AJs, flops an ace, checks to you, you C-bet, he flat calls. I suppose you can argue that TAGs wouldn't do this, but I'm talking more about a typical (ie. not very good) TAG-ish 50NL player. I don't think something like this is really worth it for deception purposes, and it's not generally a good idea to try to steal from players who have announced strength and are unlikely to give it up preflop. You're almost always gonna go into the flop as a dog, and even if you flop to it you end up just spewing too often to make this worthwhile, IMO.