4xBB + 1 per limper… why?
By NewUser2006:
In the SSNL FAQ, Skeme has a section that recommends raising 3-4BBs + 1 per limper in order to "protect your hand" and some other mumbo jumbo.
It seems to me that raise size only works optimally when there are a ton of limpers already in the pot, or you have a hand that it is hard to get stacked with.
For other hands, like AK,AA,KK,and QQ, it seems to me like opening for 4BBs is a HORRIBLE opening size. Not only does it not get _much_ value out of the hands that call, but it also chases out hands that you WANT in the pot with you (other aces or hands like K8o) and encourages hands like 55 or 76s to try to stack you.
Can someone explain why 4BBs is a standard opener with your big hands and not something like 7 or 8 BBs, assuming you have at least 100BB?
I understand that you don’t need to raise SUPER big all of the time in order to give no one the correct implied odds because you’re not going to get stacked all of the time, but let’s face it, you are going to get stacked once in a while when you’ve got an overpair and someone has a set, especially against a very aggressive opponent.
4BBs just seems way too small to me for an opener. Thoughts?
By Pokey:
Conventional wisdom dictates that a 4xBB+1/limper raise is very good at getting the pot heads-up on the flop, which, for most hands, is the optimal number of opponents. The problem with preflop raising is that you want to do it often enough to disguise your holdings (raises from you shouldn’t automatically mean AA/KK/AK) and gain the initiative in the hand (it’s MUCH easier to win after raising than after limping).
If you make your standard raise bigger — say, 8xBB — then the opposition can defend against you EXTREMELY effectively by tightening up and only playing back when they have monsters of their own. You’re basically risking too much to win too little (blinds total only 1.5 BBs), and a savvy opponent can easily take advantage of that. On the other hand, if you raise less, like a minraise to 2xBB, you don’t exert enough pressure and wind up playing many hands multiway.
This is deadly, especially OOP, and it will cause you to lose many more hands than you otherwise would. Worse yet, you’ll commit much more money before you know you’re beaten by a stray two pair or some such holding.
Ideally, we’d like to vary our preflop raises to reflect the strength of our hand — raising more when we’ve got a super-premium hand, raising less when we’ve got mediocre holdings. Unfortunately, our opponents have this ridiculous idea that THEY want to win money at the game, and they have the unnerving habit of watching how we play and adjusting to it.
If our preflop raise size indicates the strength of our holdings, we’re giving away FAR too much information. As a result, all our preflop raises need to be the same size, whether they are blind steals with garbage or value bets with AA.
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