Quote Originally Posted by kb coolman
1) I've found that limp-calling 22-55 from EP is not profitable for set mining. The loss of position here puts you at a tremendous disadvantage from the BTN TAG who raises 4Bb+1BB per limper, putting you at a decision to call a 7-8BB raise. It's just a waste of money. At loose tables, I'll open 4xBB, normally getting 2-4 callers, and can take down the pot with a 2/3 c-bet on the flop, or make a small fortune when my set hits with value bets.
With a preflop EP raise, you can cbet the Axx flop and take down some pots. Like Airles says, no one's gonna believe you have an ace of if you limp/called pre.

I think of the preflop raise as a slightly bigger investment in the hand. We'll still get paid off 20 to 1 (or more) if we hit the set, and we have other options for the hand. It's just hard to get both stacks all-in after a limped pot pre. Implied odds only refer to the amount of chips left to win (i.e. likely to end up in the middle). Often, I think we have better implied odds with 100bb stacks after a raised pot than after a limped one, just because villain is so much more likely to have some value in his hand he thinks is worth betting.