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 Originally Posted by uscheese
Yea this is how I play in the cheap rooms I' m in...if I raise the PF bet more than 30 cents in a .05/.10 room everyone will fold except for the occaisonal really big maniac...so even with good pocket pairs sometimes it's best to either limp in or just raise it double the big blind...you'll often see 3 guys turn over their cards after a lot of betting and a lot of checking to show that they stayed in and fought for 10-4 or something and pairing their 4. Also for this reason in cheap rooms I end up playing a lot of hands I wouldn't play in a tourney or a bigger $$ room like 8A or K7 if they are suited.
I think there are some things wrong with this post, I'm afraid. First of all, at the micro tables, you still want isolation with your high cards, but to get it you tend to need to be MORE in your pre-flop raises - 5x or 6x the big blind rather than the 4x I favour at 25-100NL. A 3x raise will be called by any number of loose players, by decent hands, and it is vulnerable to a re-raise. I agree that sometimes you'll sit at tables full of weak-tight players, but by and large players call too often at these limits and that's what you want to avoid.
The worst thing that can happen when you're holding AA is for 5 people to call your minraise. You are no longer favourite to win the pot, despite having the best hand, and you are out of position with no idea what the others are holding. There is every chance you'll be betting big into someone with 86o who flopped 2 pairs, and it'll be really hard to get away from it. Bye bye stack.
Limping with AA is really only wise if you can be sure someone after you WILL raise, so you can then re-raise them for both value and isolation.
The third point here is - with limps and minraises you are not building a pot when you have a very obvious edge.
For newcomers, it is VERY unwise not to raise your best hands until you can be sure you are doing it for specifically valid tactical reasons and your post-flop skills are sufficiently advanced.
As for playing A8s or K7s - yes, there is a place for this, and that place is in late position on a loose passive table. Flushes are hard to get paid off when you hit, unless someone else has also made their flush. But most of all, hands like A8 are dangerous - you're much more likely to make a pair than a flush, but how do you play it? A8 with a flop of Axx gives you top pair but a crappy kicker, and any thinking player who also has an ace probably has you beat - how much will it cost you to find out?
A8 with a flop of, say, 872 - top pair top kicker, which is all very nice, but now you're vulnerable to people with overcards, you're way behind anyone with an overpair, and there's a nasty straight draw on the flush which requires you to bet hard - which leads you into serious trouble if you find you're up against 99.
I'm not saying don't play these hands, but be selective about when you play them, and be aware of the dangers involved. Beginners should start tight and gradually (and selectively) loosen up as they become more savvy of strategy and the true worth of hands.
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Playing newbie maniacs
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