PP Min-Raise Q

I have a very simple question; is minraising a small pocket pair EVER useful? is it good to juice up a pot? is it good when everyone folds to you in the cut off and your looking at some 5's just to minraise it instead of going 4x just to steal the blinds. I know everything is also stack dependant as well as opponet dependant as well. I'm just curios to see what people have to say about this.

well if you only minraise with a pocket pair and raise 4x with other cards
how easy is it going to be to play against you?

Originally Posted by iopq

well if you only minraise with a pocket pair and raise 4x with other cards
how easy is it going to be to play against you?

This is true, but what if you minraised with other hands as well. I didnt mean to indicate min-raising everytime when you have a low pocket pair either. I usually open 4x no matter what. But im wondering if its always profitable to do that. I am still a beginner, i have the basics down and some intermediate skills but i'm just looking for more insight into the game and wondering if maybe i need to change things up sometimes.

If you minraise pre flop and its then folded to the BB, he is getting 3.5 - 1, so is correct to call with virtually any two cards. With 55, you don't want to be encouraging hands like 86 to stay in the pot. Also, a minraise makes it cheaper to put in a decent 3bet which is always a possibility when there is a late position open raise. So generally, I don't like minraising.

Having said that, I have seen full tables fold to a min raise from UTG and blinds do give up in the face of late position minraises. At low stakes, a minraise can be QQ+/AK that is afraid of getting no action. Minraising provides a good risk reward ratio, since you are risking 2BB to win 1.5BB, so if the players behind are nitty or you have been raising 4BB a lot to steal their blinds, then throwing in a minraise might well work. But if you are minraising because you think there is a good chance you will pick up the blinds, then you are bluffing and might as well do it with a bad hand, rather than a reasonable hand like a small pocket pair.

If anything raising bigger would be better.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

If anything raising bigger would be better.

Not necessarily.

min raising preflop is generally a very donkey move but if you insist on doing it i would do it with suited connectors.

Originally Posted by littleogre

min raising preflop is generally a very donkey move but if you insist on doing it i would do it with suited connectors.

no I'd do it with like 72s if I think the nits in the blinds are going to play 3b or fold