raising light in position and folding to aggresion

i cant help but wonder if you like to raise in position with a wider range when folded to with...suited conns, gappers, premiums, any A, etc.

...and if you tend to fold a lot to an oop bet when you whiff, but not always.

does it buy you action when you connect? seems lately i've seen a lot of this.


i may have KTs, 67s, or other marginal stuff, and when i whiff, i look to fold out. but, when i hit my hand, i cant help but think "my image" (whatever the hell that is) buys bluffs into me...to see if i will fold. when i dont fold, the hand is mine, especially if i raise them back.

however, when i hit, i either call dry boards or raise back the scary ones...and win a lot of pots there, too.

i guess i could be on a run, but i cant help but think when someone notices you CAN fold...they tend to take more shots at you when they are oop.

anyone else think the same thing? or want to refute?

Agreed. Sklansky talks about making small mistakes early to encourage your opps to make bigger mistakes later (postflop). Showing looseness preflop is one way to do this.

at lower levels most players assume that preflop looseness means postflop looseness. Strong players understand the difference. So depending on the level, yes, this approach can lead to looser calls postflop.

One warning is that you want to be careful to encourage lots of people to be gunning for you in a tough game, unless you are prepared to keep them honest and fight back.

i will fight back, when picked on. but, i like them gunning for me, too, because i can "rock-it-up," and stack them when they overplay their aggression.

thats my style, though. raise light, and dont play a lot post flop, unless i hit.

the nice part of it is that it is ME that dictates when the pot i'm in gets big, and when it doesnt. and it keeps anyone from pinning my range post flop because of the light raising pf.

thats the idea anyway...and when in the zone, it works well. when not hitting flops, or when getting played back at...lightly, too...my style turns into SPEW...that i blame on variance...

like this. i ran into a slaa that was more maniacal. this is what i call variance, but is prolly spew...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG ($23.15)
UTG+1 ($31.70)
MP1 ($17.60)
MP2 ($6.60)
MP3 ($11.35)
CO ($12.45)
Button ($16.20)
Hero ($29.20)
BB ($11.15)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, CO calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, UTG+1 folds, CO calls $0.75.

Flop: ($2.50) T, 8, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.5, CO raises to $3, Hero raises to $28.2, CO calls $8.45 (All-In).

Turn: ($25.40) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($25.40) T (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $25.40

he had T8o.

the reason for the shove was i thought he was on a draw, too, so i may be best here (misread). but, the real problem was not realizing pot control. i had the upper hand here. if the draw hit, we went for stax. if not, i only call with my overpair and all those possible outs (at least 11, maybe 17), and see his shitty 2 pr, set, or baby flush for cheap...well, as cheap as it could be...and i would have folded river to overbets indicating sets/flushes, etc.

SSSSPPPPPPEEEEEEWWWWW!!

my "bad run" i've been talking/whining about has been filled with these types of hands. and i always play them this way, unfortunately. luck usually balances out my pushes, bailing me out when behind due to the number of outs i have. or, on a bad run, i may lose 6 of these and win 3. but, lately...every one of them is missing. prolly lost 10 out of 10.

now, the losing 10 out of 10 is variance...but, the pushing in the situation is SPEW. i think i've figured that much out...for now.

I might push here too, but it's probably better to reraise to 8. The only problem is he only calls this push with a made hand, since you have A, unless he's a certified donk and then you push for sure.

Originally Posted by Chicago_Kid

I might push here too, but it's probably better to reraise to 8. The only problem is he only calls this push with a made hand, since you have A, unless he's a certified donk and then you push for sure.

I think he'll call with hands we beat, something akin to KsTd. Probably Ks8d. I mean, assuming no reads.

so, it wasnt so spewy...just crappy luck? that may be good to hear.

i've been losing all of these situations lately, to either being beat or a suckout. so, needless to say, i'm getting a bit gunshy in these spots.

is it all bad to let the draw happen first? imagine its 50/50 either way?