Raising preflop and everyone folds

Everyone on here touts raising your big hands preflop. I'm on NL .25/.50 and when I bet $2 with a top hand most of the time everyone folds. This happens at almost every table. Do I keep table jumping to find a looser table or just raise to $1? I can usually get some callers for $1 but that can be counterproductive, especially when they go in with 45s and a straight or flush draw comes out.

Use it to your advantage bro. Start throwing out $2 bets, if everyone folds to you then you'll consistantly make money. If you're raising with total crap and everyone folds, SHOW YOUR CARDS, and this will set up an image of being a total idiot. If you do this 2-3 times in a row people will start to think, "this guy has crap," and then you can absolutely nail them with a monster.

Don't over-abuse this method though, as you'll get caught the 3rd or 4th time you do this.

Curious as to what others think about this.

Hmm. That's a great idea. I think that would be effective if I was in a late position with one or no callers. I'll see what others think but I like it.

you may not even want to show your cards. after the tenth time maybe someone will figure it out, but you've picked up seven fifty since then, so a call isn't going to break the bank.

If I am on a really tight nl100 I will literally raise every hand 8 dollars preflop wich is 4xBB. If someone challenges me then I just roll over and give up. Most of the time the table starts going crazy after like the 5-10th time in a row then I tighten up and they pay me off every time. Also make sure you are playing really smart postflop if you get called....you can still usually take it down postflop making a pot sized bet.

I like to adjust my pre-flop raises to the table. If you're getting no action at all with raising to $2, try raising to $1.50 instead. Just find the sweet spot that gets you the ideal number of callers... with most good hands you want one or two.

I'm curious what site you play on. I play entirely on Party's PL and NL .25/.50 tables, and I almost always get at least one call with a raise to $2. Those aren't the tightest tables on earth IMO.

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Originally Posted by whileone

you may not even want to show your cards. after the tenth time maybe someone will figure it out, but you've picked up seven fifty since then, so a call isn't going to break the bank.

If you show your cards in a situation like this you can intice some people to play some *very* marginal hands against your monsters. Example:

Last night at my house game....I'm short stack (BIG TIME, I had $11 in chips and there were $500 on the table, with only four guys remaining), so I start throwing all in like a maniac. First all-in with 83o, no callers (I didn't show, but told everyone at the table, "good lay down."). Second all in, QQ, again, no callers. I don't show this one, either, but I say "thank you everyone," as if I just bought the pot. Three hands later I throw all-in with 93o, no callers, and I show this time. People are like "WTF are you doing," and I say "I'm trying to get out of here," which I wasn't, I was trying to lay a trap.....

As if on cue, two hands later I am dealt AA...I throw in another all-in, this time I get TWO callers (one guy had K7o, the other guy had AQ)....and I triple up.

Next thing you know, those two guys go on tilt and I end up taking a HUGE pot from each of them within the next four hands.....and the rest is history. Those guys bust out soon after and I split the pot 60/40 with the other guy ($500 pot).

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Originally Posted by Ripptyde

Dealer: Game #1159682788: ripptyde wins pot ($124)
Dealer: Game #1159688774: Herm23 wins pot ($165)
smitty6515: nice move Herm
Herm23: well after just seeing him raise with ace four
Herm23: i dont respect him anyomre
Herm23: what does he expect

come on... there's gotta be more

- sed

If you are at a home game and everyone is too tight to call your raises, after everyone folds, ask the dealer to show the flop anyways. I always always hear, 'Oh god! I hit a straight/flush/trips/2pairs', followed by questions asking me if their hand could've beaten me, which I always answer, 'yes'. IMO, it helps to loosen some players up and when I raise, I would get callers hoping to catch something good again.

I love wabbit hunting to loosen up the fish in my homegame...

- sed

Originally Posted by r8ed

Everyone on here touts raising your big hands preflop. I'm on NL .25/.50 and when I bet $2 with a top hand most of the time everyone folds. This happens at almost every table. Do I keep table jumping to find a looser table or just raise to $1? I can usually get some callers for $1 but that can be counterproductive, especially when they go in with 45s and a straight or flush draw comes out.

Start raising with lesser hands, then. Say, 1/4 of the time, raise 2 bucks with higher suited connectors(like 9 10 suited), or lower pocket pairs(7s and down).

Like they always say, it's better to win a small pot than to lose a big one.

This is a strategy taught by Brunson in SS. If they keep folding to you, keep pounding away. After a while, you'll be playing against them with their own money and you'll be able to afford some larger bets in race situations.

I think you were just unfortunate enough to be opening pots when no one else had anything. I think this because even if you're percieved as someone who only raises preflop with strong hands, your opponents still have reason to call your raises with hands like 8-8 or 9-9 with the prospect of flopping a set or being up against two unimproved overcards after the flop (unless they are pathologically risk-averse).

Basically, I think that there is too much volatility in hand strength from before the flop to after for players to pay too much attention to how tight someone is before the flop (except in the instance where someone is particularly *loose* before the flop) when making a decision as to whether or not to call a preflop raise. If I'm holding 8-8, and I suspect an opponent is holding A-A, I could still have my opponent virtually drawing dead after the right flop. So even if I percieve my opponent as someone who only raises preflop with huge hands, I'm still justified in calling with lots of speculative hands, particularly middle and small pairs, in the hopes of outdrawing my opponent.

I don't think this answers your concerns about whether or not you should loosen up your image, but I think it's useful to note that, assuming your opponents actually are laying down real hands before the flop due to your table image, they are the ones making mistakes, not you.

Originally Posted by Usuyami

If you are at a home game and everyone is too tight to call your raises, after everyone folds, ask the dealer to show the flop anyways. I always always hear, 'Oh god! I hit a straight/flush/trips/2pairs', followed by questions asking me if their hand could've beaten me, which I always answer, 'yes'. IMO, it helps to loosen some players up and when I raise, I would get callers hoping to catch something good again.

We don't usually do that if everyone folds preflop, but that's a pretty darned good idea. Georgie likey, Georgie likey.