Raising preflop with good hands in stt's

[Zarathustra]

Been playing alot of these in the last coupld days at ladbrokes, either 5 max, 10 max or 20 max, doing ok so far playing very tight in the first couple round and then loosening up as the blinds increase. My problem is that because of my table image, when i pick up a decent hand and raise 3,4,5 times the big blinds, everybody folds and i pick up 30 chips in blinds! This has happened 3 times yesterday with QQ twice and KK once. It's even worse on the 5 man tables. How to i stop this? I'm thinking either miniraise everyother hand i get, costing me 40chip, then raise slightly larger on good hands, hoping my enemy will not notice the difference, thinking 'that maniacs raised again, probably T7' Thinking about it i could throw in a few miniraises on the button with suited connectors and similar hands to throw them off the scent. or limp the best of my hands.

[LadyLuck]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's I've had the same problem with STTs, big hands haven't made me big wins unless others have big hands too and then it can be the luck of the draw. I've not been playing long and am just a beginner, but if you're on a table like that where everyone is being more conservative, I'd simply lower my raise - I wouldn't call 5 x the big blinds unless I had a very big hand, but I'd be more likely to call a small raise, and many people will even if their hand isn't so good. If you want them to call you then you've got to make it cheap for them I guess. I wouldn't reccomend you playing like a loon though, I think it'd only come back and bite you on the ass, if people are making the effort to read you they'll probably work you out in the end! Or will be sticking to their own rules of what hands they play, what the pot odds are etc. I think a lot of the weaker players on the STTs (lower buy-ins), aren't always paying attention to be honest and so your efforts could be lost on them anyway. But there's no harm I guess in trying your ideas out and seeing what works for you if the stakes are low.

[Jezza]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's Hi Zarathustra, Glad to hear you are doing well at the STT's on laddies, playing a lot of these can give you some good poker experience and some tidy profit to boot. As your table image, I would probably guess that your opponents are not really noticing your tightness with regards to raising preflop early. Players in these STT's, especially the lower ones dont always pay attention to facts like these. Of course the 1 or 2 (likely winning) players you will see regularly probably do (and you should pay attention to them likewise). I am guessing that the lack of action you are experiencing at the moment is not from your "image" so to speak but from the fact you have just not run into a second best hand - like someone holding QQ when you have KK for a while. This is frustrating but you will see some ridiculous preflop calls on the net and you have to take advantage of this....keep up with your tight aggressive style early on and it will pay though in the long run. If you are going to raise I would always raise the size of the pot. Take into account what is in the pot already + your big blind and raise that amount - that way noone who is paying attention will ever be able to put you exactly on a hand. Raising the min with crap and then larger with the goods will let anyone know for sure what you have if they have been paying attention (again like I say unlikely but possible). Raising with slightly weaker holdings is OK if you want to give it a shot...but when I say slightly weaker I am talking about AQo in the early stages of a sit n go! The place to do this is on the button or when you can expect to "buy" the button by raising at least that way you have the advantage of position post flop. Beware this will make your games more volatile and your play on the flop and beyond needs to be sharp against good players but its good fun + worth a bash if you fancy it. Limping with good hands early on is a "tricky" play - I think its one that should be used SPARINGLY. You have been going through a bad patch in regards to this I realise Zar but the tendency on the net is towards calling even beefcake preflop raises in sit n gos and you must take advantage of this - it will change for you in the long run. The only time I would ever consider limping AA/KK preflop in an early pos is when there is a VERY aggressive player frequently raising preflop almost directly after me. This way you can wait for him to raise and everyone else to call it before turning the AA into a powerhouse and making a move for the now large pot when it comes back around to you. I hope your success continues Zar...let us know if this trend continues, I would be surprised if it did mate Jez

[Zarathustra]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's My pocket pairs have been cursed! I've just raised to 150 in the sb with KK after 6 people limp in for 30 and they all fold. Ok, first hand, AA on the button here goes... 4 limpers, i raise to 100, sb calls :dude ooooo 3 callers And i double up :) cheers Jez i'll follow the plan of pot sized bets and see how it goes. I've also discovered, as you said, that limping hands is a good way to trickle away chips as you often have to fold to a raise. I find myself down to 900 or so when doing this.

[Zarathustra]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's Much better luck recently Jez, raises getting called by weaker hands and all going well so far. With 7/15 blinds i'm raising somewhere around 60-100, 15/30 around 100-150 and 25/50 around 150-250 depending on number of limpers and such. I was about to advocate minraising occasionally but then someone called my miniraise with A7 diamonds, caught a flush on the turn and rope-a-doped me into throwing my stack away. :wall You're right Jez these one-table tournaments have improved my game alot imo, after 50 so I've got a much better feel for the no-limit game than i did a couple weeks ago, and don't have to risk more than $10 at any one time for now. I've got a useful spreadsheet for recording stt results if anyone wants a copy, i'll put it up when i know how to.

[topnotchbloke]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's Hi Zarathustra Would you be able to send me your spreadsheet for recording stt's. I currently don't record my profit or losses but think I need to. Shall I PM you my email address?

[Zarathustra]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's I'll send it to Paul Ross Top Notch as I can't add attachments. Hopefully it'll be up sometime in the next 24 hours.

[dave]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's I had the same trouble with STTs and they were probably the weakest part of my game after cash and MTTs. Decided to have another go at them today, on the $5 tables, having read this thread + it certainly seems to have helped. So far today my finishes have been 2nd 2nd 1st 7th 4th 1st Leaving me $47 up, which considering I was useless at STTs is pretty good. Thanks for the tips Jezza.

[mrmuzeman]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's I think STTs are great, good way to boost your bank balance! Theres some ridiculous raising at Wilhil 10 seater STTs and theres only 7 players left often in a couple of minutes, narrowing the field very nicely.

[cains]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's

I've got a useful spreadsheet for recording stt results if anyone wants a copy, i'll put it up when i know how to.

Hey mate... Have you this thing uploaded??? If not, could you email it to me? Then i will put it on my server, and put the link here, so everyone can get it. (if anyone but me wants to). [email protected] / cains

[topnotchbloke]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's Is this spreadsheet available anywhere yet?

[Zarathustra]

Re: Raising preflop with good hands in stt's I've got some problems with hotmail that will not allow me to attach files so for now i suggest you record the date, time and finishing position of all your stt's while i find out what the problem is.