5 replies to this topic

[AcidJoe]

I play a lot of MTT and have been pouring through the info on this site. The one piece of info i have been using was from TJ Eckleburg and his strategy for MTT's on party. I really like the consistant raise idea. My sucess rate just using that alone has been helpful. After folding a blind steal to an all in from the BB a few people called me an idiot for ALWAYS using the same play. 2 hands later got 1 of them all in with AA after raising the same amount and he moved all in figuring I was stealing and got nailed. I was wondering if anyone else used this to great effect.

[Rocketwadster]

In my opinion, you need to mix up your raising values depending on what you are hoping to do with your raise. In some cases, you want to thin down the field to one or two opponents. In others, you want to steal without a showdown if possible. Etc. Making the same 4X BB bet under all of the different scenarios just doesn't make sense. I agree that your opponents won't be able to put you on a hand, but there are a lot of different reasons for why you are betting or raising, with TJ doesn't cover.

[custom36]

I actually felt like doing something different one day so I went in a cash game and raised 3xBB anytime I came in the pot. I showed down the first few hands (AK, 3-3, 10-7). After that, anytime I made my raise, all of the trash got out. I didn't expect it to work that well. *shrug*

[ghoti7four]

yeah thats true Rocket but if you only use big bets to thin the field, huge bets to scare everyone out, and small bets to get callers with a made hand its too obvious. if you generally stick to the same size raise the deception you get is extremely valuable. the thing I like to do is pick a fairly large sized raise to be consistent with--particularly considering the fact that in no limit if you are in a hand in most cases you should be in it for a raise. that way you can still scare people off and hide the strength of your hand and maintain your position as an agressor, if you have a mediocre draw you can always call or if you have a huge hand you can always bet huge if you think the situation is appropriate, but otherwise maintaining a consistent bet is very effective IMO. also you can take the concept further and only stick to pot sized bets or double the pot or whatever... that way this style becomes more situational and still maintains its deceptive quality.

[Rocketwadster]

ghoti7four said:

yeah but if you only use big bets to thin the field, huge bets to scare everyone out, and small bets to get callers with a made hand its too obvious. if you generally stick to the same size raise the deception you get is extremely valuable. the thing I like to do is pick a fairly large sized raise to be consistent with--particularly considering the fact that in no limit if you are in a hand in most cases you should be in it for a raise. that way you can still scare people off and hide the strength of your hand and maintain your position as an agressor, if you have a mediocre draw you can always call or if you have a huge hand you can always bet huge if you think the situation is appropriate, but otherwise maintaining a consistent bet is very effective IMO. also you can take the concept further and only stick to pot sized bets or double the pot or whatever... that way this style becomes more situational and still maintains its deceptive quality.

i don't think you fully understand what I am saying. Depending on my position at the table, what has happened in front of me, what the tendencies of the players behind me are, what cards I hate etc. all influence what it is I am trying to accomplish with a bet/raise. You cannot bet (for example) 4X the BB every time and necessarily accomplish what it is you are trying to do at that point. I am talking about pre-flop right now. Post flop, it is the same thing, where there will be flop that come where you want to entice people to call or even raise. There will also be flops where you want to win the pot, right here right now with your bet. Keeping the bet value the same throughout pre-flop and then post-flop just doesn't allow you to play to the best of your abilities.

[RISEorFall]

I have a friend who used to do this in home games a lot. it worked well for a while, as nobody hardly ever knew what he had. He'd be aggressive and pick up a lot of pots, but they were small. A few of the better players would just trap him with big hands and take one or two big pots from him that night, and he would end up just barely breaking even most of the time. I think it's fun to get into a habit of raising a certain amount, and then after like an hour or so all of a sudden throwing in a raise for half or double your usual amount. Nobody knows what to think. they'll try to guess whether you're trying to look strong or weak and then they'll start second guessing themselves.