I was playing a STT earlier today and I accidently clicked raise pre flop instead of fold with my 63o.

I missed completely on the flop and the 1 person that called my raise checked (I think he was the BB), there was an Ace on the board so I thought I know lets pretend I raised as I have the Ace, I bet half the pot which he calls. The flush draw got made on the turn, he checked, I checked. blank on the river which he checked. At this point I'm fairly sure a decent bet will push him out so I make a 5xbb bet which he does (luckily) fold to.

Now this is not something I have done before and only did it as a spur of the moment thing but it did get me thinking...

Do any of you guys ever do this deliberately? ie raise into an unopened pot with absolutely nothing in the hope that an ace hits and you can represent it to bluff people out.

All the time. . . . . but it's all situational.

Like Doyle says, he can beat most games without looking at his cards.

See my most recent glory corner post, I do it alot. Well... if you do it alot it doesnt work, I do it more than most I'd say which is still not often. VERY situational tho, I like to have played with the table for at least 40+ hands before trying this stuff.

Also you need to have a reason for to do it (stealing blinds, to show a bluff so you get paid later, etc.). dont just start raising crap b/c you think your Gus.

Dont just represent the ace either, represent whatever hand beats what you put your opponet on. Sometimes you look like a huge donk when you try to represent the hand they have tho....

TA is right, making plays with weak holdings out of position is a very bad idea.

But the basic idea is the
(chance you with the blinds uncontested)
+ (chance you flop a monster they cant put you on)
+ (chance you bet the player out of the pot on the flop, turn or river b/c you were the agressor pf and have position)
- (chance they make a hand a play back at you with a bet you cant call)
--------
still equals a +EV move.

Also getting caught making a move like this can change your table image in a way that is exploitable in later hands.

There's people on here... and elsewhere who have played online with a post-it note covering their hole cards and played sessions like that. Could be folding AA PF and raising with a 72o sometimes, just playing position and player responses.

One of the keys for becoming a "poker" player as opposed to a card player is learning that the situation dictates your range of good plays, and often times it is almost (but not quite) independent of the 2 cards in front of you.

If you just decide to raise with trash "because you feel like it", you're going to start bumping into situations where you get into major trouble. The more you learn to take in all the variables at the table, the more plays that will open up to you.

This isn't to say that all your plays will be successful - far from it. In fact, if you don't get caught stealing in a tourney, you're not stealing enough.

Just keep focusing on understanding the situation (of which your 2 cards are only part), and you'll start seeing the game at different levels.