What hands to you call a standard 3x raise with on the button?

In particular, what do you do with unsuited high connectors such as JT, QJ and KQ? What about hands like Ax suited?

Isn't there a danger you're dominated so it's -ev?

Will you loosen up if the raiser comes from MP/LP?

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Theres so much to take into account.

• What type of player is the guy who raised?
• How has he been playing in this session so far? (Ie his state of mind .. etc)
• How big is his stack compared to yours?
• Are their any other players in the hand?? (What will the SB/BB do??)
• What type of players are the SB/BB?
• How have they been running....

Those types of questions are very frequent, and should be analysed in seconds really. There is a lot of information that changes every hand in cash NL its hard to keep up with it all. Lets assume the guy is fairly weak-tight, has played solid hands thus far.

With JT, you have the best chance to make a straight which is always the nut straight but you need a lot of help with the flop, likewise with QK and QJ.

Say the flop comes QAK and you have QK, you really dont want to be dominated to AK/QA/AA/KK/QQ since you will possibly lose a lot of money here.. You really need to narrow down the raisers range of hands.

You have to remember that so many people will mix up their raises once in a while and throw out a raise with pocket 7s or something and when the flop comes 8TQ and you hold QK/QJ, its a tricky decision to make since you fear QA....

For me I would reraise to 6/7 BBs with QK maybe JT, (and I dont like QJ at all) since I dont want to be a caller. I guess this is just how I play, but I find that it lets me lead into a higher percentage of flops and generally induces better for a free card play.

Cliff notes version:

The more people that call along, the more I'm tossing the big cards and calling with the small cards. Heads up, I'll take a flop with just about anything playable and see where it goes. Re-raising, I'll do more in 6max than full ring. i seldom re-raise preflop in full ring at all without a monster.

Against a small stack, I'm more inclined to want a hand that can stand alone because I won't have the implied odds.

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deep stacked, mmmmm the button

lots of hands

Unsuited high connectors = crap in my opinion. I would never call a raise with KQ, QJ, or even AQ. Ax suited is a fold to any raise for me, not even worth caling in an unraised pot to be honest.

With regard to LP raisers, it depends upon read of situation. If you believe raiser (whether due to position or read in player) is raising light you should reraise hands like AQ or KQs, TJs. Otherwise fold hands like KQ, KJ - they are just trap hands. I'd rather call a raise with 45s than KQ.

Tons, as long as me and the pf raiser is deepstacked enough at the table then i will call with any pp, 56s+, 57s+, and sometimes 69s+.

For PP's, both me and the initial raiser have to have at least 10x the initial pf raise in our remaining stacks. So for your above example of a 3xBB raise, both me and BB need at least 30xBBs in our stack.

For hands like 56s+, 57s+, 69s+... I will only call the raise if it came from EP (preferably with one or more other callers). However, I will also call a raise from MP if we are very deepstacked or if there are multiple other callers. And both me and the initial raiser have to have at least 20x the initial raise in our stacks (so 60BB+ stacks for a 3BB raise).


"Will you loosen up if the raiser comes from MP/LP?"

I usually dont loosen up, in fact I usually tighten up.. I usually only play suited connector type hands to a EP raise because that signals PF strength (so most of the time ur up against QQ-AA, AK). So if u hit the right flop, then u can stack the person easier. People raise alot more hands from MP, so if ur calling an MP raise, and looking to stack someone with 78s, its gonna be alot harder to do because they can fold their hands easier.



"In particular, what do you do with unsuited high connectors such as JT, QJ and KQ? What about hands like Ax suited?"

I never play unsuited high connectors to a raise. Neither do I play Ax suited to a raise. In fact, I only play Ax suited if there is 1 limper already in the pot and im not im EP. Otherwise I just muck it pf.

Thanks a lot guys for the input. I feel both early in tournaments and in cash games I'm bleeding some chips here & there, so I'm trying to tighten up.

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This is a great thread. Some very valuable information in here.

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BOSS

It's not really tightening up, it's adjusting. A lot of people in a pot usually means dead big cards. When you hit, you're only getting bad action or no action to the low pairs that missed their set. Same goes for 1 raiser.

Against raisers, you're on the call, so want a hand that you'll know postflop will be best or worst. In position, you want some semi-bluffing value. When you're worst, you get away cheaply. When you're best, you can stack the guy.

Counter that with holding QJ, hitting top pair with babies on the board and him betting into you. You'll win nothing more than the pot+his bet, get a raise called with the worst hand, or call down to find out you were dominated from the start.

I never bought the notion that big connectors play well multiway. You hit two pair and you have to be overprotective of straight draws, so you win small or lose big. You hit a straight draw, you're on the call. You hit a straight draw with overs and you have you see the turn and river with flop aggression. The free card play works with 78 to a board of K-5-6, but not with KQ to a board of J-T-2. Think of the ranges leading those flops. In the first case, you can win the pot with 8 hi, get knocked off a draw that you would've been knocked off on the turn anyway, or get a free card. In the second, you can almost never win the pot with K hi, trap yourself into playing a big pot with dead outs that'll cost you more, or hit your draw and not get another dime.

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True. I'm probably missing out some calls with weaks hands, where I may have the right odds to call. But mostly I feel I might call/raise slightly too much pf.

If the pot was unraised I doubt that's true. When looking at some WSOP hands sometimes everybody was in the pot with low-end garbage like 96o. But I guess you're referring more to raised pots here?

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