about 20-30 hands in to a SnG. i have played no hands so far except for seein a flop from the BB twice.

button and sb are both very loose, both limping into over 50% of the hands, and both calling raises with what i expect are less than premium holdings

i thought about checking to chase a set, and also thought about raising all-in.

what do you think i should do here. i feel that a 4bb raise achieves nothing as it is unlikely to make anyone fold. and i have no idea what they hold as they have loose standards for calling a raise.

should i make a bigger than usuall preflop rase?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (8 handed) converter

SB (t1250)
Hero (t1370)
UTG (t835)
UTG+1 (t1920)
MP1 (t2665)
MP2 (t1330)
CO (t1290)
Button (t2840)

Preflop: Hero is BB with , .
5 folds, Button calls t50, SB completes, Hero raises to t200, Button calls t150, SB calls t150.

Flop: (t600) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets t200, SB folds,

I'd be really inclined to push here preflop against the loose players you describe. Against solid players maybe I would, but other factors would come into play. There's very little chance you are behind and a reasonable chance of getting a call with Ax, Kx or a small pair, essentially at worst a coin-flip, which I try and avoid but don't mind if I'm the aggressor as the fold equity makes them pay.

More often though you pick up the blinds and reinforce your tight reputation but make the point that you will defend the blinds.

Having said that I'd also make the same preflop raise you did quite often.

Trouble is there are very few flops you are going to like and those you do will be 3 undercards and then you are going to probably end up pushing to defend the pot (of course you are still vulnerable to the same overpairs you were preflop).

With the flop you've got I think you have to bet it (probably 200 to find where you are, and I know this will be perceived as too small but that's how I play it) as checking just gives the maniacs the chance to bet it and make you make the mistake.

In the position you are in there it's either reraise allin or fold. I think you are probably ahead, but I'd fold it and pick a better spot.

With the slow stars structure, I like the raise PF.


I think you bet the flop too. As it went down, I am not sure, too many scary cards could come on the turn. If you reraise to 600 he is going to call you no matter what. Fold and move on I guess.

by the way, i see a lot of players in these games who bet the wrong ammount on the Flop/T/R. e.g. BB is 100, pot is 600 so bet 100.

also pre and post flop i see stuff like 1st in bets 1xBB, next guy bets 2xBB, next guy bets 3xBB

Originally Posted by Bobby

by the way, i see a lot of players in these games who bet the wrong ammount on the Flop/T/R. e.g. BB is 100, pot is 600 so bet 100.

also pre and post flop i see stuff like 1st in bets 1xBB, next guy bets 2xBB, next guy bets 3xBB

You see that all the time in these things, betting 50$ into a 700$ pot , it doesn't mean much, sometimes it's a bluff sometimes they are betting top pair, sometimes they have the nuts.

I use the situations to draw for cheap.

Raise the flop....4 or 5X bb. (Which you did)

Fire after the flop..about 1/2 pot. (Which you didn't)

Once you checked the flop you need to now fold to the bet. Calling gets you a lot deeper without having any idea where you stand in the hand. If you want to play you will need to raise here (good ol check raise), but this is an expensive way to get the same info you could have had by betting out.

This is such a typical example of why it is better to be the aggressor and play these hands straightforwardly. You have a hand.....bet it and fnd out if anyone else has one too.

Ok, here I go against the grain. Early in the SNG's, don't play PP's JJ and below for pair value. There are typically just too many opponents in the pot with you, so the value of pairs, particularly pairs JJ and lower is significantly reduced.

Here's how I play it: Just call in with any pair JJ or lower to hit a set. If you hit your set, go all in on the flop. If you miss, check and hope to get a free card. Fold to any bet when there's an overcard, and reraise all in when there's no overcard (you're 73% against unpaired overcards here). Don't bet into deceptive opponents who check in front of you when you have position.

Once these pots start to mean something (blinds up in the 100/200 or higher range), then start playing the TT for pair value (eg. tight aggressive).