Play Against Raises

There was a time, believe it or not, when an early position raise meant something. If someone re-raised that early position raise, it was almost always Aces. Over the years, aggressive and creative players, like Doyle Brunson and Stu Ungar, have taken advantage of this tight play.

They understood that most players are averse to risk and do all they can to survive in a poker tournament. Brunson and Ungar also knew their opponents played according to the theory that you need a better hand to call or raise someone who has already entered the pot than if you were the first to enter the pot.

To attack this strategy, they made sure they were the first to enter many pots. This enabled them to steal and steal and steal. When an opponent finally woke up with a hand good enough to fight back, Brunson or Unger would either fold or gamble with the chips they so easily stole earlier.

MIND THE GAP

In his seminal book Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, David Sklansky coined the term ‘The Gap’ to refer to ‘the difference between the hand you call an opener with, and that with which you would open yourself’. This gap constantly changes according to who you’re playing and what stage you’re at in the tournament. Back in the day, when most players played very tight, the gap would be very large. With a loose opponent, it would be small.

ATTACKING THE EARLY RAISER

If you’re a good poker player, you’ll know how important position is. Being able to act after your opponents gives you valuable ammunition, but what should you do if one or more opponents take that away from you? How should you attack the player who raises often in early position?

According to the Gap Concept, this can put you in a difficult spot. In normal circumstances, K-Q or A-J offsuit  should almost always hit the muck when a player in early position raises, but if the player is raising often and you suspect that they are quite loose, how should you react?

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

1. How long will the table stay together? Are you going to have time to get to know this opponent and the rest of your table? Without this knowledge it is almost impossible to make the correct play in this situation.

If I think my table is going to break up fairly shortly, I might be more inclined to play straight up, giving my opponent credit for a hand and playing accordingly. Until he gives you a reason not to, you have to give your opponent some respect.

2. Know the original raiser. Who is doing the raising? How is the opponent likely to react to a re-raise or a call? What is the range of their holdings? Do they know their table image? Do they care?

3. Be aware of who’s yet to act. This is especially important in today’s game. If you call an early position raise, an aggressive player behind you might try the ‘Squeeze Play’, putting you in an unenviable spot.

4. Where are we in the tournament? Early in the tournament, and after you make the money, players tend to play looser. You can adjust to this by making your gap smaller and you can call raises more easily and re-raise a bit more, but re-raising opens a whole other can of worms that we’ll get into a bit later.

Conversely, players tend to tighten up as we approach the money and the final table. At this point, your gap should widen. You’ll probably want to be the first one into many pots as your opponents will be less willing to confront you.

5. Chip counts. Keep an eye on your own, and your opponents’ chip count. Short-stacks are often ready to give up and might even be pot-committed by their early position raise. Big-stacks are more likely to gamble. It’s often best to attack those middle-stacks.

6. What’s the general feel of the table? Are most pots going to a player uncontested? Are there many raises and re-raises? Is the squeeze play being used a lot? Based on the feel of your table, you’ll be able to predict what your opponents will do after you call or raise.

COUNTERING THE LAG PLAYER

Let’s say a player is playing very loose and fast. Position means little to him and he’s winning most pots uncontested. What should you do? Firstly, it’s not your job to slow this player down – loose players wake up with good hands all the time.

If I don’t think there is much chance for a squeeze play from one of the players yet to act, I’m inclined to play fairly straightforward. Because I think I’m a good player post-flop, I’m going to call my loose opponent a fair amount of the time.

I’ll call him with hands that I want to see a flop with, but I’ll mix up my game. I’ll call with a variety of hands such as, 7-7, A-Q, 5-4 suited. Depending on my chip stack, I’ll be re-raising with hands where my next decision is a simple one.

I can re-raise with A-A because I know I’ll be calling any raise. I can also re-raise with 8-6 suited because I can easily fold. If my opponent is loose and aggressive, I’m not a big fan of raising with hands like A-Q suited or 9-9.

Since I’ll be in position and because of the value of the hand, I’d like to be able to see a flop. If I re-raise and then my opponent pushes all-in, I’ll be forced to fold.

If my table is a bit crazier and more players are seeing the flops, I might have to make an adjustment. Sometimes, if you call, this will elicit calls from players behind you. How your hand performs in a multi-way pot will tell you what to do.

If I have 3-3 and think a call from me will bring in four other players, I’ll know that I’m getting the correct odds to hit my set. A-Q off-suit doesn’t play well in multi-way pots, so as a result, I might raise to isolate my loose and aggressive opponent or I might just fold.

SQUEEZE PLAY

Another issue to deal with is, the squeeze play. We’ve covered this before, but basically this is when a late position player re-raises an early position and a caller.

The thinking behind it is this: the loose-aggressive player doesn’t have to be strong to raise and the caller would have raised if they were strong. There’s no point in calling an early position raiser if you’re going to be squeezed and forced to fold.

To combat this, you’ll need to mix up your game a bit. You’ll have to occasionally call with hands that you are willing to call an all-in with. It’s fairly easy to combat the squeeze play, but be careful, you may smooth call with A-A and instead of getting the squeeze you were hoping for, get four more callers.

You’ll feel terrible if you allow your opponents into the pot only to be knocked out with just one pair. Think of it as a chess game – you have to stay a couple of steps ahead of your opponent.

TIGHTENING UP

Taking a look at the other side of the coin, if your table is playing too tightly – especially approaching the money – you should aim to be the first to enter the pot, regardless of position. Don’t forget the gap concept – your tight opponent will need a very good hand to play back at you.

Keep in mind, if you’re called by a tight player in this circumstance, he will almost always have a better hand than you. Make sure you’re raising enough to get the job done but don’t risk any more than you have to.

It’s also worth noting that stealing in early position can sometimes be quite smart. If your opponents are good, they’ll be aware of the gap concept and might give you credit for a huge hand.

Some players are ignorant about the value of position. These are the kinds of players I love to call. I figure if they don’t know how to play pre-flop, their post-flop game must have a few leaks too.

Other players will know about the gap concept and be creative enough to use it. These players can be tricky, and depending on your table make-up and how well you know your opponent, you’ll be in a position to take advantage of it.

CONCLUSION

All good players know that it’s more profitable to play hands in position, so don’t sweat it when the LAG at your table decides to raise from under the gun all the time. If you’re reading InsidePoker, I’m assuming you’re a good poker player and if so, you’ll get your chance against this LAG, or the next one.