Raising issues

You’re playing a poker tournament and it is folded to you on the button. The two players in the blinds are tight and you know that you’re supposed to raise with any two cards here. But as you look down at your cards and see 7?-2? you can’t bring yourself to do it. You fold, the small blind folds, and the big blind sheepishly turns over 4?-2? and rakes in the pot.

A day later you’re playing a different poker tournament and once again it is folded to you on the button. You have Q?-9? and although the big blind is a very loose, aggressive player you remember your mistake from yesterday. You raise and the big blind moves all-in over the top of you. You fold and the big blind grins and shows pocket twos.

What these two examples show is how too many players in late position act without thinking about the conditions required for raising and those that dictate a fold. This article is going to go over some key situational factors and give you an idea of when and where to raise from late position.

THE RAISING FACTORS

Below I’ve outlined five key factors that you need to take into consideration when open-raising a pot. These factors often work with one another to provide a more detailed picture of whether or not you should raise. Sometimes, just knowing that one factor is prevalent will be enough, but most times you will need an understanding of all five in order to be successful.

1. THE LIKELIHOOD THAT ALL OF YOUR OPPONENTS WILL FOLD

This is the most important factor in your decision-making, because without opponents that will fold you are either going to need a hand or know that you will be able to take the pot away from them post-flop. How do you know if a player will fold their blinds? Watch them from the time you start playing with them and you should be able to figure it out. Here are some telltale signs of a player who will fold their blinds without much resistance:

• They fold their big blind at any time to a minimum raise

• They fold their small blind in a limped multi-way pot

• They display tight tendencies from other positions or in other situations (take note, for example, if they reveal that they folded pocket sevens in early position pre-flop after a 7 flops)

• They play a small number of hands and when they do, it is almost always with a raise (meaning their hand range is narrow)

2. THE LIKELIHOOD THAT IF YOUR OPPONENT DOES NOT FOLD THAT YOU CAN WIN THE POT POST-FLOP

Many people refuse to fold their big blind no matter what cards they hold. They feel that because they have money in the pot they have a right to see what the flop brings. Typically, these players will only proceed post-flop if they hit something. These are the best players to take on because not only do you pick up the blinds and antes, you also get the additional chips they put into the pot pre-flop. You have the additional benefit of having position on them post-flop, so you will be able to react to their actions. If they check to you, you can bet blindly and often take it down.

The following are signs that you are up against a player who will defend their blinds too liberally and then fold too readily when they miss the flop:

• They call whenever someone makes a small to medium-sized raise into their blinds

• They call whenever they have limped in and someone else raises behind them

• They display check-folding tendencies when they do not like their hand

• They display check-calling and/or bet-raising tendencies when they do like their hand

3. STACK SIZES IN RELATION TO THE BLINDS

This factor is often overlooked when deciding whether or not to raise first to act. If a player is very short-stacked they will often call or move all-in regardless of what they are holding.

An exaggerated example would be if the blinds were 1,000/2,000 and the player in the big blind had 3,000 in chips after posting his big blind. This player is probably going to call any raise you make in this case, so raising with any two from the button is not a good idea. It is a good time, however, to raise with hands like Q-J or pocket sixes, as you know you’re not going to be put to any difficult post-flop decisions.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, if a player has so many chips that calling a standard raise is a small percentage of their stack, then again you need to proceed with caution. For example, if the blinds are 1,000/2,000 and the big blind has 200,000 in chips, then raising with 7?-5? is probably not a good idea.

The ideal player to be looking to attack is one who has enough chips to survive folding their blind but not so many that a raise will not represent a significant portion of their stack. This would typically be a player who has between 10 and 20 big blinds. So at the blind levels in the example above that would be a player with 20,000 to 40,000 chips.

4. YOUR STACK SIZE

In addition to your opponent’s stack size, you also need to factor in your own. If you are under ten times the big blind and you are first to act you should always consider moving all-in regardless of your holding. Picking up the antes and blinds at this stage is crucial to your tournament survival, and the only times when you should hold back is when one of the blinds is a big stack or the type of player who is very likely to call you. More often than not, however, this is an ideal spot to pick up some much- needed chips.

If you are between 10 and 20 big blinds, you need to be careful when open-raising. You don’t have enough chips to fold to re-raises or post-flop bets frequently. If you enter a pot with this stack size, you need to be willing to go to war with the hand if a person puts you to the test. Above 20 big blinds, you have plenty of options available and should proceed as you normally would.

5. THE STRENGTH OF YOUR HAND

Understanding all of the above factors will help you make the correct decision when you are first to act, but the strength of your hand can overrule all other factors. If you have Aces, Kings or Queens it doesn’t matter what your stack size is, what your opponent’s stack size is or whether or not your opponent is going to call or not. You’re going to raise, and most of the time you’re going to re-raise if your opponent re-raises you. Those decisions are easy, but others are not so well defined.

SUMMARY

While the above factors – especially the first three – will help you to decide which types of hands you should open, call, and re-raise with, keep in mind that poker is a very situational game. Before you blindly raise or fold your hand, look at the situation coolly and try to determine the best course of action. Just because you have 7-2 offsuit doesn’t mean you should fold, and just because you have Q-J suited it doesn’t mean you should raise. The key to proper late-position play is understanding your opponents and their tendencies and adjusting your play to suit.