Proper Raise Sizes Pre-Flop
And How To Adjust
Being a winning poker player requires that
you look for small edges and exploit them. One
fundamental way that this can be done is through
effective bet sizing pre-flop. Raising to the
amount that best suits your hand and position is
extremely important. If your intent is to steal
the blinds as opposed to getting the most value
from your hand you will definitely need to
adjust your bet sizes. Another factor in
determining bet size is your opponent. It is
important that you know why you are making a bet
and against who you are making a bet.
Raise sizes pre-flop for value
Raises are made for value more than anything
else. If you are making an open raise you should
multiply the big blind by four. Always keep a
mental picture in your head (4x). If you are
playing .50/1 and have AJ you would open to $4.
If there are limpers ahead of you there is an
adjustment to be made. Add one big blind per
limper. If two players limp ahead of you at
.50/1 you should raise to $6 ($4+$2). These are
rules of thumb that should be adhered to every
time you make a raise for value. Consistency in
bet sizing is extremely important.
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Raise sizes pre-flop when stealing blinds
Generally blinds are stolen from the cut off,
button, SB or BB. Stealing the blinds is done
when players ahead of you have all folded.
If it folds around to you in the BB raise 3x
the BB.
If it folds around to you in the SB raise
2.5x the BB.
Raise 2.5x the BB in the SB as well and then
3x in the BB if the SB limps.
The reasoning is simple, the fewer players to
knock out, the smaller the bet required. If the
players will fold to a 2.5 BB raise they are
just as likely to fold to a 3x BB raise. There
may be a slightly greater tendency to call a 2.5
BB raise than a 3x BB raise but it is outweighed
by the money saved when you raise 2.5x instead
of 3x the BB.
Raise sizes adjusted for loose players
The guidelines above will be applicable to
most of the players you come across, but every
once in awhile you will face very loose players
who are just dying to give away their money.
Since these players are so willing to give you
their money you should have your arms open wide.
How do you exploit this weakness of theirs? It
is simple, jack up your bet sizes! This should
only be done for value of course as the loose
players are unlikely to fold to steals at all,
so you might as well not even try. There is no
real number that can be calculated when
determining a good size to make your pre-flop
raises against a loose player. It is a process
that might require some trial and error, and a
bit of observance. If you see the loose player
calling 6x BB raises but folding to 10x BB
raises you can safely assume that a good number
to try would be between 6 BBs and 10 BBs. If an
8x BB raise goes uncalled you could always
revert to 6x BB raises as you had seen them work
previously. If no one else is making bigger
raises against the loose player you will have to
experiment for yourself. Start by raising to 6
BBs when you have a strong hand and continue
adding a few BBs to your raises until you can no
longer get a call from the player.
Summary of pre-flop raise sizing
The most important aspect of pre-flop raises
is consistency. Know why you are making a raise
and know what amount is going to be most
effective. After you play a few sessions it will
come naturally.
