Let's say I'm playing $2/$5 and the table pf norm is a raise to $20 or $25. If I limp with AK and hit TPTK on the flop - even with such a flop as A63 - I can fire $20 or $25 on the flop and get some information then about whether or not my opponent has A6 or A3 and I'm out the same amount of money. In the game I have been playing lately - they are as likely to call a $25 raise with A6 pre-flop but at least on the flop if they hit two pair I'm likely to get raised - my investment stays the same and my aggression (re: table image) isn't in question because I fired on the flop. It is true that you might lose a little equity along the way by not raising pre-flop but it keeps the fluctuations down and that's more important than many realize in these game.
Low limit NL has many playing aspects which mirror a re-buy tournament because of the capped buy-in. If I go all-in pre-flop against a player who has the same $500 in front of him that I do and he flips up KK to my AA - I am much more likely to offer a deal (assuming the house allows deals) that I am in a big game...and a much better deal than I would if I were so inclined in the big game. In a no cap buy-in game I would offer him no more than 22.5% ($225 of a $1000 pot) to muck - in a capped buy-in game I would offer him 30% to muck. The reason is simply that the chips are worth more because they are only partially replaceable....I can only buy-in for $500 if I lose. So in our KK vs AA situation where two people have gone all-in for $500 and created a $1000 pot - my equity holding AA is about $800 and I don't want to gamble with the money I can't replace - namely the $300. So I'll take a sure thing of $250 or even $200 rather than gamble in this situation because the added $200-$250 is worth more than $200 or $250 in rebought chips.
During this last month where I kept records here on btp under the 'for what it's worth' post, I played 19 sessions. Of those 19 sessions, I had to re-buy in 15 sessions - sometimes more than once. However, once I doubled the max buy-in - ie: if I was playing in a $300 max buy-in game and reached $600 or reached $1000 in a $500 max buy-in game - I never looked back and not only did not have to rebuy again but did not book a loss. Having a sizable chip stack has equity in NL - even if your opponents have more than you because you can gain information and pinpoint where you are easier by raising and re-raising without crippling yourself.
TUPStatistics: Posted by TheUnknownPlayer — Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:04 pm
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