The last thing you want playing 88 UTG for a raise is to be looked up by a few players and end up in a multiway pot where you don't have the right implied odds to hit your set. 2 callers could spell disaster here and there's still 7 or more people to act after you. Versus 2 players calling with top 15% and top 10% hands, respectively, leaves you with 30% equity in this pot. If you tighten their calling ranges, you lose equity.
If you were in a short handed game you can play these in early position as you have the effective position of LMP or the CO and have much fewer people acting after you bet. These types of hands have much more value short handed and I'm likely to play them fast and hard hoping to steal blinds and antes and not be met with too much resistance. If I do get a caller in this situation I'm hoping to go in a favorite and win. What changes my willingness to play these short handed is the relative position UTG has when playing at a short table and the fact that you don't have as many people acting after you.
A 3-4xBB raise with 66-88 and only 13BB leaves your stack a little short and you don't have room to play very well postflop. I don't think I'm raising here. If I'm playing it's either limp, push or fold. I think folding > limping > pushing at a full table unless the dynamics are like what I described above.
This is, of course, in the situation you're referring to above where it's late in a tournament. Earlier on when the blinds and antes aren't a significan't portion of my stack I'd probably play these a little more often, but when we're talking about a significant investment of my stack I'd prefer to play something like this in position and wait for even stronger hands in early position.
With 99 and TT in this position I'm raising here.Statistics: Posted by CybrPunk — Fri Nov 11, 2005 10:35 am
]]>