cold calling preflop

AcidJoe

I've looked over my poker tracker (limit) games and I swear the biggest mistake I make is cold calling preflop with a marginal hand. Either you raise or you fold. I've cold called 2 times now in the last 2000 hands and it's been a big improvement in my bottom line.

TexLexus

Like they say... Pump it or dump it.

ChrisWinsor

Congrats on your improvement, thx for the share lol.

ScoobyD

I've never used pt, but I'm assuming obviously this doesn't include your blinds play.

Typically when you're talking about "cold-calling" you're talking about calling multiple bets cold. This isn't applicable in the BB (unless it was 3 bet or capped), since it's only a single bet to you (and if there's multiple players you're often getting a great price here to play a more marginal hand). So yes, your assumption is correct.

2 of 2000? I'd have to look at my stats but this doesn't sound horrible. I don't think it sounds low. Obviously it is going to depend on the makeup of the game (in looser games with multiple bad players coldcalling raises or limping weak hands in early position you get a better price to cold call 2 bets with decent implied odds hands like suited broadway, suited aces, small to mid pairs. In a tight game though, often the only player to enter the pot is the raiser, and here is where you need to decide whether to 3 bet to isolate, or dump it (since you aren't getting great odds with a speculative hand against only the raiser).

1. UTG raise from a fairly solid,tight player, folded to you with AJs in cutoff position( don't know what limits you play..5/10 is a likely fold, 2/4 likely a raise) What's your play?

Fold. Change the position of the raiser to 2 off the button and it's a 3 bet, change the raiser to a LAG and it's a 3 bet.

2. UTG raise 2 callers, you're on the button with medium pp. What's your play?

Call.

AcidJoe

Scoob pretty much summed it up. Although I've been playing some serious lags here at turning stone and OMG do they find ways to suck out. One guy in the small blind capped to him calls with 8 2 suited. I know because he ended up winning with his hand after he rivered the flush to my set of k's. He showed down some many crap hands that he raised, re raised or called capped flops with it's sick. I did end up taking serveral large pots of him so it was ok. Here at turning stone they set their limits to get chips in play. 2 4, 4 8, 6 12. 10/ 20 20/40 50/100 1-5 spread stud 4 8 hi/low omaha. by doing this lots of chips are in play and leads to action. Apparently they canned the 5 10 game because few chips were in play and lead to tighter games (if that makes sense).