Have you ever noticed that when you raise in some live ring no limit games to 5 times the BB there are 5 players willing to see the flop and in other games it will quickly either win you the pot or significantly narrow the field? The sooner you find the over/under at a table the better you can use this knowledge to your advantage. It tells you the relative composition of a table and identifies the loose players in a game.
What is the over/under? It is the size of a raise that players are willing to call cold. My experience is that a raise of 5 times the BB is where you can start to narrow the field in a typical 2-5 or 5-10 game. Some tables will have 7 players willing to see a flop for 3 or 4 times the BB but once the raise is 6 times the BB players are not willing to "gamble" quite as much. The main factors in determining the over/under interestingly is not the position of the raiser. Just as limpers will never fold once they come into a pot in a limit setting I find it takes more than just a 5 times the BB raise to get them to fold when I raise from late position. The more players who limp in after a loose player has already called the less likely they will let their hand go. They see a pot brewing and they want in on the action.
The conditions that dictate the over/under is due to two fairly well known rules in no limit hold em. The first of these rules is the 5%-10% rule. If a raise is more than 10% of your stack size then you should fold smaller pairs. Less than 10% you can normally call as pocket pairs that flop a set play well in just about any position. Remember that if you do call then the raiser also needs to have a stack that is the same size or larger. As it is 9.5 to 1 against flopping a set (7.5 to 1 against flopping a set, full house, or quads) you need implied odds to be better than 10 to make them profitable. The second rule most players follow is that they want the implied odds to be at least 20 times the size of the bet they are calling. This rule is basically stating the 5% rule except it also takes into account any additional money that is already in the pot.
In regards to suited connectors the ideal situation is that you only call if you are in late position and for an amount that is closer to the 5% range as playing them in early position or to the immediate left of a raiser is usually a negative expectation play. When I speak of position you need to realize that it is directly related to the aggressor in these situations and not the button. The position to the immediate left of the raiser is the worst position to be calling from in a raised pot. Getting sandwiched between the aggressor and all of the players to act after you is very unfavorable indeed.
Just because a player checks, it doesn't mean they don't have a hand. No limit poker is a game filled with traps. Don't step into one by mistake. The more aggressive the raiser is and the more deceptive the E.P. players are, the more dangerous the situation becomes. My next article will expand on these concepts.
