In no-limit and pot-limit games, one sneaky little weapon that can prove very useful in the early rounds is the pot-sweetener. Typically, a pot-sweetener is a smallish bet or raise that's designed not to drive opponents out. It's a little bet that's trying to coax little calls-with the aim of fattening up the pot for the eventual kill. Opponents usually call the diminutive raise because they're getting good pot odds, and in the later rounds will be more inclined to keep on calling because of the now-larger pot.
Since you are allowing opponents to stay in cheaply, a pot-sweetening raise is best done with a very big hand, or a draw to a very big hand. If all goes according to plan, your monster hand will end up winning a huge pot because of all those calls from opponents who would have folded to a big raise early on.
A micro-raise before the flop often represents a drawing-type hand, such as suited connectors or a smallish pocket pair that's hoping to flop a set-especially if it comes from late position after other players have limped in. It's unlikely in the extreme that any of those limpers will fold to a minimum raise, and the late-position raiser is well aware of this. He knows the pot is destined to be multi-way, which is very good for drawing hands, so he wants to get more money into the middle of the table. If his draw doesn't hit, he can still get away from the hand cheaply, because he only made a very small raise.
A small open-raise from early position is another matter. Here the raiser could be trapping with a big pair, hoping that somebody will raise behind him so he can push out a big re-raise. Or he could have another drawing-type hand. Or he could be raising to discourage cold-calls behind him-though with a small raise he admittedly isn't trying very hard.
The tricky part about a small raise in a big-bet game is that it looks like a bet that wants to be called. And it usually is. Which is why many no-limit and pot-limit players find a dinky raise more worrisome than a big obvious "scary" raise. If the raiser truly wants to get called, that typically means he has a big hand already and is just stringing his opponents along, or else he is on a draw to a great hand.
It's also possible that he is being extremely sneaky, or perhaps just utterly clueless, which brings up another point. Some players will make a very small raise because they really don't know any better. Or they could be playing with scared money. Perhaps the min-raiser is playing at a limit too high for his bankroll, or he just suffered through a brutal losing streak. These things can inspire weak-tight play, which in turn can produce undersized raises.
A petite raise can also be used as a kind of "feeler" bet to gain valuable information at a cheap price. Maybe the raiser just wants to find out where he is at in the hand. Depending on whether the opponent answers him back with a hefty re-raise, or just meekly calls, the original raiser has his answer and can proceed accordingly, albeit with a slightly-sweeter pot.
Barbara Connors is a sucker for classic old movies, science fiction, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Her life's ambition is to figure out the unusual behavior patterns of that unique breed of humans who call themselves poker players. Contact her at fyreflye222@yahoo.com.
