This is my biggest problem in the current game, and it's very complex because very much read-dependent. But I'm going to have to get a start on it in order to stay on top of this game. So, I'll start with a very simple version, presumably with some confused comments, which we can hopefully work into some kind of counter-strategy.

Let me construct a player which is more or less real at this game (this one should be easier): A raise to $15 means essentially playable big cards, something like KTs (that comes to mind as example I saw last night). This same player will raise to $20-$25 on a hand like AQs (possibly AQo), AK, etc.

How do you really optimally deal with this raise, assuming decent stack-depth? I honestly don't like the little pairs enormously if the field gets thinned too much for the simple reason that you don't hit with them very often, and it's not clear how much you'll get paid if you do. If you have raiser and a few others in, ok, then it becomes a lot more interesting, because you are likely getting 4:1 just on pot odds, and that's plenty. Similarly with suited connectors.

Here's something I've been thinking about, though: If you're in position to do so and the remainder of the field hasn't shown any true strength, pound it with a re-raise maybe to $90 with JJ-AA and AK for sure (unimproved AK gets a continuation bet here, although you're in very deep?), possibly also with KQ, AJ-AQ?

I'll leave it at that for the moment and may experiment with that tonight, given the opportunity. What do you guys think both in terms of hand selection and in terms of re-raising quantity? I'd like for it to be enough to have VERY good chances of taking the pot down right there. I think $60 is about the minimum that might be promising. Actually, I think I'll go with $75 to start with, $60 if I have AA or KK.

Ok, before hitting the road, I forgot to mention the more radical version, which I still do consider a very serious option:

Re-raise any 2 to $90 or so. Conditions: Tight table image, no strength in field, good position (it's ideal if you're sitting to the immediate right of the raiser so as not to run into the occasional big hand amongst players left to act). Obviously also not a move to make more than once in a while.

Ok, I've suggested an aggressive re-raise policy, possibly on any 2 depending on position, what the rest of the table is doing, etc., against what one might call a "readable muppet raise." Basically, this kind of loose raiser makes the mistake of giving a tell that he DOESN'T have an actual raising hand. Typical at the games I've been playing is someone who'll raise to $15 on a junky hand like KT but $20 or $25 on real raising hands (and these guys usually include AQ in the "real" group).

But there's another kind, and I ran up against one variation of this Friday night. I'll call this one the "consistent loose raiser." I'm calling it "consistent" rather than "unreadable" because I'm still hoping to get some kind of tell other than raising quantity on this kind of loose raiser--I just don't have it yet.

The one on Friday night would raise to about $25 sometimes with a real raising hand, sometimes with junk. He turned over hands like 64s a few times (possibly a variation on the suited connector raise?), which he had pursued pretty hard into the turn, but also some real raising hands. I called once just for the hell of it with AJ and fortunately didn't hit anything, as he did turn over AA that time (he showed after I folded the flop, presumably to keep me off his back).

In actuality, I think AJ is still a bad hand to try against this kind of raiser. True, I'm way ahead of his 64s, but I just don't know where I'm at if I hit, and it's going to cost too much to find out. At least for the moment, I think it's better to stick with the usual "raise-cracking hands" against this kind of player (pairs, low suited connectors). If you do set, I think the payoff is big enough (at least against this particular player) even if he DOESN'T have AA, because that's what he'll represent pretty far into the hand.

Only thing to really be a little worried about is if you set, this player CAN have a straight down there among the rags.

Playing against this player consistently, I think it is possible to mix up one's raise-calling strategy (I'll actually be interested in hearing ice's comments on this one, because I view this player as somewhat similar to ice's suited connector raise--the player last night wasn't as good as ice, but he had a somewhat similar idea). I'd like to crack his hand a few times with what I view as the legitimate hands for calling a raise (as noted above).

But once you've shown a few of those, I think it is possible to mix in at least AQ, possibly even AJ and KQ (or AJs and KQs, to be a little more conservative) as "raise callers." If you DO hit on one of those, it makes it less likely that he has at least some of the big hands that can beat you. And (this is the most important part), while you don't know on these hands whether you're ahead or behind, he doesn't know whether you just setted or not either!

Basically, calling a raise with some of the better big card hands becomes legitimate if you have very high credibility, so that you can hit and play the flop hard also as a kind of semi-bluff. While you don't really know whether you're ahead or behind here, neither does the consistent loose raiser. As I say, I think you want to have an enormous amount of respect from this player before making this move, because you're going to get more of your stack out there than you really want even on flops that hit you for TP.

my opinion is:

call the raise with any of the normal calling hands....low/mid pairs, SC's. but become more liberal with your re-raising standards. in a normal cash game i'm only re-raising AA + KK, and sometimes re-raising QQ + AK. i would change "sometimes" to "always" against a player like this, and i wouldn't be afraid to re-raise JJ, TT, or AQ, and possibly more hands if he is willing to fold to a re-raise. if what you said is true and he raises to $15 with QJ but $25 with KK...you'll know exactly when to re-raise and when to get out of the way.

jon