How to Beat Those Pesky Loose ReRaisers (Or How To Be So Pesky!)

Preflop reraising has evolved along with the public understanding of poker. Now that even recreational players realize the factors to consider when facing a three bet (a preflop reraise), it’s time to revamp your preflop strategy. This article is about getting you ahead of the curve, again.

The four main factors to consider when facing a preflop raise are stack size, polarity of range(s) of any involved player, (reverse) implied odds, and postflop tendencies. A comprehensive look into all of these topics would take scores of articles, so when rhetorical questions are posed or high-level problems are enumerated, I invite you to take them as an impetus for further work on your own game.

Stack size is probably the single most important variable in determining preflop play. The range one uses to reraise a 200 big blind-stacked under-the-gun (UTG) raiser from the cutoff should be quite different than the range one uses to reraise a 15 big blind-stacked button opener from the big blind (BB) after the small blind (SB) has folded. At a particular, though opponent dependent, inflection point on a value curve, the ability to charge an opponent for drawing to a big hand is diminished by an increasingly large preflop stack size, as long as reraise size is held relatively constant. Basically put, when stacks are extremely deep, one cannot charge speculative hands, like small pairs and suited connectors, to see the flop incorrectly without risking far too much preflop. Deep stacked, one has plenty of wiggle room to play against three and four bets, so there needs to be a well constructed plan that goes far beyond the simple decision to bluff reraise. On the other end of the spectrum, imagine that a shorter stacked opponent opens and one now may responds by moving all-in or by folding. An equity based range is a necessity because when the all-in hand is called, the hand is always going to showdown.

The need for an equity based range in certain cases makes clear that with different stack sizes, the polarity of the reraising range varies. So for the deeper-stacked case, a solid reraising range might be all premium hands, (J-J plus and A-K) as well as a few bluffs that are rarely dominated when called, like 7-6 suited. Shorter-stacked, the player pushing all-in wants a more linear range, a range that is more equity-based in the immediate sense of the hand’s showdown value when called. Deep-stacked, there are several postflop implications to consider. Polarized ranges play best in those situations where the range allows fewer borderline situations to present themselves and in massive pots. In contrast, the very short stack sizes necessitate a less polar range (a linear range) such that hand values when called determine playability. Additionally, all-in frequency is more of an issue shorter-stacked as there are several instances, based on our opponent’s would-be pot odds, that moving all-in makes sense; and there are simply not enough premium hands to satisfy the required all-in frequency at such stacks.

How are the opponent’s reverse implied odds? Basically put, reverse implied odds in reraised pots are all about one thing: domination. The question of domination mostly has to do with the likelihood of a player flopping a pair and the opposing player flopping that same pair, but with a better kicker. Even if the preflop caller is calling out of position against a player who is extremely loose preflop, hands like K-10 offsuit rarely justify a preflop call if the reraiser only puts all the money in the middle postflop with good top-pair hands. In that case, the caller must consider the inflection between flopping top pair or a powerful enough draw often enough to play back at the reraiser, and both players flopping top pair, when most of the money usually goes in, and with the caller frequently having the worst of it. How well the opponent understands these concepts at various stack sizes has a considerable effect on the construction of the reraising range, as well as the reraiser’s ability to bluff on multiple streets.
Frequently against a loose caller, the reraiser might force a close decision from the caller’s perspective by balancing his good hands with bluffs. Taking into account multiple-street betting strategies when considering preflop reraising strategy is certainly one of the more difficult tasks to attempt in poker, but the reward is a kind of “automatic exploitation” of your opponent that is unable to be intuited.

The corollary of reverse implied odds and domination is implied odds and the ability to draw out on an opponent. With deep stacks and position, the situation is more favorable for the caller. Shorter-stacked and out of position, fewer hands do well to call. There’s also the matter of preflop bet size. Many players choose a small opening raise size not only to reduce their risk (meaning, initial investment) when reraised, but also to force their opponent to counter-risk a smaller amount when reraising such that the original raiser may have more frequent profitable or break-even calling opportunities. Much of implied odds is simply the reverse of reverse implied odds, so for now, we move on to postflop tendencies.

Postflop, many players realize that value betting and bluffing are necessarily tied together in a solid strategy. However, that understanding rarely extends to dry boards on which there are fewer natural bluffs by the river. For instance, a board runout like K-10-4-8-2, a player might value bet A-K plus for three streets and bluff with a proportionate amount of missed straight draws like Q-J or 7-6 suited. But on a board like K-2-2-8-3, many players given up too often on the turn and/or river with bluffs. For the preflop caller, this means a very easy time of playing borderline calling hands like K-10 offsuit, which may call flop or turn, and easily fold when facing a river bet unimproved. When necessary, be sure that the reraiser has postflop tendencies that align with preflop play such that playing borderline hands is difficult for the opponent. Without proper multi-street betting strategies in place, the preflop range (medium-to-deep stacked) suffers considerably in situations from which it might have naturally benefited.

Preflop reraising is incredibly complex and much more so than most players care to realize. Several players shrug off preflop complexity as a time sink or a mostly solved subject in no-limit poker play. The reality is that preflop play often begs most of the important postflop questions and that preflop and postflop play are necessarily connected in a way that is profound in range construction. So as you consider several of the most important concepts for preflop play, like stack size, polarity, implied odds, and postflop player tendencies, also consider how inclusive questions about those variables are to both preflop and postflop play. Your game will thank you! ♠

Reid Young is a successful cash game player and poker coach. He is the founder of TransformPoker.com.