A lot of poker players think a player who bets the minimum raise is either a weak player or a player who is accustomed to limit play. This is not always true as the post oak bluff has become an excellent defense mechanism in low limit sit and goes.
Number of Opponents: Any
Types of Opponents: Late position stealers
Explanation:
There are many times early on in sit ‘n gos where you will be in early position and have drawing hands that you would like to continue to draw to cheaply. You know, however, that if it checks around, the player in last position will often put in a 3/4 to pot size raise believing that it will win the pot right there.
A defense for this is to stick out the minimum bet. It opens the pot which will cause some players on draws to fold and it will deter the late position player from stealing. Most players will steal pots when they sense weakness, but they will be hesitant to put in a reraise. More often than not, you will get a cheap card for your draw.
Knowing this play is out there, you should be reraising when you suspect the post oak defense and have a hand in late position. It will clarify your decisions.
Example:
First round of a sit and go and you pick up
in the cutoff seat. It folds around to you and you call hoping to hit a big hand and win some chips early. The button and small blind both call and the big blind checks.
The flop comes
Both blinds check and the action is on you. You have an open ended
straight draw but you are pretty sure the button will raise whether
he has caught a queen or not. You can put in the minimum bet here
hoping to stop a potential steal bet. If the button doesn’t
have a Q, it will be hard to reraise, and you may pick up the hand
right here with little risk.
