Tip # 13 of 52, When a player in late position opens the pot for a raise, you should reraise liberally from the small blind if you plan on playing.

There are several reasons why playing your hand this way is correct, all of which center around the basic truth that players open-raise from late position with less than-premium hands. After all, you do this yourself (see Tip 5).

What sorts of hands might you reraise with from the small blind? Against a raise from the button (unless he is a very tight player), you can reraise in the small blind with hands as weak as A-8 offsuit, any pair, or K-J offsuit.

For one thing, it is quite possible that you hold the best hand here. Your opponent on the button may have a hand like Q-T, A-3, or T-8 suited. It is never a bad thing to get more money into the pot when you have the best hand.

Also, by reraising, you will most likely cause your opponent to read you for more strength than you actually possess. This can come in handy later in the hand, enabling you to steal the pot on the flop or turn with a bet if the board is of no help to your opponent. What you have done is take the lead in the hand. Winning hold'em players play aggressively, helping themselves to the large number of pots that are there for the taking.

For another, the big blind will often call one raise, but not two. Generally, you would like to raise this player out if you have the opportunity, and send his blind money to the center of the pot. This creates a bit more value on your hand, with the presence of some dead money* in the pot. You should particularly lean towards reraising a late position raise if the big blind is a good player, as you Don't need him in your pot anyway.

One further benefit of reraising frequently from the small blind against a steal position** raiser is the psychological effect it has on your opponents. They will ultimately tire of your aggressive play, and think twice before raising when you are in the blinds. This may allow you to see more cheap flops than you should be entitled to, a nice perk generated by your aggressive play.