Unlike a “steal” from position, where we hope to win the blinds, positional power-raise is designed to win the blinds AND additional money from players who have already limped into the pot. It is an effective way to represent a very strong starting hand to all your opponents.
Example:
You get K♦- 10♦ in the cut-off position. It's the middle phase of the tournament. Blinds are 400-800, you have 20,000. Two players limp into the pot before you, everyone else folds. The pot size is 2800, what should you do?
Limping in wouldn't be a completely tragic move, as seeing the flop cheaply sounds very tempting. However, with this hand, it would be very difficult to play correctly post-flop. The limpers probably have hands of similar strength or even better. They might have hands like K-J, Q-J, J-10, A-10, and if you hit a pair on the flop, you could be behind because you have a weaker kicker.
Instead of limping, try to power-raise in this spot. Instead of playing your hand, play the fact that your opponents have only medium-strength hands and raise the stakes. Since the pot is already 2800, I would suggest raising to 4000, which would cost the limpers another 3200 to see the flop. Unless one of the players behind you wakes up with a very strong hand, everyone will fold, as players with hands they limped with for 800 will not want to pay an additional 3200 to see the flop.
What to do if a limper calls your raise? First, you need to determine the range of hands he would do this with. Second, you have a positional advantage. Third, you can use one of several actions before the flop that I will present in future articles to force him to fold.
Tip: Fear, raise it. Don't let it in.
Ask yourself this question: Will your raise instill fear in your opponent's heart and mind? If the answer is yes, make this move. If the answer is no, is there an action that would?
If your opponent makes a bet that instills fear in you, ask yourself if it is really true or a lie. Remember that fear often stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Is he bluffing? Semi-bluffing? By calling his bet, you can often stop him, and by re-raising, you might even make him cower in fear.
