Ed Miller on Jim Brier's CardPlayer article

I had lunch with Jim today. He told me what he was referring to with the "won't bet unimproved overcards" assumption. He has logged a number of hours at a local $4-$8 game recently (since reading SSH) to play with some of the concepts. He observed that a fair number of the local Vegas regulars play an incredibly weak-tight and predictable game... and among their tendencies, they don't bet unimproved overcards.

Basically, he's right. Vegas is the world capital of weak-tight hold 'em play... and many of the regular small games players are the worst offenders.

I told Jim that a lot of this play is really limited to Vegas... that online and in LA these super weak-tight small players aren't nearly as ubiquitous.

What Jim has been saying about this stuff definitely has value. Namely, he is absolutely right that raising middle pair is no longer correct if you are almost certain your opponent is betting a better hand. All of these "raise your marginal hands" plays assume that there is SOME CHANCE YOU HAVE THE BEST HAND (or can get the one with the actual best hand to fold). Now because the bet size is small compared to the pot size, that chance need not necessarily be large to make raising correct... often 10% is plenty. But if you are playing against someone whose bet means with certainty that he has a better hand, then raising becomes no longer correct.