General AQ Sooted Question

[x2ski]

Let's say you have AhQh on the CO and a tight-aggressive player raises from somewhere in the middle. It's folded to you, and you cold-call (mistake?). Folded to the BB who calls...

The flop is 39A rag. BB checks, pre-flop-raiser bets.

Do you (generally):

A. Raise to see where you're at and, if 3-bet, call to see if you improve on the turn (because the 3-bet increases the possibility that you are behind [how many of you cap here?]).

B. Call with the intention of raising the turn to extract more value for your hand (figuring chances are that you are ahead on the flop).

The main reason that I ask is because it is cheaper to get 3-bet on the flop for info, than to find out too late that you are behind on the turn (if unimproved).

Obviously, I'm not too worried about the big blind, but I didn't want the example to be heads up. Let's just say the BB sucks ass.

Also, I'm currently calling this down unless the board turns extra scary by the river. Comments on that are welcome.

[Michael Davis]

I think in general you are way too worried about folding this hand. Of course you should be calling down here, especially since he won't immediately put you on a big ace and might overplay a medium ace himself. Also, you should have threebet preflop. The question becomes dicy if the raiser is UTG, but against an openraiser from MP, unless he is a tightwad, AQs is a threebet with no intention of ever folding if an ace drops.

-Michael

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
I think in general you are way too worried about folding this hand. Of course you should be calling down here, especially since he won't immediately put you on a big ace and might overplay a medium ace himself. Also, you should have threebet preflop. The question becomes dicy if the raiser is UTG, but against an openraiser from MP, unless he is a tightwad, AQs is a threebet with no intention of ever folding if an ace drops.

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the advice... I was pretty sure that going to showdown was definitely the right play, for that's what I've always done.

Also, as far as 3-betting pre-flop is concerned, I normally do this against LAGs, but haven't mustered the balzak to do so against TAGs.

Regardless, how would one handle the flop/turn?

[Michael Davis]

Well, the flop is closer to a call than I think most will say. You want to raise because there is a third person in the hand, but on this flop, that third person isn't going to have a hand worth calling that doesn't include an ace very often. So if you just call you disguise your hand and possibly keep him in for one bet drawing nearly dead (I mean if he doesn't have an ace- he'll call two if he does), plus you will possibly get more action if he has an ace as he might now checkraise.

If I just called the flop, it would be with the intention of raising the turn.

The standard play is to raise the flop and bet out every time you are checked to, and to calldown if you are raised at any point. This is probably best, but calling does some good things for disguising your hand, getting a raise in later, and getting paid off by weaker hands that assume you wouldn't play like you have if you had a strong ace. You also might encourage the preflop raiser to take another stab at the pot when he is drawing dead or nearly dead.

-Michael

[x2ski]

[ QUOTE ]
You also might encourage the preflop raiser to take another stab at the pot when he is drawing dead or nearly dead.

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

So you are saying that, more often than not, you have the best hand here?

Given your philosophy, it seems so. I'm not at all disagreeing... just wanting clarification.

[Michael Davis]

Yes, so long as the player has a normal range of raising hands when first in from MP. This is a far different scenario than playing against an UTG raise.

But really, this isn't a situation I would be in. I would threebet preflop probably 95% of the time here and fold the rest.

-Michael