AJ complete crap??

[Equal]

I thought this was a very simple obvious play here, but I had a couple players whom I respect tell me something completely the opposite of the way I play this.

So what is the standard play here, i.e. no reads on the limper.



Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t50 (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

UTG+1 (t870)
UTG+2 (t3565)
MP1 (t1000)
MP2 (t1080)
Hero (t1155)
CO (t1350)
Button (t3870)
SB (t675)
BB (t1629)
UTG (t825)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A/images/graemlins/heart.gif, J/images/graemlins/club.gif.
<font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, MP2 calls t50, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t150</font>

[jslag]

I don't see the problem with your play. I might mix in a call every now and then, but I would typically raise a single limper with AJ/AJs. Just beware of a bigger Ace if the CO, Button, or blinds cold call your raise.

[Equal]

That's what I thought too, but a couple good players said that was an easy FOLD.

[ZootMurph]

Some people like AJ... some people don't. The fact is, it's a very situational hand. It can get you into a lot of trouble, so you have to be careful. But raising before the flop is the only way I'll ever play it. I also prefer it to be sooted.

But there are SOOO many situations that can arise. In the specific situation you post... you have one limper and are in MP3. Maybe you'll take down the small pot right there. Hopefully, you'll at least buy the button, since you really don't want to play it out of position. However, your chip count isn't really great and I don't know much about the players behind you, so that makes AJ less playable, to me.

Overall, the particular play you made I would not make without some reads on the players behind me, especially those that can bust me.

[zaxx19]

The reasoning behind not raising here is you will force out A-X smaller..therefore you are forgoing any action you could get from (ace x smaller) on your Ace if it paired. And not suprisingly the action especially if you check call an ace on the flop can get fairly considerable. People love those aces.

By raising you are not gonna push out AK or probably not even AQ here unfortunately, so basically you are building a pot out of postion that you cant really bet at post flop with any assurance of being best even when-if an ace falls.

Obviously the flip side is you are forcing out all those pesky freak 2 pairs and small baby pairs(depending on the opponent) and just generally are building a looser image so you will get action on future raises with hopefully stronger hands. The real problem here is that your position is crappy and if you get cold called by 1-2-3 players behind you you will be forced to proceed fairly carefully.

I prefer a limp with AJ in ep generally at a full table bc:

1) alot of times youll get much more value postflop by Ace smaller

2) It cant possibly stand a reraise.

3) It simply isnt that strong of a hand at a full table and I dont wanna play it out of position.

Maybe Im weak Tight ...just letting you into the weak tight mind here. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[kuro]

Looks ok to me. You just have to be willing to fold to a significant reraise preflop and be willing to let it go on the flop if you and meet much resistance or think you're being trapped.

Raising AJ here limits the field a bit, maybe takes down the pot altogether, and lets you get away easily from the hand if someone comes over the top of you.

There is something to be said for keeping the pot small when you're playing vulnerable hands and don't want to end up pot committed. But in this situation I think you've got a big enough stack relative to your raise that you ought to be able to let it go pretty easily. I personally probably raise in your spot 70% of the time and limp/call a standard raise behind me 30% of the time.

[jslag]

[ QUOTE ]
That's what I thought too, but a couple good players said that was an easy FOLD.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would at the least limp with AJo here. You should ask your friends why they think this is an "easy" fold.

Harrington actually recommends limping with AJ in this situation, whether suited or unsuited. This is covered in his new book.

Folding isn't an option unless this is a table full of rocks, and even then I'd probably lean towards limping.

If you're uncomfortable with post-flop play, then I guess you could fold this. AJ can put you in some tricky situations. You just need to know when to muck when you sense you're in trouble. This is true of almost all the big card broadway hands like KQ, KJ, QJ, KT, AT.. etc.

You should also be aware of your table image. If you've beeing playing tight, then a raise of 150-200 will often scoop this pot up.

[zaxx19]

I personally probably raise in your spot 70% of the time and limp/call a standard raise behind me 30% of the time

How do you or would you propose to play AJo out of position after the pot is raised?? Im not being sarcastic im just honestly curious. /images/graemlins/confused.gif Remember Im rather weak tight.

[betgo]

It is more standard to raise to 4-5xBB with a limper in the pot. You could limp, but raising is generally better. It depends on your read on the limper.

[kuro]

I sometimes limp/call with AJo out of position. You're a coin flip with many hands that would raise and the blinds plus the other limpers and folding equity for when you exercise first right to bluff makes it +ev. You have to be selective about the villain (i.e look for someone that knows how to fold) and careful about not calling if you think another limper yet to act is likely to raise. You also need to have a stacksize large enough that you can bluff on the flop and fold to a reraise without crippling yourself.