AQo; a world of problems

[vkotlyar]

Playing in a good 10-20 game. Mp, who is a good player, open raises. I have AQo in the cutoff and 3-bet ( is this the right play....i mean there arent that many hands that i am ahead of, in fact, the only 1 that i can think of is KQ). Blinds fold and he calls. Flop comes raggedy, he checks, i bet, he calls. Turn brings a rag, he checks, i bet, he checkraises, and i fold... I find myself getting into a lot of trouble with AQ. Would any1 fold preflop, or call 2 cold, which pretty much guarantees the the BB will play. I think that 3-betting is the right play because it lets you take control of the pot, but if i get bet into, or checkraised on the turn, i cant continue. I cant possibly have the best hand, so the only thing that i can do is 3-bet the turn to knock some1 off AK, but its costly, and im not sure if its worth it /forums/images/icons/confused.gif . How would you play it?

[34TheTruth34]

IMO, there's nothing wrong with folding preflop here if the player is good and raising from middle position. Personally, that's what I'd do. But if you know your opponent well enough and you think you can get him to lay down after the flop if it's all rags, then go for it. Also, if there's any chance that he's lowered his preflop raising standards (maybe he saw people behind you preparing to fold?) then maybe you do have the best hand. But basically, you said it yourself, there's not too many hands that you're ahead of here, especially if he hasn't loosened his raising standards. I don't think you're giving up anything by folding.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some opponents I'd three-bet without hesitation, but this guy doesn't seem like one of them.