Re: AQ in SB
hi tommy
i'm trying to figure out what the button's having a hand to raise with on the pre-flop means. does it mean that he would raise with a hand that strategically can use a raise here? or does it mean that he has a strong hand?
if he has a strong hand, and he wouldn't raise pre-flop as a strategic type play, then folding is correct. if, however, he would know to raise from the button for reasons other than having a strong hand, then you should reraise to get the BB out of there, and maybe a limper.
but tommy, under the conditions you describe, calling is almost never correct.
it is very tough to fold AQ pre-flop for 1 more bet. if you had AQs, if his raise meant a strong hand, then calling has merit. the problem with the AQo isn't that you aren't getting correct odds to hit your hand. the difficulty with it is that when you do hit your hand, a weaker hand is capable of folding you out those times the pre-flop raiser is coming in strong. this is a pretty basic concept that many players fail to understand or completely ignore in tougher type games.
when you come in with AX, if you play the hand correctly, you will be trailing any stronger A, and you will also be trailing behind any opponent who is capable of folding you out. and playing AX correctly necessarily means that you will have a 'fold' somewhere on the list under the heading of 'options'; and almost always, folding will be the number 1 option, almost always pre-flop, but also often post-flop. no, you don't have AX in this one. you have AQo. folding is, however, a contingency that you must have written down on your options list. whenever that is the case; whenever folding is an option, you must strongly consider raising because, while you might not be sure what to do, whenever one of your options is to fold, the possibility that calling is not an option increases dramatically. rarely do you ever have 3 options.
often, you find a player asking, 'is this a raise or fold situation?'. actually, that question is a little disorienting. the player should be asking, 'is folding an option?'. if yes, then calling is rarely an option. excluding those rare AJs and ATs events, and perhaps 99, if folding is an option, then calling is not an option.
whenever folding is an option, you should do so early those times that folding is an option, in large part, because a weaker hand can fold you out later in the hand. so whenever folding is an option, you should fold early. so whenever calling is not an option because folding is, it is better to fold early to avoid being folded out by a weaker hand.
that's what you have here tommy. you have a bona fide raise or fold; folding is an option, calling isn't; and to compound matters significantly, there is an opponent in there who is capable of folding you out with a weaker hand. if you were on the button's right, folding would not be an option, and you would ask, 'do i call or raise?'. if you called, and the button raised, if your call closes, calling becomes an option. you are in the same situation though; the button can still fold you out with a weaker hand. it's just that now you are getting correct pot odds to see the flop. it sounds unrelated, but from the SB, calling might be correct if you are very sure that the EP's will not reraise. then, your call closes. so it's really raise, fold or close. you don't have that. you have no idea what the BB is going to do. in fact, you are calling here because you fear a reraise. tommy, this is a clear fold pre-flop.
it is tough to laydown this type of hand for 1 bet on the pre-flop, but that is what you must do here. calling is not an option. raising, therefore, should be the only consideration given to the means by which you plan on continuing further in the hand. you cannot raise because later in the hand, a weaker hand might fold you out. you are out of position, and cannot rely on being able to close. in fact, you have precisely the worst seat in this one. it's a fold tommy. and it's not a fold because you want to save a crummy bet. it's a fold because you don't want to go around kicking yourself for the rest of the session for not knowing better than to pay off like a slot machine against that guy.
what, you folded on the turn? that's not too bad. the turn you say? C minus on this one tommy.
now let me see what actually happened.
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