Mistake in a Home Game?

[GrunchCan]

4-handed $1 no-limit HE. There is only one $1 blind. $100 buyin.

UTG is an experienced player. I know his game pretty well. He knows mine, and he respects it. He knows what he's doing and he is aware of what's happening at the table. Basically, he's pretty good. That said, he does tend to bluff too much at times, and he sometimes is a little loose. He's a bit of a LAG. Also, when he gets a monster hand (either pre or post flop), he min-bets or min-raises. He simply can't not min-raise his monsters. He's aware that I know this about him however, and he might min-raise me to represent the monster, hoping I'll fold.

Preflop: UTG raises to 3. This is the table standard. I've seen UTG make this raise with good hands and with complete bluffs. He has bluffed from UTG. I am dealt AJo on the button. My choices are fold or raise. I'm not convinced that my hand is beat. I want initiative. I re-raise to 9, expecting a fold most of the time. UTG calls. Other opponents fold without putting any money in the pot.

Flop: (2 players, $19) Flop comes J 8 2, rainbow. UTG checks. I bet 15. UTG calls the 15.

Turn: (2 players, $49) Turn comes K rainbow. UTG bets $30, and has around $35 behind. I know that if this hand continues, UTG will be all-in on the river. I cover. I fold.

How did I do?

[TheWorstPlayer]

Why raise or fold preflop? I probably call and utilise position to play a small pot or to take it away later in the hand. And postflop play seems fine against someone who doesn't get very out of hand. Obviously against a LAG, you might be folding the best hand. But that's why it's hard to play against LAGs. He seems like he's willing to commit his stack OOP against a preflop re-raiser on a KJxx flop. Probably he can beat a pair of jacks.

[amoeba]

I like very much.

well, assuming he doesn't know AJ is in your range of preflop reraising hands.

turn is a card that helps out most hands that reraises preflop so if he is betting in to you there, I think you are beat.

[GrunchCan]

Preflop was, in fact, where I was most uncertian of my play. I felt I did pretty good postflop.

Now that you mention it, smooth-calling preflop does seem like a superior play in just about every respect.

[amoeba]

[ QUOTE ]
Preflop was, in fact, where I was most uncertian of my play. I felt I did pretty good postflop.

Now that you mention it, smooth-calling preflop does seem like a superior play in just about every respect.

[/ QUOTE ]

it depends on his raising frequency and his reads on you but I think reraise is fine.

[GrunchCan]

He raises frequently, especially given that we are 4-handed. Plus he bluffs too often. He reads me as solid, perhaps too tight. This would encourage him to bluff-raise me preflop even more.

The reason I raised PF was I knew his PFRs were light, and there was an excellent chance I had the best hand. I was raising in order to end the hand PF, but if I was called it's not the end of the world becasue my hand is good compared to his range. If he calls I'm a little concerned, but there is still a chance he has 75s.

[TheWorstPlayer]

The thing is, AJo is just about the worst re-raising hand possible, IMO. If you hit something, he'll know precisely what you hit. You're not going to ever surprise him with a lot of strength. Even if you flop broadway, he'll know the flop is very likely to have hit you hard. So he'll always know where you're at, roughly: Either ace high, one pair, or potentially a set if there is a broadway card or two. But you'll never know where he's at since he's so loose preflop. So you'll end up having to make some really tough calls with just one pair or maybe even ace high. It's just not that great. Now if you just flat call preflop, now he might think that you wouldn't have a decent ace. So you might flop broadway but he'll put you on a flush draw because you would have re-raised anything that would hit KQT flop very hard. See what I'm saying? I'll re-raise him with big pairs to cut down on his implied odds and I'll re-raise him with junk to steal and I'll re-raise him with small pairs or suited connectors to steal or potentialy surprise him postflop but I wont re-raise offsuit aces because it really hurts me postflop. If he were tight, then I could re-raise AK because I would often dominate him and he would be likely to fold postflop so I want to add to my fold equity. But since he's loose and aggro, I really dont want to be re-raising big aces preflop.