PP Friday Special - Is this type of play common?

[fnord_too]

Party Poker Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind t30 (10 handed) converter

SB (t835)
BB (t700)
Hero (t710)
UTG+1 (t313)
UTG+2 (t970)
MP1 (t1590)
MP2 (t1165)
MP3 (t2157)
CO (t527)
Button (t1033)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
Hero calls, <font color="666666">5 folds</font>, CO calls, <font color="666666">2 folds</font>, BB checks,

Flop: (3.50 SB, t105) 3[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
BB checks, Hero checks, <font color="CC3333">CO bets</font>, BB folds, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, CO calls.

Turn: (3.75 BB, t225) K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, CO calls.

River: (5.75 BB, t345) 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(2 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">CO raises</font>, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 9.75 BB (t585)
<font color="green">Main Pot: 9.75 BB (t585), between Hero and CO.</font> &gt; <font color="white">Pot won by CO (9.75 BB (t585)).</font>

Results in white below: <font color="white">
Hero shows Jh Ac (two pair, aces and jacks).
CO shows 9s 8s (flush, ace high).
Outcome: CO wins 9.75 BB (t585). </font>

I had a bad feeling about the river raise, but whoda thunk it. (I actually thought he had played AK oddly.)

First break down to 440.

[deacsoft]

"Is this type of play common?"

No. Limping in UTG with A-Jo is not too common at all. At least it shouldn't be.

[fnord_too]

I don't like raising with AJ UTG, I seriously considered folding it, but thought it was a little too good to fold here.

[Daniel Durant]

I think he meant you should have folded. AJo is garbage in early position in no-limit.

[AtlBrvs4Life]

This wasn't NL and I think fnord realizes what he meant.

[deacsoft]

If you can't raise it; you should fold it.

[davidross]

I guess you're asking about his play, and I think his call of your check-raise was just an automatic response, not thought out. Once he picked up the flush draw of course he's not going anywhere.

I don't like limping utg with AJ though. Either fold it or raise it, you don't want a multi-way pot here. After that, just bad luck.

[davidross]

Why do so many people say this? There are lots of hands that I would like to play for 1 bet against several opponents.

You can raise anything, but it doesn't mean you should.

[deacsoft]

I agree. I was speaking of this hand specificly. There are other hands that can be played here for a limp.

[fnord_too]

Here is why I don't like to raise UTG with AJ:

The hands that you will fold are hands you want in (like weaker aces)
The hands that will call you are hands that are ahead.
AJ is can be a difficult hand after the flop.

I don't really want a multiway pot with AJ, but I don't want to throw in a raise with it either.

There is a rule of thumb that if you cant play AJ utg you are in a tough game, this certainly was not what I would consider a tough game were it a ring game.

As to raise or fold, Caro suggests limping more pre flop in tourneys. This hand at a full table is one I limp with anyway, depending on the line up. (I would certainly raise with it if people were cold calling raises with weak aces).

All in all, I don't really think my pre flop limp was bad. I expect to fold this hand on the flop most of the time.

The point of the question was this: This was my first limit tourney on PP. I am trying to figure out if I need to loosen up a little in the early stages and value bet a lot more. I play more conservatively in tournaments, especially limit, in the early stages.

The problem I may have is that the limit tourneys I have played lately have been rebuys (strange format, I know). I have had great success rebuying and adding on and playing very tight until after the rebuy.