AJo blind no chop scenario 80-160

[Dav123]

[ QUOTE ]
knowing this player i just cant see her folding any pair here that she's willing to bet the turn with. that doesnt mean she has to have a pair to bet the turn, but it does mean that her folding a better hand seems out of the question. i could be wrong though. maybe she would fold 44 or something. she would 3 bet that preflop though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Would she fold gutshots? Because if so, I like the checkraise. Or possibly 3 betting the flop and betting the turn, but only if she is very unlikely to 4 bet the flop without a pair.

[Paluka]

2 questions

a) is 3 betting the flop and leading the turn and folding to a raise better than calling down?

b) is folding the river out of the question because she will usually continue the bluff?

[Tommy Angelo]

"I think some of tommy is shining through in mike's game here."

Funny. You saw mike as getting to the end cheap on this hand, compared to how he otherwise might have, and I see him getting there about as high-variance as possible, when seen from my new way of playing hands like this. These days I don't raise before the flop when SB against BB without a big pair. And with a big ace, I check the flop and call. Then I check the turn. And I don't checkraise the turn without at least two pair. And if I checkcalled the turn, then I check the river. And if I check the river, and he bets, then maybe I call and maybe I don't. So yeah perhaps mike is mellowing a little. But he'd have to take some pretty heavy meds to get where I'm at.

Tommy

[Clarkmeister]

Well, that's why I said "small", just in case she held a baby pocket pair. But she may still fold with outs, and checkraising then checking the river is likely to get you that free showdown for the same cost as call-call, but with those added turn benefits. Don't get me wrong, I go call-call in this spot a lot, but I'm starting to think I need to take this alternative line more often.

[bicyclekick]

[ QUOTE ]
"I think some of tommy is shining through in mike's game here."

Funny. You saw mike as getting to the end cheap on this hand, compared to how he otherwise might have, and I see him getting there about as high-variance as possible, when seen from my new way of playing hands like this. These days I don't raise before the flop when SB against BB without a big pair. And with a big ace, I check the flop and call. Then I check the turn. And I don't checkraise the turn without at least two pair. And if I checkcalled the turn, then I check the river. And if I check the river, and he bets, then maybe I call and maybe I don't. So yeah perhaps mike is mellowing a little. But he'd have to take some pretty heavy meds to get where I'm at.

Tommy

[/ QUOTE ]

And what are you going to do if he/she raises your bb when you complete the SB with AJo. And please don't tell me you're folding instead of completing. AJ has got to be profitable out of the SB HU vs the big blind.

Not raising from the SB seems silly here. Why wouldn't you raise?

[andyfox]

What about if she 3-bets the turn though: as you say, if she knows mike as mike, as opposed to knowing Gabe as Gabe, wouldn't that markedly decrease the chances of her either folding on the turn and/or checking behind on the river?

[Turning Stone Pro]

I agree with you, Bike, completely. But it's obvious that we have a very different approach.

I look at this exact situation as a tremendous money making opportunity. There is a 97% chance that you are ahead of the BB, and it is someone who will provide significant action.

I play this hand aggressively the entire way through.

TSP

[schroedy]

You are out of position, heads up, with a hand that is usually going to have to improve to win.

You have an opponent that is determined to take charge of the hand no matter what you do. You don't have to raise to raise.

This hand reminds me of former Iowa Hawkeye football coach Hayden Fry's signature quote: "Scratch where it itches." Let her do her thing (because you can't really stop her) and see if you get lucky. Let her be the aggressor and just lie in the weeds waiting to pounce.

At the end, you will have to decide if you are better when the whole board misses you. But when the board hits you, you won't have such a delicate decision and she is going to pay you big time anyway.

Especially if she has slotted you as a soft, passive player that she can push around at will.

[Tommy Angelo]

"And what are you going to do if he/she raises your bb when you complete the SB with AJo. And please don't tell me you're folding instead of completing."

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking. But I think the answer is that I never complete and then fold to a raise. The worst hand I complete with is QJ.

"AJ has got to be profitable out of the SB HU vs the big blind."

Are you suggesting that AJ in the SB HU vs the BB is profitable no matter who the players are and how the cards come and how the betting goes? The phrase "has got to be profitable" is one I have trouble translating.

"Not raising from the SB seems silly here. Why wouldn't you raise?"

Just as what I do would seem silly to you if you did it, what you do would seem silly to me if I did it. It would seem silly to me to go out of my way to put extra chips into the pot when I have no pair and I have to go first every round.


Tommy

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
What about if she 3-bets the turn though: as you say, if she knows mike as mike, as opposed to knowing Gabe as Gabe, wouldn't that markedly decrease the chances of her either folding on the turn and/or checking behind on the river?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a pretty narrow range of hands I'm suggesting she'd fold on the turn. There's a rather wide range of cappy non-pair hands that she may fold though. I tend to check-call down, but there's definite merit to raising.