Premium hand on the button.

[turnipmonster]

[ QUOTE ]
When the money gets deeper and higher, the game changes dramatically.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. my feeling is that a lot of deeper stacked/higher stakes NL is learning to beat good, thinking players who may have specific weaknesses. sure there are fish, but it's not like the party games where you just bet the hell out of your hand and hope they call.

I thought jkinetic's KK post a week or two ago was a great example of this kind of thought process. he knew his opponent was no fish, and he still was able to use all available info to save himself some money on what could have been a real chip burner of a hand.

--turnipmonster

[ML4L]

Hey Mike,

[ QUOTE ]
I have to agree maybe AQ isn't one of the top tier hands and Sklanski puts it behind some hands I disagree with heck he puts JJ in the top tier so this list is not perfect

[/ QUOTE ]

Sklansky's ratings have absolutely nothing to do with NLHE. I promise that your game will improve if they don't even cross your mind when evaluating a hand's value in NLHE, because they are more misleading than helpful. David even prefaces the ranking by saying so...

[ QUOTE ]
But I guess I was mostly responding to a comment by very weak tight NL player who said he'd NEVER raise with this holding with limpers behind and it is only a low limit move.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I said, any blanket statement about whether or not to raise with AQ here is almost certainly wrong. Your friend raises a point but for him to say "never" is flat-out wrong. But...

[ QUOTE ]
I do consider this a raising hand on the button in a NLHE game with limpers in front.

[/ QUOTE ]

...if this means that you would always raise, then you are as misled as he is...

ML4L

[Kirkrrr]

I just did, and I see what you're saying. Yes, calling AQo a "premium hand" is a misnomer. Lets just say that in my post it was the Glenlivet whiskey talking, okay?

Kirk R.

[Zoe's Echo]

I personally would smooth call and hope to hit the flop hard. If not I get away very cheap. With 5 limpers at this limit there is a very real possiblity that an EP player has a real hand looking to reraise maybe AA,KK or may have limped with a dominating hand such as AK or small favorites such as PPs.

In a ring game I want to hit this hand hard - FH, str8, top two and punish weaker Q's slowplayed AK with two pair, etc before I commit a lot of chips.

I don't feel good here making a 5x raise and getting called in three spots with AQo.

Good luck

[Matt Flynn]

AQo is a skill hand. how much control do you have and how many will call? if good control and few callers, you should raise.

i usually raise on the button after 3-4 limpers with AQo. i do not play in small online games where everyone calls big raises. i do play in loose 5-10 and 10-25 games where typically a couple players call a big raise, and some will limp-call with AA and AK. stacks are usually easily over 10x the pot after a pot raise and call, so there are no no-brainer all-ins with top pair.

here i have position and likely the best hand and am usually going to face 1-2 callers. also i can usually get away from top pair cheaply when beaten. that's the kind of situation i want to play for more money. plus it's a lot easier to play AQo against 1-2 players than against 5.

matt

[MikeGuz]

wasn't talking about you.

It was a different thread.