A SSNL Preflop survey

[parttimepro]

Haven't read other's posts yet.

1. Call, call a raise less than 8% of the lesser of my and raiser's stacks.
2. Call, fold to 4xBB or bigger raise, unless stacks are very deep
3. Call
4. Fold if raise is more than 5% of my stack
5. Raise the pot
6. Fold, unless I have a read that the reraiser is overaggressive or has a very short stack. Then call.
7. Min raise. I feel like mixing things up. Fold to a reraise.
8. Call if raise is less than 5% or so of my stack
9. Call
10. Fold if I've been raising a lot, raise if I've been folding a lot
11. Call
12. Fold unless stacks are very deep or I have a solid read that raiser will pay off my flush or straight with TPTK.
13. If raiser is fairly aggressive: call, then hope to bust out a weaker A. With tight raiser, call and play with great caution. With no read: raise the pot.

[kongo_totte]

1. Limp, call a raise if stacks warrant it (5%-rule), or I think I will stack opponent with a set a very large % of the time.

2. Generally, limp.

3. Limp

4. fold

5. Re-raise to atleast 10 BB

6. call

7. if deep-stacked, call, if shallow fold

8. fold

9. call (according to the conditions on answer 1)

10. fold (tough one)

11. limp

12. call

13. call

[parttimepro]

Looking over other people's responses, looks like there are a lot of different plays with ATs when it's folded to you in middle position. Some fold, some raise, some call.

This is a tough hand to play. I'm kind of re-thinking my answer (call) to "it depends on the texture of the table." If I'm likely to be able to see a flop without being raised, I think there's value in this hand. You can't play it very hard unless the flop really improves you (trip Ts, 2 pair, pair + flush draw, etc). So my approach is to try to see the flop cheaply and either take down a small pot with a pair of A's, or a big pot with a flush. It's definitely better to play this behind multiple limpers to improve your chances of being paid off with a big hand.

I can understand folding this, especially since you're not likely to make even TPTK and you'll be OOP. Those of you who said raise, why do you do that? It seems to me the best scenario is you take it down preflop. If you're called by later players, you'll be in a bad situation the rest of the hand. Ace on the flop? You can't be sure you're ahead. A bet will either take down the small pot or get called or raised by a better hand. This is a hand that needs a great flop. So, if you raise with this, would you also raise preflop with JTs in this situation?

[parttimepro]

So just about everyone treated AQs very differently from AKs. Are these hands really that different? It only really matters if your opponent has AK, AQ, KK, or QQ. Given the range of hands people raise with in EP, are these 4 hands common enough to make you switch between raising and folding?

I do this too. My main reason is psychological. If I get an A on the flop, I can play more aggressively with top kicker than with 2nd kicker. With that K, I have enough confidence in my hand that I can price out draws. Otherwise I'm too worried that my read of a draw is really a slow-played AK, and I keep the pot small, giving draws infinite odds.

Anybody else have insight about this? Doesn't TJ Cloutier refuse to play AQ under any circumstances?

[2PAUL2]

This is for full ring:

1.limp
2.early mp limp, late mp raise 4bb
3.limp
4.fold
5.call
6.call if stacks are big enough
7.fold - im not confident enough with these tpyes of hands in raised pots yet
8.fold - see above + i hate drawing hands out of position
9.call
10.see no.2
11.call
12.fold
13.call

Paul

[popniklas]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Svar till:</font><hr />
So just about everyone treated AQs very differently from AKs. Are these hands really that different? It only really matters if your opponent has AK, AQ, KK, or QQ. Given the range of hands people raise with in EP, are these 4 hands common enough to make you switch between raising and folding?

I do this too. My main reason is psychological. If I get an A on the flop, I can play more aggressively with top kicker than with 2nd kicker. With that K, I have enough confidence in my hand that I can price out draws. Otherwise I'm too worried that my read of a draw is really a slow-played AK, and I keep the pot small, giving draws infinite odds.

Anybody else have insight about this? Doesn't TJ Cloutier refuse to play AQ under any circumstances?

[/ QUOTE ]

umm.. i'm not very experienced in NL, but i think its quite likely that an EP raiser has one of the four mentioned hands.

so i guess one should be careful about playing AQ against an EP raiser. but how about a MP or LP raiser? (that is not super-tight or very passive.) i don't know.

i think it's doyle brunson who doesn't play AQ. (but perhaps TJ too?). i don't really get that.. do he fold AJ and AT too? how about AQs? perhaps he doesn't ALWAYS fold AQ, just only plays it ocassionally in LP in an unraised potsomething like that?

it seems like an odd thing to never play AQ. but of course doyle brunson is about a million times better at NLHE than me.. i'm just wondering what those of you who are experienced NLHE players think about this.. and how do you play AQ yourselves? it's a bit of a trouble hand for me, i often don't really know how to play it.

[jtr]

1. Limp for set value.
2. Call.
3. Call.
4. Fold.
5. Re-raise (pot).
6. Fold.
7. Fold (assuming 50BB Party stacks)
8. Fold (as above).
9. Call.
10. Call.
11. Call.
12. Fold.
13. Call.

[Jay36489]

1. You hold 44 UTG in a loose passive game. Whats your play?
limp, call a small raise.
2. You hold ATs in MP. All fold to you. WYP?
3x BB
3. You hold ATs in MP. 3 limpers. WYP?
limp
4. You hold ATs in MP. 2 limpers and a 4x BB raise. WYP?
fold
5. You hold QQ in the CO. a 4x BB raise and 2 cold callers. WYP?
call and play for set value
6. You Hold QQ in the CO. a 4x BB raise and a reraise of 3x original raise. WYP?
fold
7. You hold 89s on the Button. a 4x BB raise and 3 cold callers. WYP?
call
8. You hold 89s on the BB. a 4x BB raise and 3 cold callers. WYP?
call
9. You hold 55 on the Button. a 4x BB raise and 3 cold callers. WYP?
call
10. You Hold KQs in MP. all fold to you. WYP?
3xBB
11. You hold KQs in MP. 2 limpers. WYP?
5xBB
12. You hold AQs in the CO. 4x BB raiser then all fold to you. WYP?
fold
13. You hold AKs in the CO. 4x BB raiser then all fold to you. WYP?
call

Edit: Mine is for full ring. I've been thinking I may be too tight passive. I did this without looking at anyone elses. I seem to be about in line with some of the more experienced posters. I think my answers would have been much different a short time ago. I think I'm making progress [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Digs]

I'm folding 1.

Loose passive? likely to get raised where it's not profitable to call (&gt;10% stack) and not getting paid much if you spike a 4 here. (passive table) plus sucky positioning etc.

[Kaz The Original]

In super system AQ is also referred to as "The Doyle Brunson" as he never plays it.