Live 2-5 Spread Limit - Should I Have Folded Pre-Flop?

[michiganlaw]

Live 2-5 spread limit at Colorado casino. Can bet $2 to $5 on any hand, any street.

Table is very loose, have seen players call pre-flop raises with 8-4o and hit two pair.

UTG limps and calls the $2 blind. UTG + 1 folds. MP raises $5 to $7 straight, Hero sitting MP+1 calls $7 with A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]; folded to CO who calls, big blind calls and UTG calls...so, 5 way action to the flop.

Flop: A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
Big blind checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero checks, CO (villain) bets $5, big blind folds, UTG calls, MP calls and Hero calls.

Turn: 10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
UTG checks, MP checks, Hero checks, CO bets $5, UTG folds, MP folds, Hero calls (and thinks very hard about raising his OESD and top pair here).

River: J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
Hero checks, CO/villain bets $5; Hero.......?

Comments on all streets appreciated.

[michiganlaw]

sorry, wrong forum, meant to post in small stakes holdem, not no-limit section

[rikz]

EDIT: I thought you're post was NL, not limit. So all of this post is probably silly in context. Oh well...

POST:
I would have folded preflop w/ AJo in MP first to act after a preflop raiser ahead of me. As played, once the preflop raiser checks, you should lead the flop for just under the pot. If the preflop raiser check-raises you all-in, then fold. But if you get one or two callers, then lead the turn for 3/4 pot because the OESD plus your TPWK gives you outs even against 2-pair or a lower straight that might be slow playing the turn to suck more money out of you on the river. At that point, provided nobody is coming over the top forcing you to consider folding your TPWK by the time the river gets there, then make a blocking bet for maybe 1/4 pot and call a min-raise with your AJ 2-pair, but fold to a much bigger river raise (unless somebody goes all in for some small amount relative to the total pot and/or you have a read on this villain as being a bluffer). No reason to go broke with 2 pair when any single card hand (7x or Qx) will beat you.

As played, river is an easy call that you can expect to win enough times to make it +EV, after all you have 10:1 odds to make this call and villain will lose to your 2-pair more than 1 time in 11. I certainly wounldn't get all excited about AJ 2-pair and check-raise on the river.

I don't see stack sizes in the OP, so I'm assuming that you are deep enough to be making these bets without getting completely pot-committed by the turn.