Ace Jack on the button

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I don't see how a LAG is automatically going to give it up on the flop if he doesn't hit his hand. A continuation bet is standard stuff. And if you hit top pair and he has some kind of draw, he's likely to play it aggressively, which is a moneymaker for you in the long run.

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This is just the point. Is it really a money maker for you in the long run? Or is it at best a break even or high risk situation?

Here's a fer-instance. The player has AsJc and flop comes 8h 6h Ad. Now let's say for example by some miracle of reading, the player puts the opponent on a suited Ah. Yet the opponent decides to push all in.

Sure there are several hands where the player is a slight favorite. But there are a couple of hands namely AhKh and AhQh where the player is all but dead and AhJh where the the player has no shot to win and the best he could hope for is a tie.

Are you the type of player who is going to risk an all-in situation like this, in which you are only a small favorite half the time, and a huge dog the other half?

Sorry, but I would prefer better situations.

Second point is your reference to a "standard continuation bet." I'm having an ongoing discussion with another player on this very point.

A "continuation bet" has become a "standard continuation bet" because everybody and their brother seems to have become a HoH disciple and now believes it is the right thing to do. So many people now do it, that it is indeed expected. This means the player is now becoming self-weighting, or predictable in his playing patterns.

However, what if the opponent thinks that the player thinks that the opponent is doing precisely this, just making a continuation bet. Then the player fires back with his top pair and bang, runs smack into a near dead draw situation like AQs or AKs.

So let's call the continuation bet what it really is, a semi-bluff. If someone is semi-bluffing constantly, then you pick your spots, and I'm sorry, cold calling or reraising with AJo is not one of those spots.

And what if it is actually a bet for value, then how are you to know for sure? Are you willing to go deep into your stack under these circumstances with AJo immediately to the left of the raiser? I'd say, thanks but no thanks.

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I don't get what it means to "counterpunch later."

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What I mean by counter-punch is to cold call, semi-bluff raise, check-raise and bluff under your terms and not the opponent's. That is, the opponent is always going to be LAG unless you take some steps to back him off. Those steps are what I refer to as counter-punching, changing up your play to throw him off and make it less likely to aggressively play into you. That certainly isn't going to happen by cold-calling or reraising with AJo on the button.

Let's assume that the opponent is a LAG but is also no dummy. You cold call or reraise with you AJo on the button. Your opponent is probably smart enough to realize you are on the button and may be loose calling because you have position, or reraising to drive out the blinds and get head up on him to put him out of position. Then what? Is playing under those circumstances an effective way to back him off? No, I don't think so.