Button with AQo

[crownjules]

This came up last weekend when I went to Foxwood's to get in some live game practice for my upcoming trip to Vegas. It's your typical 2/4 table. Most of the players are loose and bad, 4-5 regularly seeing the flop, regardless of whether or not it gets raised preflop (only when there's a 3-bet do you see people actually considering not playing their hands).

UTG, who I considered to be a reasonable player until this point, announces he's straddle betting. If you're unfamiliar with the term, a straddle bet is when UTG raises without looking at his cards. If it comes back to them and it is still 2-bets to play, he can choose to 3-bet his straddle (he can look at his cards then).

So UTG straddle bets, an okish woman cold calls, and then a fairly decent player 3-bets. All fold to me. Hero holds AQo.

Do you call, raise, or fold?

[milesdyson]

decent player's range is even larger than his normal raising range here, because he knows that the 3-bet will scare out many hands, and he isn't worried about what the straddler or the coldcaller has.

say he normally would only raise AK-AJ, ATs, KQ, KJs, and AA-99 preflop... well his 3-betting range probably includes all of these plus A8s+, ATo, KTs+, KJo, 77, and possible some more offsuit broadways. your hand is good enough here to cap.

[NobodysFreak]

raise

[NobodysFreak]

oh, and I did this the other night when I was playing with some of my friends. I didn't look at my cards the entire time and I bet and raised every street. When the showdown came, I turned over a full-house. Sometimes its nice to be completely in the dark.

[crownjules]

[ QUOTE ]
oh, and I did this the other night when I was playing with some of my friends. I didn't look at my cards the entire time and I bet and raised every street. When the showdown came, I turned over a full-house. Sometimes its nice to be completely in the dark.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe this is called blind luck. Pun fully intended.