Folding for a reraise preflop

[Vehn]

$15/$30. I open raise in the cutoff with ace two offsuit. Please don't comment on the viability of this, lets just accept it. The button, who plays tight/awful, 3-bets me. He is not doing this with a hand like KQo or 55, he has AQ/88 at the very min. Anyways the blinds fold and I fold. Good/bad?

[Robk]

I don't like it, maybe only for the reason that it might change how he (or others) plays against you in the future. I mean, it's a pretty unusual thing to do, and it's pretty obvious what it means you think about his play. It might get his wheels turning. If this hand took place on the internet ignore everything I just said.

[Vehn]

This is a live game. Lets just say I have absolutely no fear of this opponent and he has tons of fear of me. As he should.

[shemp]

Seems like a question built for a sim. I think you have to call. Getting 6.6:1 preflop to play a heads up hand is a pretty good price. How much does top pair need to cost you if it is second best?

[Franchise (TTT)]

If he's tight/awful, you should call and see where you're at after the flop.

[SoBeDude]

So he has tons of fear of you. And still he 3-bets you preflop. And all you're holding is a naked ace.

Good fold I think.

-Scott

[Paluka]

I don't think you can ask for us not to comment on the viability of opening A2 in the cutoff for a raise and then ask us what you have to do if re-raised. Doesn't the answer to the question you are asking affect the viability of the play in the first place?

[glen]

I don't see why it answers itself. If this guy will fold almost everything except premium hands, and not 3 bet with a bunch of marginal hands like 44 or A9o, and the blinds are tight enough, I don't see why you can't just accept this as getting caught and toss it.

Even though you feel like you messed up even getting into this situation, I don't think it was necessairly a mistake, but if the guy fears you that much, I might just see the flop. . .

[Clarkmeister]

I'd call basically because he has a big pair and you win when you flop an ace. And you are getting nearly 7-1 to flop that ace. And if he has aces, you don't have to worry about flopping an ace.

[Depraved]

I think it's close but you should probably call, with certain parameters being crucial to how you play it:

A. you're opponent's propensity for paying off with an underpair when an ace flops
B. your ability to fold when raised after flopping top pair

Here's some things I thought about:

1. You will check/fold the flop almost always, and that is weak. Though it's not nearly as bad as folding for 1 bet preflop, it still hurts your table image.

2. What flop are you looking for? Besides the unlikely 222 and 345, you'll be calling to see an ace. If you knew he didn't have an ace, then calling is in order since I believe the odds of outflopping him are around 5-1. Since he could have a stronger ace, flopping top pair could be the worst possible outcome.

I guess you could analyze it a little more mathematically. If your opponent would reraise with 88,99,TT,JJ,QQ,KK,AA, AK and AQ, then the ways he could make each hand are:
AA: 3
KK: 6
QQ: 6
JJ: 6
TT: 6
99: 6
88: 6
AK: 12
AQ: 12

Unless I totally botched that, there are 27 ways he could have a hand where you're toast, and 36 ways he could have a hand you have odds to draw against to the flop.

And so there's a 43% chance you are dominated, in which case the odds of flopping top pair is less than 1 in 6. The correct play could be a function of how much you're willing to call off when you flop top pair and are raised. The same goes for how much he's willing to call off with an underpair when an ace flops (coupled with how much you can charge him since you're out of position).

I hate folding top pair heads up, but if you can safely do it with this guy, then calling is certainly correct since you won't lose much more when you're behind. If he'll payoff when you outflop him, that's even better. Otherwise if there's any uncertainty at all, you'll have some tough decisions to make, and that may predicate a style of play which loses the most when you make second best (but I think you'll still make money on the preflop call no matter what).

In general, from just looking at the numbers, it always appears profitable to call, but the situation where it is the closest is when your opponent will not payoff when you flop top pair, and when you will not be able to fold top pair when raised.

3. You're out of position.

If you fold preflop, you'll just have to switch your play up after this move. The metahand effects aren't in your favor, but as a good player, I'm sure you can adapt to exploit any new changes in your opponents play.