10NL: Squeezing with AJo from the BB

[frob23]

The player MP here has been really aggressive and opening very, very light. I expect that my hand is good against his opening range. And the CO has shown a fair amount of weakness by just calling. As originally played, I failed to note that CO has just sat at the table. I thought he had been there for a while and he was calling because he knew how weak the MP player has been opening. So I thought he was probably calling with a medium strength hand to try and take the pot post flop. With that said, I thought this was a good spot to just throw in the 3-bet and take it down pre-flop. I don't expect MP to be able to call this most of the time. And the CO should fold after the MP player folds. That was the plan at least.

Merge $0.05/$0.10NL Hold'em - (6 Players)

0: Hero (BB): $9.50
1: UTG: $6.94
2: MP: $4.36
3: CO: $10.00
4: BTN: $9.53
5: SB: $6.74

CO posts initial blind $0.10

Pre Flop: ($0.25) Hero is BB with A J
1 fold, MP raises to $0.45, CO calls $0.45, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2.55, MP calls $2.10, CO calls $2.10

Flop: ($7.70) A Q 4 - (3 players)
Hero ???

I only have $6.95 left and the pot is $7.70. I have top pair but with two callers, I am not thrilled with my kicker. It's not the worst kicker in the world but not too many Aces with worse kickers would still be here after the pre-flop action.

As played, I feel committed on this flop... even though I am not too happy about it.

I welcome all comments on the hand -- both streets.

[phaul]

I don't want to turn AJ into a bluff here. If I'm raising, it's for value. You can maybe get that, but I'd prefer to play a smaller pot with AJ when I'm OOP and unsure of their 3bet calling range. Along with that, the 3bet is HUGE! I make it around $2.

As played, I don't mind a flop check, as there aren't really any scary turn cards and it makes a weaker ace more likely to ship it in. If anyone else bets a reasonable amount on the flop (e.g. doesn't minbet), ship it in.

I'm going out now. Happy New Year!

[powrdragn]

I'm typing from work here, so I hope this makes sense...

I agree with phaul here. What you didn't consider is your full plan for the hand if you were to got called on.

When you play hands like AJo, KQo, and even QJo, you have to think about a multilevel plan ahead of time.

In the case of your AJ here, you have to decide how much you believe in your read of the players. Making an out of position raise puts in a precarious spot to begin with. You needed to decide your three paths:

1. If an Ace hits.
Have you given your opponent credit for a real hand (pairs through AK) here? If not, you've got to get your bet in there. If so, you may need to back off if you're giving him credit for an Ace.

2. If a Jack hits.
You've actually got the best hand here. So, if you get any action, you're probably good to go.

3. You miss completely and/or a low flop comes.
You have to figure out a plan. You can turn your hand into a bluff. Or you can come over the top to block a bet from the aggressive player.



Regardless, I think here, you have to take a shot and get it in. IF your read is right on the villain, you're all good. You've still got to worry about the other player though.

So, personally, I'd check and see what the villain does. If it gets checked around and there is no opposition, then go ahead and try to take it away right then. If the unknown player puts some serious action on it, back off and let it go.

That's the way I see it.

[travz21]

3bet pf is way too big. But, as played, if you were playing for value, there's no way folding anywhere in this hand could be good. Figure out a way to get it in.

Open shoving flop looks way weaker than open shoving turn if it's checked through imo. And shoving looks weaker than valuebetting. So you can guess what I think you should do.

However, if these guys are one dimensional and only think about how strong their own hands are, they won't be paying any attention to any of that and won't call a shove as lightly as I think. Checking and playing some poker would be a better move if that were the case, which it probably is at nl10.

[frob23]

I don't know that I can ever back off this hand. I'd be pretty hard pressed to find a spot where I am folding top pair on the flop with only a pot-sized bet left in my stack.

I'm more shocked that both players did call. As played, I shipped the flop. I'm not going to try and out-guess myself if I check and there is a bet and a raise.

I have created a huge pot. I've gone and hit my hand after doing that. I don't generally do that and give up unless I'm really drunk.



That over-sized pre-flop raise was thanks to Merge's lovely software and me not paying too much attention to where the bet landed.

[Fictive]

I would just throw that remaining $6.95 there and kick myself for getting cute with AJ... As it plays out, the MP would call, CO folds. MP shows A3o and hits the 3 on the river.