Getting Supersticious About A Hand

[Rhegium 0]

I am getting extremely supersticious about playing AJ. To be honest, I have taken bad beats, lost races and acutally called hands against AK and AQ against it. I hate this hand. Whats worse, when I am getting this hand I am playing it extremely poorly because I feel such dread with it. My poker tracker stats say its a loser for me at any posistion.Any advice on this?Just drop the hand whenever, just play really tight with it or am I overreacting?Thanks

[KoRnholio 2]

Hands like AJ and KQ are troublesome because they are often dominated preflop by AK/AQ and are ~25% to win. Take a look at the spots where you are getting all in with AJ (either preflop or on an Axx board) and see if there would be better ways to play it.

[biff_goods 0]

I usually view AJ like it's A8 or A9. I only play it in position and rarely push it through when I hit an A. To me AJ is the ultimate small ball hand.

[kkot 0]

1.Just drop the hand whenever, just play really tight with it or 2.am I overreacting?

1. It's too strong to drop completely. 2. Definitely.It sounds like your approach to the game is the real problem.

I usually view AJ like it's A8 or A9. I only play it in position and rarely push it through when I hit an A. To me AJ is the ultimate small ball hand.

The problem with this is that it is quite a bit stronger than A8 or A9.

[Sheiky 0]

Lol, when i got pokertracker i got proof that i massively overplay KQ so now i'm ridiculously nitty when playing it, like i just auto fold it a lot when i could easily play it and stuff.Look in your PT database and see the hand where you're getting in trouble with AJ then in the future play those spots differently.

[TravisG 0]

i have no problems with playing AJ or KQ. i esp. like KQ in lower stakes tournaments because you kinda know 100% when you're ahead / behind because people there tend to raise AQ/AK preflop. If theres trouble you can still fold. I also don't think those hands are "often" dominated preflop. the case that you get specifically AJ while someone behind you gets AK / AQ doesn't occur that often. but yeah, you could overplay it, like, you call an UTG raise in the BB and it goes bet/raise/all-in on an AKQ flop. but if you do that kinda stuff, AJ isn't your problem.

[Zach6668 513]

Learn to play better, and you'll start to win with AJo.

[kkot 0]

Look in your PT database and see the hand where you're getting in trouble with AJ then in the future play those spots differently.

Then take it a step further and play with the filters. See what positions you are losing money in. You should be winning significantly more in late position than UTG. How are AQ and AT?Are you playing it aggressive enough? How big is your sample? If you only have a couple hundred trials with AJ, your data doesn't really mean much.

[Frez 0]

Lol, when i got pokertracker i got proof that i massively overplay KQ so now i'm ridiculously nitty when playing it, like i just auto fold it a lot when i could easily play it and stuff.Look in your PT database and see the hand where you're getting in trouble with AJ then in the future play those spots differently.

Best advice here (plus waht kkot said about noting positions).

[BeaverStyle 1]

AJNW

[Acid_Knight 2]

Learn to play better, and you'll start to win.

FYPThat big block is an oversized, bolded period. As in, ....and you'll start to win, period.

[mtdesmoines 3]

Learn to play better, and you'll start to win with AJo.

This sounds so simple. And it is. There really are no "trouble hands" ... rather, I think that there are "trouble spots" for some hands. A-rag (which is AJ or lower to a OOP PF raise is a "trouble spot." Would you play an A5o out of the SB to a 4bb raise from EP when you know the villain's range from that position is limited to AQ+? Why would you? Would you play AJ from the SB to a button raise when you know the villain's range from the button is 9T+? Of course. You should raise him. Fundamentals. Think about what the bets mean. Who the players are. What they tend to do. Positional awareness. Play better.