Utg With Aq?

[Chris-LFC 0]

I was just wondering what people thought about this,generally with this hand i like to be raising in position for obvious reasons,but does anyone think this is a completely horrible play? I know its a strong hand but i find playing it UTG a bit tricky sometimes if i dont hit the right flop.Should i be raising every time?Could i limp? I could do with some help,any comments would be helpfulFull Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.comUTG+1 ($25)MP1 ($10)MP2 ($57.30)CO ($49.90)Button ($20.15)SB ($10.35)BB ($55.85)Hero (UTG) ($50)Preflop: Hero is UTG with A , Q hero folds,

[Dictius 0]

I'd probably raise, seems to be a lot of short stacks at the table. Against short stacks the value of AQ increases and position is less important.

[LJB723 0]

I'm fine with the fold if you're uncomfortable playing this hand (presumably oop).Personally I'd raise this 8-handed, and play it out. I'd dump it to a re-raise preflop and wouldn't c-bet against more than 2 players if I miss.Remember you're UTG so people will (or rather, should) be giving you credit for a big hand, so its going to take a lot for them to re-raise you.Limping is the worst play because you'll start a domino effect and be out of position, probably against 4-6 players and you'll be left with horrible decisions even if you hit an A or Q.

[Chris-LFC 0]

I'm fine with the fold if you're uncomfortable playing this hand (presumably oop).Personally I'd raise this 8-handed, and play it out. I'd dump it to a re-raise preflop and wouldn't c-bet against more than 2 players if I miss.Remember you're UTG so people will (or rather, should) be giving you credit for a big hand, so its going to take a lot for them to re-raise you.Limping is the worst play because you'll start a domino effect and be out of position, probably against 4-6 players and you'll be left with horrible decisions even if you hit an A or Q.

Yeah it was the fact i was oop that i just folded,Limping was definatley out of the question. They probably would have gave me credit for a big hand,i haven't really gotten out of line yet and only showed down good hands,next time i'll definatley raise.thanks for the comment

[Luke00016 0]

To play devil's advocate, I think a good argument can be made for folding here, too.Granted there are a lot of short stacks at the table, if one of them reraises you all-in, does that really make us happy? Position won't matter at that point, but you've got to give someone credit for a good hand when they're pushing against an utg raise. At best we're making a call against a smaller pair and racing, but quite often losing to AK or QQ+.If you're uncomfortable playing oop against 2+ opponents (which is likely) then folding this is a safe play. IMO, it's only +EV if you're commanding the table and can handle yourself well oop.~Luke

[Shark527 0]

Raise. If your folding these good strength hands from earlier positions and raising only more premium hands, you are becoming too predictable and the table will catch on to that.

[AcesUp46 0]

With regard to balancing your UTG raising range so that you are not predictable, you can throw in the middle pairs into your raising range as well. So your raising range will look something like {66+, AKo, AQs+). That's 5.6% of hands preflop from UTG and the premium hands (TT-AA, AKo & AKs) form 3.5%-points out of the 5.6%. If you're relatively new at the game or if you think that you are not proficient at playing post flop OOP, I think this is a solid raising UTG raising range. It helps you avoid tricky spots that you may not be good in navigating. As you progress, you will naturally start to expand your range. You may want to experiment a bit with the raising ranges to see what works out well for youSo to summarize, I think it's perfectly ok to fold this UTG in a 8 to 9-handed table . I don't think you're giving up too much value by folding.

[mtdesmoines 3]

I was just wondering what people thought about this,generally with this hand i like to be raising in position for obvious reasons,but does anyone think this is a completely horrible play? I know its a strong hand but i find playing it UTG a bit tricky sometimes if i dont hit the right flop.Should i be raising every time?Could i limp? I could do with some help,any comments would be helpfulFull Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.comUTG+1 ($25)MP1 ($10)MP2 ($57.30)CO ($49.90)Button ($20.15)SB ($10.35)BB ($55.85)Hero (UTG) ($50)Preflop: Hero is UTG with A , Q hero folds,

I'm declaring this OP to be a level. I just am.

[LJB723 0]

I'm declaring this OP to be a level. I just am.

Mean.Not everyone is as aggro as you.

[IBFT 0]

I'm declaring this OP to be a level. I just am.

There are tables where I'll fold AQ UTG (full ring only)

[mtdesmoines 3]

There are tables where I'll fold AQ UTG (full ring only)

Explain to me under what conditions AQ is a fold UTG.

[IQCrash 1]

I'm declaring this OP to be a level. I just am.

Explain to me under what conditions AQ is a fold UTG.

There are plenty of situations where folding AQo UTG is perfectly acceptable. If you're telling me that you simply can't find a fold for AQo UTG in any FR game, then that's probably a leak in your game.

[mtdesmoines 3]

There are plenty of situations where folding AQo UTG is perfectly acceptable. If you're telling me that you simply can't find a fold for AQo UTG in any FR game, then that's probably a leak in your game.

I'm willing to listen, I just don't know what the situation is. If the table is ultra-super-tight, we collect the blinds and fold to a 3 bet and get a free orbit.If the table is super loose, we value value value town.I know that we're out of position, but I don't understand what table conditions could possibly exist that AQ simply CANNOT BE PLAYED profitably.

[BeaverStyle 1]

I can't believe anybody said fold. Maybe it's just my style of play, but I think folding AQ UTG is excessively tight.

[IQCrash 1]

I'm willing to listen, I just don't know what the situation is. If the table is ultra-super-tight, we collect the blinds and fold to a 3 bet and get a free orbit.If the table is super loose, we value value value town.I know that we're out of position, but I don't understand what table conditions could possibly exist that AQ simply CANNOT BE PLAYED profitably.

I can't believe anybody said fold. Maybe it's just my style of play, but I think folding AQ UTG is excessively tight.

I think if you're not comfortable playing OOP post-flop, it's perfectly fine for you to fold AQo UTG.I think if the table is habitually building pots pre with 3 and 4 bets, it's perfectly fine for you to fold AQo UTG.I think if there's a competent LAG that has position on you, it's perfectly fine for you to fold AQo UTG.This may just be a disparity in the limits we play, but overall, at my limit (FR 100NL), I think folding AQo UTG is probably a neutral ev decision depending on your table. Playing AQo from UTG in a FR game leads to a lot of marginal spots - especially if you have aggressive opponents behind you - and at least at FR 100NL, I think it's perfectly acceptable to simply avoid marginal situations all together - because you don't have to be involved in them to still be profitable.But, for the record, I'm a complete nit - so YMMV.

[DonkSlayer 1]

MtDesMoines, I agree with everyone else, if you don't know how to play poker, you should probably fold AQ utg. And quite a few other hands.

[mtdesmoines 3]

MtDesMoines, I agree with everyone else, if you don't know how to play poker, you should probably fold AQ utg. And quite a few other hands.

God. I thought I was going nuts.

[IBFT 0]

Out of curiousity, how much FR do those of you being smartasses play?

[IQCrash 1]

MtDesMoines, I agree with everyone else, if you don't know how to play poker, you should probably fold AQ utg. And quite a few other hands.

God. I thought I was going nuts.

I don't know what your definition of going nuts is, but mine would be agreeing with someone who has a negative ROI in sng's, mtt's, and cash games. Especially a losing player who makes snide comments during a healthy discussion.But what do I know, playing AJo from E/MP seems to be working out quite well for Donkslayer: https://www.pokertableratings.com/replayer/...;hash=488110236Would love to see what he does with AQ.

[trystero 0]

AQo UTG 8-10 handed isn't all that great. It'll be hard to generate action from worse hands when OOP, and the odds of being dominated are ~10% at a 9-handed table (which IMO is kinda high, considering AK is only dominated ~2% of the time). What's so wrong with the advice in this thread, i.e. our approach should depend mostly on the situation (namely table dynamics)?fwiw IQ, that hand by Donkslayer is standard; played fine

[IQCrash 1]

fwiw IQ, that hand by Donkslayer is standard; played fine

Except the raise pre, which was the point of the discussion. I think raising AJo even from MP1 is marginal at best.You can also make an argument about what you beat when you get check raised on the flop and the middle pair pairs on the turn and villain pots it, but that's neither here nor there, as it's a whole 'nother discussion and villain dependent.I was just trying to point out that raising AQo/AJ/AT from EP/EMP isn't always a great idea.

[IBFT 0]

Except the raise pre, which was the point of the discussion. I think raising AJo even from MP1 is marginal at best.You can also make an argument about what you beat when you get check raised on the flop and the middle pair pairs on the turn and villain pots it, but that's neither here nor there, as it's a whole 'nother discussion and villain dependent.I was just trying to point out that raising AQo/AJ/AT from EP/EMP isn't always a great idea.

AQos/AJ is also the cutoff point for me, if I were to have a 'standard' play style. If i've just sat down, i guess, thats my cutoff. Now, obviously, after that it gets table dependant. I might be tight, but I don't think thats altogether shocking or bleeding a ton of value.I play full ring exclusively, so thats all i gots to say about that.

[DonkSlayer 1]

I was just trying to point out that raising AQo/AJ/AT from EP/EMP isn't always a great idea.

No you weren't. You cherry-picked a hand that I played, hoping to embarass me. If you play FR with any kind of aggression at all, opening with AJ in MP after it's folded to you is so standard. I have no idea why I chose to stack off with top pair in the hand you picked, but the fact that 1. I wasn't UTG like OP and 2. it wasn't even AQ, shows that really, your intention had nothing to do with "just trying to point out" something. If you really "just wanted to point out", you should've spent hours datamining my and maybe 3 other's hands where we specifically raised AQ from UTG and then calculated the ROI. Since I clearly suck at poker (you pointed this out by posting 1 hand), you'd need a larger sample than just me. I guarantee you that open-folding AJ in the hand/position that you posted, or limping, would be ill-preferred by almost anyone who's made lots of money in FR. Just in case you want to fire back with something (besides "I have a cool goatee"), I'm probably stuck 3-4 1/2 NL buyins lifetime playing online cash games. I've won enough playing live to make up for that and be a recreationally-decent winner lifetime. Just to let you know, since you'll have lots of other hands you could cherry pick and try to point out that I play bad, notwithstanding any history or reads on the opponents. I'm sure there are NO big wins of mine you could post either. Notwithstanding the fact that I wouldn't choose your life over mine (just taking in the impression from your social thread posts) for mirrions of dollars, I'll try to be more polite in my subsequent strat posts as well.

[simo_8ball 0]

As a reference, I play 6max between about 24/19 and 31/26 depending on table dynamics and number of tables. Usually it's something like 26/22. I'm not a nit in any sense of the word.I think at a lot of tough 6max tables open folding AJo is fine, and at a tough full ring table I'd often fold AQo.TBH though, if you're at a ring game where you feel you can't play AQo UTG profitably, there's probably better games you can be playing in. The only exception would be if it's a game filled with bad LAGs.

[IQCrash 1]

No you weren't.

You're right. I found your post insulting and went after you to prove a point.

If you play FR with any kind of aggression at all, opening with AJ in MP after it's folded to you is so standard. I guarantee you that open-folding AJ in the hand/position that you posted, or limping, would be ill-preferred by almost anyone who's made lots of money in FR.

I think this sort of thinking is what holds you back as a poker player. There are no hard and fast rules here. Being malleable is ultimately what helps you to improve.That said, in my opinion, playing AJo from MP1/MP2 is marginal and at best, a neutral EV decision - the same as playing AQo from UTG. Everything being table dependent, of course. As always, I'm willing to listen to opinions contrary to mine.

Just in case you want to fire back with something (besides "I have a cool goatee"), I'm probably stuck 3-4 1/2 NL buyins lifetime playing online cash games. I've won enough playing live to make up for that and be a recreationally-decent winner lifetime.

Being primarily a live player myself (FR 100NL at Commerce 3-5 days a week), I can say that you don't help your case any here. Live, where most hands go to the flop 3 to 5 ways, playing hands like AJ from MP1/MP2 and AQo UTG isn't a winning proposition. I think avoiding marginal spots like these is one of the keys to success at the 100NL level.

Notwithstanding the fact that I wouldn't choose your life over mine (just taking in the impression from your social thread posts) for mirrions of dollars, I'll try to be more polite in my subsequent strat posts as well.

I don't blame you, my life is not for the faint of heart - but I will appreciate your newfound use of tact in future posts.