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Aj In Early Position


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Sorry guys I don't have a hand convertor yet. Last night I was running deep into a $27 mtt on PS. There were just under 1200 entrants and we were down to the final 76. The table was fairly tight except for a couple of the big stacks who would regularly 3 bet small raises when players were betting 2.5 to 3x the bb out of position (I had been repopped two or three times already and folded each time and I am sure they were taking note of this). There was also a player one off the button that was playing like he was drunk or high. I had seen him repop raisers and call all in reraises w/garbage like 78os at least three times already. Although having that donk behind me could be a good thing, there was a very real possibility that I may have to decide if I want to put my tournament life on the line if he makes another one of his donkey shoves. With this in mind I was dealt AJ suited from one off the gun w/the blinds at 800/1600 and a stack of just under 30K. The chip average at this point was 40k and we had two big stacks w/approximately 80k and 100k at the table. For the record I personally hate AJ in early position. The fact that they were suited made me a little more comfortable betting out. I decided that I wanted to show real strength here and I overbet it to 8k. Was this as awful as I think it was? Would shoving, limping, or 2.5x betting been a better play given the dynamics of the table? Any advice on what to do in a situation like this where the big stacks are repopping guys on a regular basis?

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I think the worst thing you can do is change your bet sizing. The only thing the over bet 4x raise does is to force yourself to call/shove a reraise since you are further vested.It sounds like you have a lot of individual dynamics going on at the table. Based on the read of 3 of these players, you feel that both larger stacks are willing to 3 bet light in the face of a small raise. You also think the one "drunk/donk" guy will reraise/shove crazy wide. IMO the last thing you want to do is "overbet to rep a monster". I again state that I don't think it's a really good idea to vary your bet size here anyways.....but your goal here, if you think AJsuited beats much of these villains 3 bet range is to let them run their same line and shove. That said, as you note, AJ UTG in a full table isn't the best hand for us to want to get 20 blinds in with in most cases. The problem with your image on these guys is that they may have a looser 3bet range.....but that range is probably still like 44+, AT+, with some suited connectors, etc. Point being if/when you four bet shove them, after their 3 bet, there's a fair chance they consider themselves priced in for a call.....many times in flip situations. So you have to decide if you are willing to put your life on the line here. If not, the fold button is there for the pressing.That's my general thought fwiw.

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im opening small ( i tend to min but anything 2X to 2.8X is fine) with the intention of getting it in against the loose players and folding to the tight ones. overbetting is terrible bc if the tight players wake up with a hand we just burned chips for no reason.

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im opening small ( i tend to min but anything 2X to 2.8X is fine) with the intention of getting it in against the loose players and folding to the tight ones. overbetting is terrible bc if the tight players wake up with a hand we just burned chips for no reason.
And that is precisely why I was kicking myself. I was so focused on three specific players I failed to think about the other five. One of the other guys shoved and at that point I felt like I was committed to the hand. I made a crying call and he had pocket Qs.
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And that is precisely why I was kicking myself. I was so focused on three specific players I failed to think about the other five. One of the other guys shoved and at that point I felt like I was committed to the hand. I made a crying call and he had pocket Qs.
its always best to try and leave room to get away from it, unless your open shoving. seeing how we are thinking players and trying to play well more streets is good in general.
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