How do you play AJo? (1 Viewer)

[ThrowBack]

 

[ThrowBack]

Since you asked for the advice of good solid players, I will choose not to give my own opinion

 

[NeutronHim]

I tend to open these hands for a raise unless the game is unusually tight. This is the absolute bottom of what I consider playable in these spots with bad position. In a tighter game, nothing wrong with just passing on these in early position either. But I try not to play in tight games if I can help it .

AJo is a hard hand to play UTG, if Im playing against some LAG players that I know will pay me off if we hit something then opening is fine, Im never limping here.

If we limp and someone opens we have to put them on a bigger range than if we open and they 3-bet us. The goal is here is to be able to get away when we need to and we need to do that more often than not...

I think there are two schools of thought here. A), open them because you want to play pots and B), fold them because you want to win bigger pots. I think in any game with any rake you can comfortably fold these from UTG specifically, and start thinking about exploitatively opening/folding from UTG+1.

However, I disagree with two of the comments here. Namely, I think they are giving you the exact wrong exploits. If you are at a table of "tight (pre)" players (tight meaning they fold ajo at UTG+2 or something,) you need to start opening more hands pre as an exploit. If you are playing against lag players that are over 3-betting, then you want to fold Ajo as an exploit. (Ajo is marginal and can't call even a loose 3bet.) You want to do the opposite of what the table is doing. Think about it: if table is only playing AA+ pre, you aren't gonna make your money tightening up your range pre; you're gonna play a2c pre and ft3b or x/f 90+% of flops.

Def agree to try not to play in tighter games, but I've heard it's really good practice for a competent LAG style if you are trying to make it to high stakes. You need to do a lot more thinking to be a good LAG, because it's really easy to overdo it and become a serial punter.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Game-dependent.

In my very loose-aggro, drunken weekly cash game, I will play AJo much like AKo. Raise from UTG 100%, 3-bet from LP and the blinds, knowing that I will get paid by all the random Ax hands that guys in this game will call down with when an ace hits the board.

In a game with competent players, I'm probably not opening this hand earlier than MP, and I'm sometimes 3-betting it from the blinds against a button open. I'll go for two streets on many A-high or J-high boards, but be prepared to ditch it when you get pushback.

In a "typical" 1-2NL casino game? Probably somewhere in the middle. It's stronger against the wide range of Ax hands that many 1-2 players love, and I'm going to push it a little harder than I might against a table full of competent players. But I'm also going to let it go when I'm told that it's no good, especially when a passive 1-2 player or OMC starts betting into me.

 

[wickedwonka121]

It's weaker than it looks. Basically treat it as the fence. Not strong, not weak. It all depends on the other players. Raise to guage the field. Most likely the person who raises back is on AQ or better and your looking at a bad outcome. It's OK to dump that raise, letting it go, than be stuck trying to flex UTG at a better hand. Statisticly your already weal being UTG.

 

[MichaelBubly]

I mean, I'm still open shoving AJo when I'm short stack in a tournament.

I'm surprised the amount of people that would open fold AJo. Casino with rake I understand, home game I'm surprised by. I'm never open folding AJo and I'm not auto-folding to a 3-bet. Certainly a mediocre hand when stacked up against AQ and AK and other premiums, but lots of 3-betting ranges can contain suited connectors, pocket 7-10s, A10s, A5s, A4s.

Mind you, I don't play high skill cash games and really have no interest in deep stack cash GTO. More or a casual cash player for fun and more serious about STT and MTTs.

 

[JustinInMN]

However, I disagree with two of the comments here. Namely, I think they are giving you the exact wrong exploits. If you are at a table of "tight (pre)" players (tight meaning they fold ajo at UTG+2 or something,) you need to start opening more hands pre as an exploit.

I understand what you are trying to say, and in tighter games, I think opening more hands is a must, but I tend to prefer later positions to open things up more, early position is still conceding too much advantage when you do get called.

And also, with AJ in particular, it's a very tough hand to navigate one pair flops in a tighter game. If you flop either and ace or a jack, it's just hard to get paid in a tight game. How many weaker aces are really going to be in that can pay off? How many jacks for that matter as well? You have to bet these hands for some protection, but you can almost never bet these hands just for value. Which is why I belong more to the just play slightly tighter than the opposition playbook more than just play the opposite. At least in early position.

In late position, I will certainly start raising a lot more in a tight game, then I am conceding the button far less and I am putting the blinds in a position to defend with hands that will miss often. Even middling suited connectors can be played effectively for value in position.

Experience has put in a place where I just learn the disadvantage of being out of position, there are very few hands so compelling as to give this advantage away rather than just wait until it's your turn to be in late position.

Bottom line, I would much rather play 76s in the cutoff than AJo UTG.

 

[allforcharity]

I like AJo about as much as I like JKo.

 

[Coyote]

I like AJo about as much as I like JKo.

So do we, holding AK against you

 

[JustinInMN]

I like AJo about as much as I like JKo.

ISWYDT

 

[allforcharity]

ISWYDT

Well, great minds, etc.

 

[NeutronHim]

I definitely agree -- I save my exploits for late position as well, because it's easier to LAG out the nits when they are basically facing barrels with worse than top pair very often on a lot of boards. Definitely think that there's something to be said about the idea that even if you want to loosen up considerably vs a nitty table, you'd want to select hands that have equity vs the calling range or block their calling range and maybe AJo just isn't that type of hand. I do feel as though I loose out on a lot of EV by not opening looser EP at nitty tables, though (mostly 6max, and when I say nitty I mean nittier than GTO wizard.)

 

[JMC9389]

Fuck Ace/Jack.

I lose every single time I play it. Ask my local guys here.

I lose whenever I'm against it too.

My 10/10 vs AJ suited AIPF, flop JJ6. RIP in pieces.

 

[allforcharity]

My 10/10 vs AJ suited AIPF

That's a little aggressive for T/T isn't it?

 

[JMC9389]

That's a little aggressive for T/T isn't it?

Against that particular villain, no. I three bet a little more than a min raise, and he went over the top with AJ to isolate. I called with the tens.