its pretty close fold or play in a 9 handed game?

mike caro says fold all day but im not convinced.

obviously in a super loose game with raising and re raising all the time you fold and in a super tight game with no action you can probaly get away with playing it.

but I just wondered what the super geniuses thought the right play is in general??

Offsuit is practically almost a fold, there's just too high a chance of a 3-bet you must fold to, a caller or two and a missed flop or worst of all, flopping a weak top pair OOP and facing a call.

Suited is sometimes playable, if the table is full of nits and calling stations who won't 3-bet you out of the pot preflop. But even that is very marginal.

If you absolutely must mix it up and play weak hands from EP do it with hands that flop well (small pairs, SC's) and won't put you in difficult situations. A weak top pair or middle pair, OOP, especially in a multiway pot is one of the nastiest situations in hold'em. There's no reason to end up in them, play the marginal hands from position and the good starting hands and some strong drawing hands OOP.

Position is such a powerful weapon in poker that you can probably make more profit with 72o from the button than with AJo from UTG. Hands that mostly flop weak or medium strength made hands are especially bad OOP since you usually can't bet them for value for 3 streets and if you choose to check the turn, the opponent, with the power of position, can force you to put money in the pot in 3 streets, something you don't want to do with TPMK and such. In position you can check the turn and make an easy call or a thin valuebet on river. OOP you don't have that luxury, you are often eithed bluffed out of the pot, make a call you don't want to make or you turn a medium strength hand into a bluff.

If you can't control yourself and often play weak hands from EP in 9-handed games, you probably should switch to 6 or 5-handed games. There your playing style might be more profitable.

fold, its all about position position position

J7s in late position > AJo in EP

DUCY?

completely agree. i definitely think in some mtts with super nits you can occasionally steal from EP even with a super agro image.

what do you think about 88 UTG?

88 is def. a raise utg in cash games. In fact you should raise any PP.

UTG, the smallest pairs are usually a fold for me in a cash game. Unless I'm on a super-nit table!

Suited in a tight, passive, short-handed table while holding a decently-sized stack: raise.

Almost all other situations: fold.

Suited im in.... off suit and oop. fold

It depends. Sometimes it's +EV to be folding AKs when UTG

Out of sincere curiosity: what migh be the conditions, where playing AKs in UTG could have negative expectation?

When someone else has AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22.

obviously if your heading heads up all in pre this is relevant.... that's not the question stated....


Unless I'm misinterpreting he is saying there are circumstances that could warrant an Open-fold of AKs.

I myself am very curious as to the answer that could warrant an open fold of AKs in a CASH game UTG. What kind of table would that be +ev? I honestly can't think of any table dynamics that I wouldn't at minimum open limp or open raise with AKs, I'm never folding there. Obviously If I get 3 bet from UTG2 from a NIT, and it comes back to me thats different thats a standard fold, but Im never open folding AKs.

I was joking... Although it is.;.

also... wasnt trying to threadjack.....

to OP barfunkel nailed it, most often AJo is standard fold UTG, just going to get you in trouble.

I actually take this the opposite way.... If there are players behind me that will stack off with A3o, or calling my UTG raises with any A or any J, I don't mind raising with AJ as I am likely crushing their calling hands.

I don't like raising nits UTG with AJo as any hand they call me with has got me dominated, and if I flop TP and get called I am most likely beat and puts me in a tough spot.... and as Barfunkel mentioned, raising SC UTG against table full of nits plays much better as you are almost never dominated, you can still rep the big cards with a chance to hit the low card flops.

On a table full of hyper aggro-maniacs.
My point is that OP needs to be more specific. Not all tables are the same

I'm not a big fan of absolute declaratives like 'always fold AJ UTG'.

IMO, you should sometimes play AJ UTG as well as sometimes raise with it.

I think it is important to balance your play in all positions. Because you playing AJ UTG now will be a factor enabling lots of deception when you get AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs UTG later.

Then just add in your general play and reading abilities. If you trust your play and ability to read your opponents and make the right bets, calls, and folds, then I don't see (sometimes) playing AJ UTG as some 'horrible' donk play.

Just don't get carried away

AJs is too strong to fold, even at a 9-handed table, UTG.

I prefer to raise hands like suited connectors UTG, rather than mediocre hands like AJo. Suited connectors have like a 1 in 5 chance of hitting a straight or flush draw on the flop, which gives you excellent semi-bluffing opportunities post flop, not to mention, no one will put you on suited connectors.

AJo is a trouble hand, and will frequently be dominated by other hands.

This imo. I often fold AJ UTG in SSNL online. I sometimes fold AQ. With these hands I'm looking for the particular loose passive players that will make a raise +EV. I raise PP often and SC occasionally. I think I need to up the frequency with which I raise SC UTG, maybe to 100%. At least for 45s-9Ts. even at 100% that's like 2% of hands, right?

It all depends also how well you know your competition at the table and you own image, I usually try to limp in after thinking and giving the other players a hint that I have a rasing hand , but desided to linp in instead. Remember poker is mostly a mind game, play with your opponents minds every chance you and they will never know where you at with your holdings.

Yeah, PPs make up 5.8% and SC 45s-9Ts make up 1.8%. I'd throw in TJs there just to make it closer to 2%. But seriously, throw in TJs.

Actually, this is quite an interesting balanced range for UTG, but you're obv playing a LAG style. Do you play TJs+ also already? Surely you play AKs?

I fold it unless it's at a table with inexperienced players.

Against bad players, I'd play A9o UTG.

And no way will I ever fold AJs, UTG or anywhere else, unless there has been a 3-bet in front of me.

AJo is a standard fold at a full table ring game though.

I agree that AJs is definitely worth playing and that AJo is more on the fold side.

But I notice that AJo plays really well on a J x x dry board.

For some reason, on these flops many players over play KJ and QJ in this position.

I think it is because so many people love to play JTs and J9s that a J on a dry board ends up generating more action than it should.

Anyways, just my personal observation, AJ on a dry J high board seems to be a monster that KJ and QJ just can't help but pay off.

Thoughts?

Yeah, but you have to know that you are against weak opponents.

That's why I'll play a hand like A10o UTG against weak players, because people will over play their J10's and Q10's, etc.

But against stronger opponents, you are looking more for a flush draw with AJs, than trying to outplay your opponent with AJo on a Jxx board. (imo)