Haven't been playing much lately but got a chance to play 8/16 this weekend. I have not played with any of these players before that I remember, so my reads are not great. I had been playing tight and getting a run of bad cards so I probably looked like a rock to anyone paying attention.

UTG1 and UTG2 are both LAGs. They play a lot of hands preflop, appear to play reasonable after the flop. They raise premium hands preflop.

CO is a loose, bad player. Calls down way too much. Has bought chips a couple of times already.

BB is loose, passive player.

I have AJo in the SB.

UTG1 limps, UTG2 limps, fold, call, CO call, BU calls, I call and BB checks.

Qh Td 9h (6.25 sb after rake)

I bet, BB calls, UTG1 folds, UTG2 calls, fold, CO calls, BU folds.

[Qh Td 9h] Ac (5.12 bb after rake)

I bet, BB calls, UTG2 calls, CO calls.

[Qh Td 9h Ac] 8d (9.12 bb after rake)

I bet ....

I think I'm a little rusty. Here was my thinking:

Preflop - I don't like raising AJo from the SB against a big field, but I do it sometimes against smaller field. Just felt there were too many people already in this pot.

At game speed on the flop I saw a one card OESD and bet it to make sure it didn't check through. Thinking about this, I have serious doubts this is good idea. Someone else probably has a J also.

I was planning to check the turn if I did not make a straight, but when the A came, I bet again. I'm not sure that was a good play either.

I think KJ would have raised the turn so I think my hand is good, but I may be splitting the pot with and another Jx. I bet the river planning to call a raise.

I’d raise this for value preflop but I think it is close. I’d certainly raise AQ.

On the flop, I’d prefer a check into that many opponents.

I like the turn and river.

I would raise pf and I like every street postflop.

Yes someone else probably has a J, but you should also recognize that if a K comes on the turn you have the nut straight and you will get paid handsomely by someone with just the K-high straight.

I would have raised. But I don't think limping along is awful or anything. But there's probably some value being left on the table because you're quite happy if either of your cards pair up.

I would lean more towards checking here. This has more to do with the fact that this board is extremely favorable to limping hands and I don't think it gets checked through. I just don't think that's the thing to worry about here.

I also think that because you've got a one-card draw, that your draw isn't as strong. You're not as happy seeing this flop capped as you are holding QJ on a T9x flop. I think you should be a little more hesitant, like when you have 87 and the flop is T9x. Yes, you're pretty sure your J outs for the straight are good, but after you hit it, you've got something to worry about.

On this board, KJ/J8 are crushing you, and the other Jx hands (QJ, JT, J9), are semi-free-rolling against you if they're out there. It's not a situation where you're *that* happy to just blindly pump the pot.

Given the flop action (aka, just calls), this should be an easy bet. Yeah, someone may be slowplaying something, but you can't assume that someone has two pair when they've put in no bets/raises.

This smells like MUBS-y thinking (even if you didn't succumb to it). You bet the flop on the strength of your draw, and when it comes in you start to worry that it's not good. You hit the hand you wanted to hit, and so just bet it.

As for calling the raise when it comes back around, heads up I call (because you don't have the nuts and it's a tough board to value raise worse on), but if there are two opponents and only a single raise back to me, I probably 3-bet it because almost certainly one of them is donating dead money. That's enough overlay (plus the action doesn't indicate KJ) for me to try to squeeze out extra money.

Raise pre, flop I think a check is better as you are likely to get raised by 2-pair+ or even Qx multiway, and it would be a terrible result to get it HU by an EP raiser.

Turn is fine, river I would not 3-bet multiway, I'd rather try to get an overcall by somebody with 2-pair/set (or not put in more money vs. KJ). Seems ambitious for someone to call multiple raises with < a straight multiway on a 4-card straight board.

Thank you for everyone's comments.

I guess everyone thinks I should raise AJo from the SB.

What about ATo?

That’s why I said it’s close. Pretty sure everyone would agree not to raise A9. I’d personally not raise ATo here.

Depends on the game. If people are raising anything decent and only limping garbage, then I think raising ATo is good. In a more passive game where people are limping very good hands, then I think raising ATo is bad.

If you never raised ATo in the small blind, I think you would be doing better than if you always raised ATo from the small blind.

But really, you've got to look at the context and use that to make the decision.

Don’t raise pre flop. You played the hand well. I like your thought process.

Nh