This took place at 2/5 nl with 500 cap buy in. I was waiting for bigger game, but I don't think anyone else was aware of this. I also don't think I had ever played with anyone else at the table. I had been there for about an hour.

The table was, for the most part, loose aggressive as contrasted to the usual loose passive table. Hands were usually raised by someone and called multi-way. 3bets were also almost always called and sometimes multi-way. Post-flop players were calling down light and even making raises that didn't make a lot of sense with middle pair etc.

My image was one of really loose, really aggressive, and if they made a big hand against me that I'd pay them off. I think that's why everyone was calling hands like k8s preflop to my 35 dollar raise etc. That being said, maybe that's just how everyone played. I definitely wasn't getting a lot of credit though and I had probably played 40% of my hands in the last hour (I was getting a lot of premium type hands...hence I don't think there is coginitive dissonance going on in that sentence). Of that, I was probably the original raiser about 75% of the time and had 3bet a few times. I had only showed down two hands both of which were suited connectors that hit a flush. I had just lost four hundred prior to this hand when a guy 3bet and called my 4bet all-in pre with 56s and won. Nobody saw my hand. So, perhaps people are viewing me as tilted as well.

The original raiser was a tighter player at the table. That being said, he had just been stacked twice in a row. He is on a third full reload, so I'm thinking he might have a wider range when he opens than he normally might otherwise.

Okay, on to hand:

I'm in straddle to ten (everyone was straddling and I liked my super loose image, so I surely wasn't going to go against that by not straddling). MP1 opens to 35. 4 callers. I have 425 total to start the hand. I have AJo.

Okay, so in a normal 2/5 game where the opener has a tight range I would probably just fold (and I woudn't do it as a bluff, despite blockers, because even though he may have a tight opening range, in my experience, people still don't fold strong hands that much at these stakes). In a game where people are just loose passive and the opener doesn't deserve that much respect, I'd probably just 3bet to 115-160 range depending on how I think they respond to 3bets.

I don't like folding here because, assuming I'm right about the original raiser being somewhat tilted, I think I have a hand much stronger than my opponents' range. I don't like calling because my hand really doesn't play well in a multi-way pot oop with a stack to pot ratio of less than 4.

So, I think raising is probably right. Especially given everyone's tendency to gamble and make really light calls. However, the problem I think with a 3bet to 115-160 is that: 1) I rarely expect 1010+ or aq to fold although arguably they would shove and I could just fold; 2) I think if the original raiser calls then I might get another call or two; 3) on most flops would my plan be just to shove for about a pot sized bet?; 4) I think my range looks stronger than if I just shove. That being said, I probably usually make a 3bet here to 140ish.

So, I decided to shove for 425. Hence, the thread title because it basically went straddle, 35, four calls, all in for 425. My thoughts were that by shoving, given my image, I look like air, weak broadway, and small to medium pairs trying to take down the 175 pot. I think I can get weak aces and hands like kq and kj to maybe call? And maybe fold out hands like 22-66? maybe some middle pairs some of the time? I don't think my range really looks like AJ all that often. Plus, hands that beat me are still coming along for a 3bet. That being said, I think there's a strong argument to 3bet/folding. I guess I just didn't love the idea of 3betting, getting called two ways, and committing to shove every flop. I also think my 3bet folds out some hands like weak aces, and dominated kings, and don't make weak pairs fold. Where I can get called by those dominated hands by just shoving because I just think, given my apparent range, I can get called really light. And, given table dynamic, I think they do make those light calls a decent amount of the time.

Thoughts?

tl,dr; I guess I have a problem of making most of my posts on this site pretty long. I just don't really get how you can get substantive feedback without posting in depth table reads and images as well as your detailed thought process. I could be making the right action for the wrong reasons and not get anywhere. If I post my thought process, we can get more substantive corrections which is better for me and those reading and trying to improve. Anyways, for those who are willing to read my novel, thoughts?

I think you're leveling yourself if you think {KJ+, 22+, A6s+} is a reasonable calling range. You described the table as aggro, but they'd have to be gambool-insane for that to be the case.

I played a similar hand recently. ATcc in CO, limped 6 ways to BU opened for 50, four callers to me closing action. I open-shoved 100bb at 2/5. Got called by K2s. THAT was an aggro-tard table and one where I saw people expressly flip preflop on multiple occasions, or call three streets with bottom-pair in a raised pot on a JT3A9 three-flush board.

If your table was calling raises this light and exhibiting this type of post-flop spewiness then I'd want my squeeze pre to be for a significant percentage of stacks. In your case, it's a little over 38%. Might be better to take your immediate odds of 6.6-1 and see a flop, where you can extract value or fold for free. Racing a more reasonable range estimate on calls of {66+, ATs+} is too marginal - anytime we gamble with the gamblers, we're negating our fundamental advantage: the ability to play poker.

That's interesting. I definitely didn't give that much thought to calling. I felt like my hand was tough to play oop in a multi way pot. I felt I was giving up equity by just trying to flop the best hands. Maybe I was mistaken on that. I'd like to hear what people think of this option as well.

i think its fine. you dont focus enough on what mp1's open range would be without tilt or the 3b ranges of the players who have called imo.

also, call>fold here so you should be debating between calling and jamming. dont think you can 3b/f in this spot either at these stack sizes.

Without suspected tilt, I'd say openers range is probably kjs plus, a10s plus, nines plus.

I'd say the others three betting ranges are tight. I haven't seen any light 3 bets except from the 56s guy but he folded this hand. That being said, people have been calling 3 bets much more than folding.

So, if I call, what am I looking to do post? Fit or fold right? Don't I expect to have some serious reverse implied odds here since I don't really have the stack to pot ratio to fold ace or Jack high flops.

that's a very tight mp1 open range, i like this less now. the tighter this range is, the more accurate your read needs to be, and this is pretty tight.

i'm less concerned with how often they 3b bluff with A4s/56s type hands and more interested in how narrow their value ranges are. it makes a big difference if they are likely to AQ or conversely if they wouldnt 3b AK.

if you call and flop top pair you probably should never fold here only 42bbs deep. you can't simultaneously be worried that AQ+/QQ+ is going to make up so much of V's ranges that you need to worry your top pair being no good and also think that shoving pre is good. you also went to great depths to describe how willing this group of players was to stack off with <tptk.

Okay, I can definitely see a good argument for calling. That's what I love about these threads. They can really give me new ideas that I previously dismissed with little analysis. I gave very little thought to calling. I still don't know if I like it better than shoving. But I do like it a lot more now than I did before.

Ignoring the merits of calling...

If you have 29% equity when called, you need to have everyone fold 44% of the time. (The calculation doesn't take into account a multi way pot). But I would imagine that you either get more folds or have more equity when called, so I don't think it is the worst idea. Although it will probably add more to your image than to your chip stack...

It looks like you are shoving 425 pre and hoping that your 5 opponents have worse hands than AJo. Which, in this case, may be true. Certainly the last two or three flatters have worse, which means that you only have to be better than the original raiser and the first or second caller.

It is not a terrible play, but if someone has already called you all in pre with 56 suited for 400, you are most likley going to get called here again.

Also, KQ is not that far behind. And if one of your A's are dead, it's almost a coin flip pre.

It basically looks like it is.... a gambol gambol play that has a decent success rate.

Added bonus if you scoop, you can now switch gears and value town monsters against opponents who think you are a spew monkey.

Added penalty if you lose, you have a zero table image and are going to need to make some hands if you want to win some pots.