2/5, full ring.

Hero has only been playing 30-40 minutes, holds a TAG image with rare preflop aggression. Lost a couple big pots. Either folding or raising, very aware of position.

Hero is dealt J 9
Stack is roughly $250.

Hero is UTG and raises to $20 (standard).
UTG+2 calls. (Has hero covered)
Rest fold.
Button calls. (Roughly $200 in chips)

3 to flop. Pot is $67.

Flop: A J 9

Hero?

No real reads on anyone. I've seen UTG+2 tank for 8 minutes on a huge flop raise against aggro player then fold. Button is older man, not very active.

Edit: Few fixes.

Rare preflop agression, but raises with J9s UTG? That doesn’t seem optimal with only 50BB.

I like pretty much potting it here 60-65, and sticking it in on a blank turn. Probably get it in on this flop if raised, as you are only about 50bb deep, and have an SPR of 4 and two pair.

The flop bet charges QT, KQ, AT kind of hands, especially when they have a diamond.

There aren’t too many flopped big flushes. KQ, QT. Some smaller flushes, but it’s more important to charge draws here IMO.

In conclusion, pot/get it in if raised, jam blank turns.

fold pre

1 gap suited connectors have no value 50bb deep oop

this is a terrible open, 50bb deep and you open 4x pre from utg with a medium drawing hand.

fooold this pre unless you are way deep, or against some real bad stations and in that case raise like 2x.

as played, spr is like 3 so it is a b/ship, getting it in on turn if not flop

TAG means tight aggressive. This means you don't play a lot of hands but when you do you are coming in for a raise. Rare preflop aggression is not a valid description of a TAG.

That being said, a TAG probably would open J9s UTG. However, he would do so with at least 100 BBs. As others have said, you have to fold pre because of your stack size. They aren't saying you can't play J9s UTG, just not with 250 in front at 2/5.

All that being said, you flopped one of the best hands you can here and you have a pretty short stack (less than 4:1 SPR). I like a bet here to try to set up a turn shove on non-awful turns. With 67 in the pot a pot size bet will set a turn shove up nicely whether one or both call. If we're raising J9 pre with a stack this short I don't think we should be thinking about folding a flopped 2 pair. I bet/call 65 here with the intention of getting it in on the turn (would be shoving 165 into 197).

Thanks for the advice, guys. So the consensus is my mistake is preflop selection. I thought J9s was worthy enough to raise pre UTG, disguised even.

To play it out...

Hero bets $50. UTG+2 flats. Button shoves.

Hero ships. UTG+2 insta-calls.

UTG+2 shows

Hero doesn't improve. Though as played, chalk it up as a cooler?

We can't really call it a cooler when we've identified a big preflop mistake. It's not that you opened J9s in and of itself that's the mistake, but it's that you opened it with only 50BB. The problem with a short stack is that you will not win enough when you hit to make up for all the losses that will come because have to check/fold, bet/fold, or get lost with a hand like top pair and lose a bunch with kicker problems.

When your stack is deep, you can play hands like this occasionally because you know that one giant pot is coming when you hit the straight flush vs. the nut flush or boat up vs. trips that can't fold, and that one giant pot will be bigger than all the small/medium ones that you lost.

I figured it wouldn't be a cooler, but it would make me feel better if it was. I understand the theory behind being more selective in pre-flop holdings with 50BB or less. I'm assuming we're 100% folding this hand then in the same spot everytime?

yea, if your implied odds aren't good, then you should fold it 100% of the time because implied odds is what makes J9s a profitable hand

you risk the minimum and win a bunch.

even though in this hand you're risking the minimum, you're not winning a bunch. its 4bb to win 50bb so your implied odds are 12.5:1 which is not good enough. i like 20:1 or better with J9s in most cases

Yeah with 50BB, I'm looking for a range like AK/AQ/KQ/TT+, hitting top pair/overpair on the flop, and going with it. You can limp small pairs in position or the SB hoping to hit a set, but you can't call a raise with them profitably.

I would rather always have 100BB on the table, so I can play connectors occasionally (I still don't often play them from UTG, thought, b/c I'm a position nut). I understand it isn't always possible to have 100BB though.

Wouldn't these numbers be dynamic to how many players are in? 12.5:1 would be heads up, 25:1 three way, etc.

the only way you get 25:1 is to stack 2 players, correct? That doesn't happen very often.

I hope you see how your image if yourself and your open UTG with j9s aren't consistent. It's pretty loose to open with just 50bb UTG and there are no real good scenarios for you going to the flop unless your at the tightest of tables.

yea but you won't get 3-way all in too often

Why are you sitting with only 50 BBs? And why are you raising J9s UTG with only 50 BBs?

As played, flop is an easy bet for value, make it $55-60, get it in vs. a raise. If called, shove good turns and c/f bad turns (mostly diamonds).

Don't post results so early (or at all) since it just ends up skewing the discussion.

J9s from EP is a major "reverse prison rape" type hand. Bottom two is also a hand that will get you prison raped on a montone board as well. I b/f.

As previosly mentioned ITT, if you sit with only 50bb and get the chance to prison rape a fish/whale/spewytard opponent, wouldn't you rather double through with a full stack?

AP $45, fold if raised, unless villain is super aggro and views you as scared money.