Hero MP1 ($500) has a Tighter, but aggressive image on this afternoon. I have raised a lot IP and cbetted 70% of flops over about a 5 hour session to this point. Nothing too noteworthy, I won a huge pot about 2 hours prior with K2 OTB I raised the sole limper in the Hijack and connected on a nut flush on the turn and won 125bb off random villain who busted. V1 has seen this hand, not sure if he's really thinking about it that much though. V2 had not yet sat down so all he has seen of me is standard play. I have not gotten out of line unless you call a showndown K2 iso button raise a bit "crazy" to a rec player

V1 $310 (co)is a competent older man in his 60's. I have seen him raise a bit wider than the average rec player, but not too wide, raising ATo from LPosistion. Wouldnt call him a "Tag" since he does call a smidge too wide imo. I see he doesnt fold top pair to a ton of heat, but he was good the time he did snap call 2 straight streets TPMehkicker with an A8ss hand a while ago.

V2 $41 (BB) is on huge tilt. Saw him make a bad call with 2 pair that was counterfitted on the river out of agony. He's the type that if he's a little tilty, he will NEVER fold a good hand. Example: 67 on a K678K baord where the player that bet was as passive as they get OTR. He knew he was beat but since he was frustrated with the runout he called anyways. His stack size is kind of important since I suspect he may shove with any connecting cards before his rebuy.

$5 Button straddle by random, V2 limps, hero has AJ in MP1. Hero...?

Raise to 20 gives us a chance to repop and have tons of potential dead money vs shorty

Raise to $22, using your image to initiate action, as well as forcing SS to react with a range that you usually dominate.

Against a tilty shortstack of 20 BBs, I'm pretty happy to get my money in preflop. But we do have a world of players still to act behind us. Still, I'd probably go to $20 to try to iso tilty and then shove any flop if it gets HU; obviously more cautious if any other players call.

25 doll hairs.

I'm leaning toward folding but 15-20$ if you were to play

I'm just not that excited by AJo in MP, and I don't want to fold out all the hands I dominate while those that dominate me flat behind. I'm plenty happy to iso the BB if he shoves and the players behind me look weak. Is there anything wrong with just calling here?

^ open-limping in straddled pots is the worst option. I see people do it all the time and it baffles my mind. Straddled pots are more "raise or fold" than regular pots.

Btw, folding here is really really nitty imo.

*grunch*
$20 lets BB re-open with his shove, so you can then raise to iso, and would be a normal raise over a straddle and a limper anyway.

Post-grunch: yeah, what most of them said.

For the reason you stated I think folding is best, don't like playing AJo in straddled pots especially not in LP. Is folding here that nitty?

This is always important to keep in mind when there are shorter stacks in the pot. Its so much better to make it 20 and then if a couple people call and then BB shoves we have a really nice re-shove spot.

So it would suck to make it $25 and lose that opportunity especially with a hand that's not so great multiway.

And folding is pretty nitty. It being a straddled pot shouldn't really affect your ranges all that much.

yup $20 is a good bet pre for the reason mentoined by previous posters. I wouldnt even really consider folding.

$20 and fold to a reraise then? I dont like reshoving AJo with 250bb

No, $20 and 4! over BB's shove to iso and collect the dead money (assuming that anyone called before BB got froggy and that BB actually does get froggy). Yes, fold to anyone else's re-raise most times.

With $8 dead money and a super short stack in the bb who's on tilt? AJ is too good to fold imo.

This makes tons of sense and i overlooked it. $25 is too much because of no 4betablity (new term? Lol). I go with garick wit bet sizing. All in all, def raising.

NEVER am I folding in this spot, and I'm a nit. I would only open fold AJo here if I had a lot of reads on the table and knew that I was likely to get 3-bet by more than one COMPETENT player or that they table is full of good players, which by the description it is a typical low stakes game and AJ should never be open folded here.

I raise $20 as others said so that you can iso the short tilty guy when he pops his stack in, although unlike others, I don't think I shove. I may re-raise to like $100 with my $500 stack (this looks stronger than a shove to a thinking player anyway IMO) to allow myself the opportunity to fold if a smart player behind me (who has $400 or more) had just called with a huge hand suspecting the same thing I did about the short stack shoving - this is very player dependent though, because some LAG's or tourists will shove after your $100 bet with < AJ a fair amount.

Finally, to those saying fold - I have a little odds card that lists the top 20 hands in NLHE, AJo is on there, although it is at the bottom... I am never open folding one of the top 20 hands at a table like the one described.

bet 23. it's the most you can bet that leaves 4betting an option.

but if i hadn't eyeballed his stack before the hand i'd probably make it 20 as a default anyway

I think this is essentially true. But don't you also think a straddled pot sort of changes the relative strength of AJ against villains' ranges? It seems to me that straddle pots generally cause villains to play more fast and loose.

Preflop consensus is in. Next street, Pay?

Hero MP1 ($500) has a Tighter, but aggressive image on this afternoon. I have raised a lot IP and cbetted 70% of flops over about a 5 hour session to this point. Nothing too noteworthy, I won a huge pot about 2 hours prior with K2 OTB I raised the sole limper in the Hijack and connected on a nut flush on the turn and won 125bb off random villain who busted. V1 has seen this hand, not sure if he's really thinking about it that much though. V2 had not yet sat down so all he has seen of me is standard play. I have not gotten out of line unless you call a showndown K2 iso button raise a bit "crazy" to a rec player

V1 $310 (co)is a competent older man in his 60's. I have seen him raise a bit wider than the average rec player, but not too wide, raising ATo from LPosistion. Wouldnt call him a "Tag" since he does call a smidge too wide imo. I see he doesnt fold top pair to a ton of heat, but he was good the time he did snap call 2 straight streets TPMehkicker with an A8ss hand a while ago.

V2 $41 (BB) is on huge tilt. Saw him make a bad call with 2 pair that was counterfitted on the river out of agony. He's the type that if he's a little tilty, he will NEVER fold a good hand. Example: 67 on a K678K baord where the player that bet was as passive as they get OTR. He knew he was beat but since he was frustrated with the runout he called anyways. His stack size is kind of important since I suspect he may shove with any connecting cards before his rebuy.

$5 Button straddle by random, V2 limps, hero has AJ in MP1. Hero raises to $20, V1 calls, V2 shoves $41 and is all in. Hero...?

I made it $20 for the reasons stated above, sometimes I make it 22-25 as a standard in button straddle to make button think 2wice about defending in general, but $20 for the possibility of being able to have a decision pre in the case I get 1++ callers before BB inevitibly shoves.

I'm not really sure I have probably been in about 10 straddled pots in my life. If it does then obviously we should be happier about raising.

I probally 4bet to like $90 now.

The call by the villain in the CO was for ~15% of their stack, likely they considered a SS shove also. I would narrow their range to 66-TT, AQ+, AXs. We are behind most of those, so I'd call and evaluate the flop.

If that range is right, 4betting is much better than calling. He's folding almost all of that range.

+1, this is almost identical to what I was about to post.

He has almost no slow-played premiums in his range