Tournament is 27 levels of 12 min each than you take a stack to a "real tournament". Currently is around level 10, what do you think of isoing this player with AQ, as you can see no stats on him? I would fold if any other big stack moved in. Is it too early to be doing this with a hand like AQ?


partypoker - 2500/5000 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 20.85 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 15)
BTN: 158.9 BB (VPIP: 30.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 10)
SB: 38.93 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
BB: 38.01 BB (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
UTG: 19.84 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 2)
UTG+1: 132.54 BB (VPIP: 23.36, PFR: 19.63, 3Bet Preflop: 10.28, Hands: 278)
Hero (MP): 50.13 BB
MP+1: 48.92 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 26.67, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 15)

8 players post ante of 0.1 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.3 BB) Hero has Q A

UTG raises to 2.2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 7.5 BB

I have stopped doing this vs UTG pre-flop raise with AQ (but I play exclusively live).

When they are really strong they 4 bet (all-in) and we are in bad shape.

When they are messing around (which could be rarely) they can get away from their hand fairly cheaply.

If they have an in between hand like 88-JJ and they shove they gain positional advantage (or rather they shed their positional disadvantage). If they just call they get to stop and go when there is no A and one or no cards higher than their pair. Which means we have to fold when we miss our Q and we win just our 3-bet when we hit our A.

I prefer to just call.

You're folding out worse hands.

I m not sure you are really accomplishing much by 3betting oop with AQo vs a <20bb utg open in an 8 max format.
As said above, you are basically folding out worse hands and inducing a 4bet jam from the hands that have you beat.
The UTG range in that spot is more often than never a nutted range, therefore with no particulair read, 3betting that precise spot is useless imho.
You rather hide the real strength or your hand and be willing to play post flop with the 2.5to1 chip advantage balancing your position disadvantage

agree with flat pre, by 3b we just iso the top of his range and fold out all the hands we do well against and can get value from post

Think in MP vs. UTG open I'm mostly flatting with my entire playable range here.

At 20BB there is some argument that we can 3-bet and get it in vs. UTG range, but it'll be dicey. We also have to contend with getting 4-bet from behind which would absolutely suck.

If we had stats like villain is aggro I think a 3bet is fine, but this early with no reads and being OOP, I like flatting as well.