Hi JANITOR385:
Three off the button my minimum suited ace to open raise with is ace-seven suited. Four off the button I want at least ace-eight suited, but in reality there's little difference.
The exception to this is if there are one or more players behind who are quick to three-bet, then I would fold the ace-seven suited when first in.
As for the flop action the pro is obviously trying for a free card. For this play to be correct, the pro needs a reason to think the player in the blind is likely to check to him. Obviously from the way the hand has been played, the player in the blinds appears to have a strong hand, but this doesn't mean he won't just call and then check the turn.
So whether to make it three bets or not is based mostly on judgement, and even if the judgement is correct that the three bet will buy the free card most of the time, it doesn't mean it'll buy it all the time. So it's hard to say if this play was correct, but I suspect it was given that the pro is someone with good judgement.
Another interesting question is whether you think it's correct for the big blind to make it three bets before the flop (in this spot) with a pair of jacks? While he does give up expectation by just calling (before the flop), the question is whether he can make it all back plus some, (because he just called before the flop), on the later streets.
Best wishes,
Mason