This thread isn't so much about the actual hand posted, but more a general question about the kind of situation that it put me in - how to play marginal hands when you're in against a guy with donk stats.

Villain in this hand was running at something like 65/25 over 80 hands


Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

Hero (MP2): $31.15
CO: $29.35
BTN: $35.85
SB: $4.35
BB: $25.35
UTG: $27.30
UTG+1: $14.65
MP1: $19.35

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is MP2 with J A
2 folds, MP1 raises to $2, Hero?

He's been playing 2/3 of hands and raising 1/4 of them, constantly making oversized raises. In this example, I'm obviously way ahead of his range, but in bad position against the rest of the players in the hand. Would you call/fold/raise here? Raising could get yourself involved in playing for stacks, calling allows him to bluff you off when you don't hit, but I can't help thinking that playing hands like this against these idiots is losing value. If I was on the button would your decision change?

Comments on the hand welcome, but I would really appreciate a more general idea of how to play this kind of situation.

Is he a crazy aggrodonk postflop, too?

Anyway, I can't stand ace-jack. But if so, if I had a pair of eights I'd reraise to isolate him (but fold if someone behind me 4-bets) and call his flop shove. Be careful if he doesn't shove the flop in that scenario; that probably means he caught a good piece and wants to slowplay.

Other people will probably disagree with this, but these 65/20/9.5 guys value town themselves like crazy. Pretty much any pair is the nuts against them.

I can't remember what his post-flop was like. I'm not good enough to use post-flop stats in the HUD properly yet. What stats would you use for determining how to play this and similar hands? Or would you just rely on your own observations?

Well, if he's going crazy postflop and betting, raising, betting, raising every time it's his turn, you shouldn't need a HUD to tell.

AF isn't that great a stat usually, but if someone's running an AF of 7.0 or something over a couple hundred hands, that's a guy pushing way too hard postflop.

Yeah what about post flop? In this situation I would fold. If I was in the Co, Btn or blinds I wouold re raise, although as Zeth said I would prefere a PP.

It's OK to fold marginal hands when your OOP. Position is king in this game and even a weak player who is in position can make it hard/difficult for an expert player who is out of position.

Well, for one thing I would ship it PF in this situation, if you're not sure of your post-flop game. If you're comfortable, make it $5 (and call any overshoves) and value bet any flopped hand.

seriously? if someone overshoves you're deffinately waaaayyyy behind. and i understand that AJs is nice to look at, but you have no idea where you're at with this hand. he could have AQ+ very easily as well as total garbage. and since you really don't know where you're at until it's too late i'm just folding these kinds of spots. no need to get into very marginal situations if you don't have to.

sure against a TAG it's a fold. against a 65/25 you can shove if you don't mind variance.

What are the other players at the table like? I probably fold here because there are too many people behind and I'm not completely thrilled with 3betting this hand

a) because we will miss a lot and we don't have a made hand
b) some people are still left who MAY have a real hand
c)Unless we know what his range is for calling a 3bet we could well be in a RIO spot.
d)He could well call and shove any flop, leaving us in a puke-spot. lol