01-18-06, LearnTexasHoldem:

AJ Suited In No Limit Holdem

Question: I was just wondering what you think of this play with Ace Jack suited. Instead of the usual raise that most people would put in with this hand pre-flop, I mainly elect to just call the big blind with this hand. I do this for a number of reasons: first of all, this hand generally doesnt play well after the flop for various reasons. Also, if I raise pre-flop and am subsequently re-raised, I'll usually just have to muck it, thus wasting valuable chips. And thirdly, if I just call the flop comes Ace Ace Jack or I make the nut flush or nut straight, my hand will be very well disguised since it would be hard for people to put me on AJ after only a call pre-flop. There are obviously some disadvantages to this play. For example, if someone behind you raises pre-flop then you don't really know where you stand. Also, as the tournament progresses and tables become shorter then i think raising pre-flop with this hand is important since winning blind and antes becomes profitable, but overall I'd prefer calling rather than raising with AJ suited (similarly for A10). Just wondering what you think about this play?

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Answer:

Your reasoning is good. I'm not sure if it is that set in stone though.

Each way of playing the hand has complications.

If you limp in:

- AJs is often times the best hand preflop.

- You don't want to play AJ in a multi-way hand if possible.

- You don't want to let the blinds in for cheap.

- You would prefer to know where the strength is and the way to do this is to raise preflop. Someone reraising you preflop or calling a raise preflop tells you something, them calling doesn't.

- AJ figures to be better than other non premium hand so you are missing out on bets by letting hands like KQ, KJ, KT, QJ JT in for cheap.

- You run the possibility of only raising with AK and better and not mixing up your play enough.

If you raise:

- You could get reraised and trapped by a better ace or other premium hand.

I'm not sure that limping in with big hands in hopes of hitting big flops is the way to go. If the flop comes back with two aces, it would be very easy for someone to assume that you just limped in with one -- especially if you have been playing tight.

I don't think it is the worst play to just limp in with the AJ. You can do it if you like. You can limit some of the risk by waiting to raise the AJ and other weaker hands with position after no one else has raised yet. For example, if everyone folds to you and you are a couple seats from the button, a raise here would be fine and not risky. AJ probably is the best hand.

In no limit holdem, you need to play a few hands differently than the books suggest, just to mix up your play. Raising with an AJ is one of them. This doesn't mean you have to play the hand to the river after you raise. You aren't committed every time you play a hand.

Lastly, I think it is important to note that the best hand preflop doesn't always win. Winning poker isn't just about waiting till you are sure you have the best hand and then going from there. Ideally you would like to always be ahead, but that isn't possible. You can't always just wait for AA and expect to win. You need to think in terms of playable hands. There will be plenty of times that you're AJ will beat KK, QQ, JJ, TT, 88 and even AK or AQ. What will make you a winner or loser is how you play postflop. Now, I'm not advocating playing any two cards. I'm just saying that most poker literature focuses on preflop play and leaves you thinking that as long as you start with the right hand, you'll be a winner. There is much more to it than that. You could play AK against my AJ for 1000 hands and still come out a loser overall if you paid me off too much when I outflopped you.

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