Small blind

harding10

harding10	Small blind		400.00	400.00	13672.50
lawro19810	Big blind		800.00	1200.00	14250.00
	Your hole cards	A J
rossjb14	Fold
hhyftrftdr	Fold
pilgrim07	Fold

Keep running into the same type of problem recently, and I'm not sure if I'm playing it badly or just getting unlucky..

Not specific to AJ, but with this type of hand from the sb with <20bb what should I be doing? Folding seems tight, call seems weak, standard raise looks like a steal but is a shove too risky with only the BB to act?

freechips1

if you had 10bb or less its a shove regardless of how big blind plays.
if BB is laggy or capable of making 3bets light then its a 2.5x raise and snapping off a shove.
If big blind is a nit then i think its a 2.5x raise but fold to a shove.
If Big blind only has 10bb or less then you should forgget the 2.5x and just set him allin, he will call with much worse.

DOHHHHHHH

I might just shove.

Or raise/call.

Or limp/jam.

Happy to get it in using any of the above methods depending on the bb.

Shove mostly though.

freechips1

I don't like the shove  If BB has half a clue, when you shove your folding out all raggy aces and K,Q type hands.
You only get a call from PP's and A,J+.
Suppose its all dependant on how BB sees you and what sort of player BB is.
Don't think i ever limp.  Sat deep enough to 2.5x and big blind will still think he has fold equity.

SUPERSNEDD

This is definitely not a fold or limping situation.

It's either a raise or a shove depending on your table image and your opponent.

It also depends on what type of tournament, stack sizes of you and your opponent, blinds and how many left in relation to the payouts.

Also, just to add don't play AJ the same way in this position all of the time, nothing wrong with mixing it up.

grantorino

In general I am raise/calling

BigBluster

You're never getting away from your AJ here, but perversely you don't want to see a flop.
Folding or limping are simply not options. So it's a question of how much to raise and what to do if played back at.

I would not shove. It looks like you're trying it on and you're potentially going to be called down by hands like KT or 88. Though you're maybe 60/40, you really don't want to be risking your tournament life on it.

Raising 2.5x also gives you a problem. Again the likes of KT or 88 are likely to shove on you and again you're not in a nice spot. I'd certainly come over the top of someone who made such a SB raise, wouldn't you?

I would raise big here - raise to 5,000. The BB knows that there is no way you're trying it on as you've pot-committed yourself; he also knows that if he comes over the top you're calling. He knows you've got a hand and mean business. What can the villain do but fold? His KT or 88 will hit the muck before you blink.

If he has JJ, QQ, KK, AA or AK then it's just bad luck. On stack sizes, AQ would probably hit the muck to a 5K raise here.

grantorino

bigbluster, I really see no difference between making it 5k and shoving. Both are effective all in bets and will be perceived the same (as either strong or weak,) by villain

LnarinOO

50/50

i would bet/call jus so we can induce from worse......shovin is also fine, 

rancid

shove or fold

stop messing about - do you want the 1200 in the middle or not

Most of the time he is folding, don't get fancy
If you run into a prem hand then ul

If you feel this jam is too risky for you then just raise 2.2 or something
If he calls your 2.2,  you now have to play your hand playing OOP which is horrible
Essentially if you miss the flop your back to where you were pre so ................... now you jam and he calls with
botom pr and your out

Good luck

rancid

In Response to Re: Small blind:

I don't like the shove  If BB has half a clue, when you shove your folding out all raggy aces and K,Q type hands. You only get a call from PP's and A,J+.
Posted by freechips1

You have to remember a shove is only getting called a very small percentage of the time. Bearing in mind that the BB will be only calling with prem hands with that chip stack
If you factor in how often the BB is going to wake up with a prem hand then a shove is always on even with any 2.

AJ is just not a big enough hand to get cute with.
Regarding the min/2.2/2.5 raise the idea of this raise is becauae ideally it's directed towards good players who realise they can not call late in the tournament because of latter street bets will leave them virtually pot commited.
Unlike not so good players who will think, it's only another 800 I might aswell call. They call and flop good and you are sitting there with ace high OOP, so this is what the poster is probably encountering.

SHOVE IT UP EM

BigBluster

In Response to Re: Small blind:

bigbluster, I really see no difference between making it 5k and shoving. Both are effective all in bets and will be perceived the same (as either strong or weak,) by villain
Posted by grantorino

I disagree.
The 5K bet looks a lot stronger than the shove. And it is. You could be shoving with anything here - would you shove a pair of fours or QJ? Many or most people would. And the 88/KT type hands would likely snap them off.
But with 88/KT against a 5K raise, not too many people would come over the top. In tournaments you often don't know the villain that well so just have to go with how you feel the majority of villains would play it.

Horses for courses. Not saying I'm right but the way I play it tends to work for me.

harding10

In Response to Re: Small blind:

In Response to Re: Small blind : You have to remember a shove is only getting called a very small percentage of the time. Bearing in mind that the BB will be only calling with prem hands with that chip stack If you factor in how often the BB is going to wake up with a prem hand then a shove is always on even with any 2. AJ is just not a big enough hand to get cute with. Regarding the min/2.2/2.5 raise the idea of this raise is becauae ideally it's directed towards good players who realise they can not call late in the tournament because of latter street bets will leave them virtually pot commited. Unlike not so good players who will think, it's only another 800 I might aswell call. They call and flop good and you are sitting there with ace high OOP, so this is what the poster is probably encountering. SHOVE IT UP EM
Posted by rancid

I've just started shoving in this situation, which is a bit deeper than I might have before, because I don't want to be playing oop against a caller.

On a very small sample it's not gone well so I wanted to check if this was too reckless or I've just been unlucky so far. Looks as though the shove is OK, but I might mix it up with Bigbluster's advice as well. 

On this occasion the BB had AK.

CLIOKID

Raise/call.

And pull your hair out when he flats your raise and the flop comes down QTx and you are left in no mans land.

DOHHHHHHH

In Response to Re: Small blind:

Raise/call. And pull your hair out when he flats your raise and the flop comes down QTx and you are left in no mans land.
Posted by CLIOKID

lol yeh, this is why I shove.

My limp jam is only against agro players btw. 

grantorino

In Response to Re: Small blind:

In Response to Re: Small blind : I disagree. The 5K bet looks a lot stronger than the shove. And it is. You could be shoving with anything here - would you shove a pair of fours or QJ? Many or most people would. And the 88/KT type hands would likely snap them off. But with 88/KT against a 5K raise, not too many people would come over the top. In tournaments you often don't know the villain that well so just have to go with how you feel the majority of villains would play it. Horses for courses. Not saying I'm right but the way I play it tends to work for me.
Posted by BigBluster

maybe some players perceive it as stronger idk, dont [play many tourneys

why cant I bet 5K with anything, same as I can shove with anything?

AMYBR

In Response to Re: Small blind:

50/50 i would bet/call jus so we can induce from worse......shovin is also fine, 
Posted by LnarinOO

+1