Tough decisions with kickers

[JOHNY CA$H]

Heh.. my understanding was he raised and both blinds called!

[Oberonn]

[ QUOTE ]
Heh.. my understanding was he raised and both blinds called!

[/ QUOTE ]

Difference of interpretation. I saw the "s" after MP (MPs) and never saw a mention of the small blind at all. So I envisioned two MP limpers.

[zboy]

And, it's already been said, but include much more information. We can't give you a broad answer here because "it depends" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] on particular circumstances. Here, it's vital for us to know how big the stacks are to give a good answer.

I'll give you a couple of my thoughts. If BB has a good hand here, why wouldn't he just check and let you bet, since you were the preflop raiser? Usually, if there is a draw on the board, i'd suspect that the extra large bet was just to buy the pot with some draws. But here, there are no draws, so it comes down to a particular player and his tendencies.

In a small stakes cash game i'd more readily think i was against a really big hand here, and the BB is hoping you or someone has an ace and will pay off his two pair or set here.

If I was shortstacked id have to call, but if we were deepstacked, i'd let it go and look for a better spot.

[GoldenIP]

A10 is a really overrated hand.

I 3+handed you've really got to be looking to hit a big hand. To a bet and a raise already preflop in front I'd insta-fold without even thinking.

It can just get you in a world of trouble. In your particular hand, you gotta ask yourself what you're beating...the answer is not a lot. You're behind to A9 or A4, a set of either etc. You beat A8 and worse.

Pitch that junk pre-flop. Try to avoid situations like this.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
A 10 is not a raising hand

[/ QUOTE ]
You have a lot to learn. In most games, limit or no limit, if it's folded to you on the button, A2 is a raising hand. In NL with a limper or two in front, it really depends on what hands your opponents will limp with. If it's any two, AT is an easy raise. If their limping range is fairly tight, you are probably better off limping.

[viking999]

Wow, all these players who say never play AT or KJ must never try to steal. Get me a game with these guys to my left. I wonder how much action they get when they raise with AA?

I get into this situation a lot, because I'll raise with almost any two cards if I think it's a good spot for a steal.

Regarding your question, I think you need to realize that people don't make plays at the preflop raiser that much. If you have top pair with a weak kicker, you're still looking to take it down with no resistance. If anyone can push into you on that weak looking flop, they almost always have you annihilated. If someone bets into you, or you get check-raised, just chuck it.

A nice way of avoiding this problem is to raise bigger. With that number of limpers, you're just asking for a call by only raising to 3x. Plus, they'll call with almost any two cards they'd limp with, so your read doesn't improve. I'd say 5x is warranted. That way you can have a better idea of where you stand if you're called (but hopefully you're not).

Of course, another option is to not play the ATo. With two limpers it's probably not the best spot to steal. That's not to say you should never do it, but I'd use the move sparingly.

So go ahead and play your AT and KJ. But unless you're raising when it's folded to you on the button or cutoff, you have to understand that you're stealing, not playing for value.

[Dadswell]

To all the nits in here, if all you're raising with is AQ+ on the button you are going to be very easy to play against.

[TheBlueMonster]

[ QUOTE ]
To all the nits in here, if all you're raising with is AQ+ on the button you are going to be very easy to play against.

[/ QUOTE ]
you've missed the point. People are mostly critical about raising only 3x the BB after limpers. It's almost as ineffective as minraising from the BB when everyone has limped in.