TPTK in general
 

Something that I have had a problem with when I started out playing NL is getting too crazy with TPTK. I would think that having AQ on a Q high board meant giving the thumbs-up for going all-in. Fortunately, I have toned down the action a bit after reading a lot of posts on 2+2 and some NL books. I have read that TPTK is an good holding, but not outstanding. It especially helps if you are in position. It is even easier to play with specific reads and known player tendencies. Obviously, HU would be optimal, but it could be played against 2 people frequently.

My main concern with TPTK deals with my play when sitting down early at a table without any reads on other players. I have read in some posts that it may be better to err on the side of caution when you don't have any reads. However, how far do you take this? I guess the best way to get my point across is to use an example. I will use an example against two other players since it involves a little more strategy.

<font color="blue">You just sat down at a table, have played a few hands, and you don't have any reads. Assume the effective stack is 80BB. You are on the button looking at AQo. Two people limp in front of you. You decide to raise it up to 6BB. The blinds fold and both limpers call. The pot is around 20BB. The flop comes Q84r. The first limper checks and the second limper opens for 18BB.</font>

What is the best course of action here? Let's say you raise. How much do you raise? If you raise to 36BB, you are putting almost half your stack into the pot. Doesn't this commit you to the pot? What about going all-in? The open-raiser has something on this dry board or he wouldn't have bet so much. Let's say you decide to call. Doesn't that show weakness and set you up for an all-in bet by an aware opponent on the turn?

Until recently, I would play my hands without taking into consideration the possible consquences of my actions. Here, I would have put in a significant raise. But lately, I have been trying to determine my pot commitment earlier in the hand than on the turn or river. This example is just one area where I feel I don't have a good grasp on correct playing strategy. Any comments on this topic and the example I provided are appreciated.

Re: TPTK in general
 

Good question, I've been struggling with this as well.

Any input would be appreciated.

Re: TPTK in general
 

Even if in your example he was leading into you with a set of 4s or 8s, I'm still raising this up to like 42BB and ready to call a push given the stack sizes. You will see weaker Qs and sometimes TT JJ...Overall this is a crappy spot, with bigger stacks I would call and re-evaluate, interested in others approach

Re: TPTK in general
 

Well, maybe I'm oversimplifying here, but:

On a board this dry, villain has at most four outs, and probably no more than two or three, so protecting our hand is not a concern. Given that fact, I think calling has to be better than raising. If we're wanting to get value from a weaker hand, shoving the flop looks stronger than calling and shoving a checked turn. (And villain might shove the turn for us anyway.)

That, of course, is assuming we want to get all-in. We may not want to do that. I'm honestly not sure.