[Buzz]

Hi Big Dave - I think it's fine to disagree. I appreciate, as always, your well expressed point of view.

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But your expressed initial sentiment was, I felt, a little misleading.

[/ QUOTE ]I didn't mean it to be misleading. I agreed with your assessment (standard) - but then it seemed to me there might be a better way to play the hand.
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And I still don't think we are seeing eye to eye on just how important winning the blinds uncontested actually is.

[/ QUOTE ]I agree that we're not seeing eye to eye on this issue. Not at all.

If we're going to win the blinds uncontested, we might as well be holding 2-2-2-2 as A-2-T-J with the ace suited to the deuce. It would feel good to me to win the blinds uncontested with 2-2-2-2. Even with A-2-7-8-rainbow it would feel good winning the blinds. But with A-2-T-J-(suited ace) it would feel disappointing to not get more. We might not be able to get more with the A2TJ hand, but I would want to give it a try.

To be honest, I think sometimes (holding this hand) we would have a better chance to win more with a pre-flop raise. For example, if I thought a pre-flop raise would get me heads-up with a buffoon in the small blind who would defend his small blind, then (holding this hand) I would advocate raising before the flop.

But that's not the impression I had here.

Buzz