5/10 NL -- AJ faces shove

[private joker]

Live 400 NL, 5/10 blinds. It's late at night and the table is playing real wild. Routinely 7-8 to the flop, sometimes for a raise. Large pot-size bets are going in post flop and getting 2-3 callers. One guy is bluffing like crazy and showing it every time. Another guy is playing every hand and then doing fit-or-fold on the flop, never making moves.

I have about 350 in my stack, and I only cover 2 other players. Everyone else has a little more or a LOT more. 4 players limp to me on the button, and I limp with AJo (?). The SB makes a pot-building nuisance raise to 25. The BB calls 15 more, all the limpers call including me (?).

7 to the flop, pot=175.

Flop comes A74r. The SB checks, the BB checks, the bluffer checks, and a quietish player in MP -- one of the two guys I have covered -- shoves quickly and forcefully for 195. Folded back to me.

I'm pretty sure he raises AK/AQ preflop (well not sure about AQ, but he would have raised AK second in), and I think he's the type to slowplay a flopped set on a dry board. A7 and A4 are in his range, but I doubt 74s is. He hasn't been playing THAT loose, even though he likes to limp into a lot of pots. He can have AT-A2 as well, and possibly 65 though I haven't played with him long enough to know if he'd make this move.

Now, about the 3 to act behind me: SB is straight-forward, and his preflop raise felt like a KQs/JTs type hand. He either totally missed this flop or has AA. BB is the fit-or-fold donk. The other guy is the aggressive player who's been bluffing a lot, but he hasn't check-called any monsters as I've seen it.

I've got 325 left, so this is for 2/3 of my stack. Getting 2:1 on this call with 3 players behind me and the range stated for MP, what's my play here and is it close?

[Sykes]

Call for reasons you stated, I think guy would let turn peel before he pushes with A7 for the same reasons he would with a set, this is either A4 or a AT or less..

[DeathDonkey]

This is a tough one I think but I would consider just shoving preflop when it comes back to you, that's a really good squeeze spot.

-DeathDonkey

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]
This is a tough one I think but I would consider just shoving preflop when it comes back to you, that's a really good squeeze spot.

-DeathDonkey

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting, I was considering other preflop action, but not shoving when it came back to me. Isn't that just a variance-increasing play, given this game texture? I'm going to get called fairly often, and when I do I'll be 50/50 against an underpair, 60/40 against a stubborn KQs, or dominated when AK/AQs picks me off.

But I guess your response would be that the pot has already swelled to 150 and with 350 behind the risk-reward is in my favor. That play is too sophisticated for me at this point in my game. I still feel like I did when I was learning 2/4 limit in 2003.

[Man of Means]

I am on board with the limp/shove in this situation.

Hero's stack is at 40BB which is short enough that you'll be all-in with a good hand pretty quickly. So getting it in preflop with AJ against a player raising ("pot-building") a wide range is perfectly fine. He's not going to put you on AA-QQ but he will fold fairly often. I don't think anyone else has anything, they called small bets twice.

And even when you're called by original raiser there's a good overlay - you're 40/60 or 50/50 but with all the dead money you both profit. The only thing you have to worry about is running into a big pocket pair...but most players hate playing those against a large field OOP.

[James.]

first thing i thought of was squeezing pf when it came back around.

but:

are we getting called by anything but a better hand?

is it worth nullifying our postflop position in a bloated pot?

are these gambooolers with the big stacks really NOT calling us often enough for it to be the best play?

we have a small enough stack that if you're squeezing, i guess you have to shove. it just doesn't feel right. and by doesn't feel right, i mean given the stacksizes i don't know that it's the most profitable play with AJo OTB.

just asking.

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
This is a tough one I think but I would consider just shoving preflop when it comes back to you, that's a really good squeeze spot.

-DeathDonkey

[/ QUOTE ]

i was thinking this when i read the description of the hand, there's like half your stack in the pot already and you probably have the best hand

[private joker]

Funny thing happened tonight. I was playing 3/5 (300 buy-in) at HG after my 20/40 session (I've taken to playing like 4 hours of limit and then a couple hours of NL just for practice).

I overlimped with 77, a few more players limped, and some terrible player who was on tilt from the last hand fired in a raise from the SB to 50. The BB called 50, and there was a fold and it was back to me. I decided I had the best hand, and even if I didn't only AA and KK can call a push, and this thread was going through my mind so I did the ol' squeeze and shoved (I had SB covered, he had 200 behind after his raise). SB sighed and called, and BB folded, and SB showed KK. He said he was sure I had aces and almost folded.

I didn't get lucky. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
Funny thing happened tonight. I was playing 3/5 (300 buy-in) at HG after my 20/40 session (I've taken to playing like 4 hours of limit and then a couple hours of NL just for practice).

I overlimped with 77, a few more players limped, and some terrible player who was on tilt from the last hand fired in a raise from the SB to 50. The BB called 50, and there was a fold and it was back to me. I decided I had the best hand, and even if I didn't only AA and KK can call a push, and this thread was going through my mind so I did the ol' squeeze and shoved (I had SB covered, he had 200 behind after his raise). SB sighed and called, and BB folded, and SB showed KK. He said he was sure I had aces and almost folded.

I didn't get lucky. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

50 is not a pot building nuisance raise at 3/5

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]


50 is not a pot building nuisance raise at 3/5

[/ QUOTE ]

True, but his range was still pretty wide. People were making these kinds of raises with much weaker hands that night.