Trying to vary my play...

[pjcmt]

Based on the feed back I received when I first joined this forum, I have been trying to vary my play and become less of an ABC player. Below is one attempt:

Typical tough online game: fairly tight with some aggressive players.
SB is 36/20/2.7 after 435 hands
BB is 35/14/1.4 after 270 hands

Full Tilt 8/16 Hold'em (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Hero calls, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (3 SB) J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB raises</font>, Hero calls, SB calls.

Turn: (4.50 BB) 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>, SB folds, BB calls.

River: (11.50 BB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
BB checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, BB calls.

Final Pot: 13.50 BB

[tyler_cracker]

i hate your open limp.

i would 3bet (or fold, i guess) the flop. your line is just going to get you pwned by better hands and fold out the ones that are way behind you.

[StrictlyStrategy]

Agree with Tyler.


For what it's worth 35/15 isn't really tight.

[Meraxes]

You wouldn't open limp AJo even at UTG+1? It's not like he open limped from MP.

[pjcmt]

From my read of SSHE by Miller an open limp from UTG+1 is the recommended play. Before joining this forum, I would always raise with top pair top kicker in this situation (ABC play) but I thought I'd go for the raise on the turn since the board wasn't too coordinated and I had position over the blinds. Where is my thinking wrong on this. BTW, the BB had 69o and took down the pot.

[Harv72b]

[ QUOTE ]
From my read of SSHE by Miller an open limp from UTG+1 is the recommended play.

[/ QUOTE ]

SSHE's preflop recommendations are from a different era in poker; they assume a table full of loose/passive types that love to make mistakes and pay you off whenever you have a hand. That is very rarely going to be the case in these 8/16 games.

As a bizarre change of pace play, I've seen worse things than openlimping AJo from EP. But I really don't like it, and I also agree with Tyler's other comment (your line only serves to lose you the most when you're behind while allowing your opponents to easily get out of the hand when you're not).

[PokrLikeItsProse]

[ QUOTE ]
From my read of SSHE by Miller an open limp from UTG+1 is the recommended play.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm on vacation, so I don't have SSHE in front of me, but...

I think that the advice for limping AJo in early position is for games which are not particularly tough, which are not tight, and which are not aggressive.

Varying your play for the sake of varying your play is silly. Are you limping just because you are trying something new, or can you explain why you think that an open limp is a good play? I'm not saying that it is a bad play (I sometimes limp there), I am just challenging you to see if you can explain why it is a good play and under what conditions you should vary your play.

[Cactus Jack]

"Vary your play by not by playing the same hands differently, but by playing different hands the same." Jesus of Ferguson

CJ--sitting with popcorn waiting to see if OP picks up Pokr's challenge

[James.]

problem with the limp is if you are raised behind you, often times you don't know where you stand. is it an aggro player attacking your open-limp or is it a legit hand raising the stakes to play? generally speaking it takes more of a hand to 3bet an UTG preflop raiser than it takes to raise an UTG open limp. so you have a couple advantages to raising preflop, not to mention AJo plays horribly multiway as opposed to 2 or 3 handed(which is the best thing you raise can accomplish, IMO).

postflop, your hand is sort of concealed. 3bet the flop.

save mixing your play for: a)heads up situations and b)people that will notice. varying just to vary isn't enough reason in itself to deviate from what will show the most immediate profit. you want to vary your play to take advantage of it later or because you played in a similar situation earlier and you are against an observant opponent. are these things true in this hand?

[pjcmt]

Thanks for all the imput guys. Playing more profitably should be my focus instead of varying my play. There are plenty of holes in my game that I can concentrate on.