UTG raises

[Absolution]

I tend to fold in most of these situations, but what are your plays in these situations:

UTG or UTG+1 raises, fold to you in MP with KQ...
KQo? AJo, AJs, AQo, KJs? 88?

Same hands and situation, but now someone calls in between...
Same hands and situation, but now you're in the BB.

Does this change if villian is
a) unknown
b) typical 50/4/1
c) 30/10/2

[Charles Richter]

UTG raises and I'm in MP.

For an unknown player here I 3-bet AQ, AJs, 88, maybe KQs, maybe KQ, maybe AJo.

For the other two players I'm not sure I 3-bet any, probably AQ vs. the 30/10.

[Genesis]

Purely read based.

If he raises a lot of hands (~15%+) then I 3bet, if not then I fold w/KQo, AJo, 88.

I always 3bet w/AQo, AJs, KJs.

If someone calls in between, I would usually dump KQo, AJo. I call w/88 and KJs. I 3bet w/AQo and AJs.

In the BB I would at least call with all of them, probably 3betting w/AQo and AJs.

[Nick C]

Well, here's what I generally do in MP when it's an UTG raise to me:

KQo = fold
AJo = 3-bet or fold
AJs = 3-bet
AQo = 3-bet
KJs = fold
88 = 3-bet

The reason I consider folding the AJo is that it's an UTG raise. Also, I think AJo is kind of marginal versus a non-steal, even in 6-max. I don't have any numbers to back that up, but that's the sense I get.

If there's a caller in between, it gets trickier. (Apparently I'm in the CO now?) I probably still 3-bet the AQo. KQo I still fold. I probably dump the AJo as well. With the AJs, I'd either cold-call or 3-bet. With the 88, I'd 3-bet, I guess. I'm tempted to cold-call instead, though, especially if the blinds are super-loose. Probably I still fold the KJs, although the thought of cold-calling crosses my mind before I do it.

In the BB, for better or worse, I play all of these HU versus an UTG raise. I don't 3-bet a whole lot in that spot -- maybe with the 88 and AQo I would, or occasionally with the others if I was in the mood to. (With the 88, though, sometimes what I'll try is calling and then checkraising a flop that I like.)

Versus the 50/4/1 player you describe, I think you can fold all of these hands in MP versus an UTG raise, though I guess I probably wouldn't fold the 88 in practice. The same is true if there's a caller in between, but 88 and AJs might be worth a cold-call if the blinds are loose. In the BB, I probably dump all but the 88, AQ, and AJs if I'm confident about that 50/4/1 (and don't think that 4 PFR is somewhat random -- that is, if Villain limps hands like AA/KK, then playing becomes more of an option in any of the positions you describe).

Versus the 30/10/2, my answers are probably about the same as the first ones I gave, although I'd like for the PFR percentage to be a little higher, really.

By the way, 50/4/1 doesn't seem at all typical to me, so it's possible that you play at tables that are more passive, on average, than the late-night 5/10 LAG tables I tend to play.

Also, I'm not an expert on preflop standards for 6-max, so I'm not confident all of my answers are best.

Whew!

[Caddy_4_Life]

My recommendations are very similar to NickC.

-Caddy

[bobhalford]

I'm generally 3-betting or folding these preflop outside of the blinds. Depends on my image and villain's image. I don't really cold call with AJs or AQ unless I'm in the BB. I like just calling with KJs/88/AJo/KQ in the BB. With AQ or AJs, I might 3-bet from the BB versus a loose raiser, even with a player in between. This is perhaps a marginal play, but I like to take the initiative preflop with hands I'm not all that fond of, but that are worth playing.

[Absolution]

I don't play that high, and you see at lot more loose passives at the lower limits. I see a lot of players that just want to play every hand and generally only raise with superior hands (TT+/AJ+). I have found that I get in trouble in these games by following aggressive shorthanded advice because I'm not adjusting to the reluctancy of them to raise preflop. I have a feeling that most of the hands I listed are either dominated, 40/60 underdogs (or more) or 50/50. I rarely see a guy with a pfr over 10 at the limits I play, and if I do it's usually above 20. Even AQo starts to look sketchy against some of these guys. My typical table is mostly the 50/4/1s, with usually one guy around 34/10/2. Even the TAGS tend to be 22/8/2. So basically, even the somewhat aware opponents are either still play too many hands or not enough and are almost always too tight with their raises. I don't know why I even said UTG because honestly, most are barely aware of position and those that are think the button is any 2. So, at the lower limits of 6-max I'm tending to give more credit until proven otherwise (whereas for you it might be the opposite). Once I see a guy isolate with A3o or come in for a bet with QJo, then he's fair game. I think these stats should also let me fold more to raises on the turn, but I'm too afraid of meta problems to do it as often as I should (I think it sticks out like a sore thumb at these games when an aggressor actually folds to a raise).