Trying to vary my play...

[pjcmt]

BTW, when CJ refers to OP, he couldn't mean Opie from Maybury, could he?

[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.

[ProfessorBen]

Raise preflop, raise flop. If you want to vary your play, you should raise more hands, not less.

[dafreak]

there is nothing wrong with being an ABC player when you are playing low limit holdem, especially when you are still winning big pots and taking money from people who will play any two cards. This is low limit holdem. There is no reason to get all fancy and tricky.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
"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

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this quote a lot. Unfortunately the quote is like putting rocket fuel in a Yugo, the concept is 100% correct but when misapplied the results will be worthless. The OP has misapplied the concept unfortunately.... and the results are not good. At this stage he should be focused on straight ABC play, maximizing his return through value betting. When ABC play becomes second nature, then its time to start adjusting further.

PS: I really love that quote... its so dangerous in the wrong hands!

[Cactus Jack]

I do, too. It was one of those enlightening moments when I said, Ah HA!

It really kicks into high gear in NL. Occasionally limping AA UTG in NL rocks. Limping AA in limit is a death wish. Just one of the many differences between the two games.

Playing AJo in EP, whether limping or raising is -EV for most people most times, imho. Lost in space. ABC poker would deem it a fold, I think.

Playing ABC poker in low limit hold'em will win money, true, but who wants to play low limit hold'em forever? The point is to learn how to play the game well at the least cost possible. If you are winning with ABC, then exploring DEF isn't a bad thing. It's a very good thing.

OP is to be commended for trying, and for posting. It's the right thing to do.

[Gnome XXL]

[ QUOTE ]
It really kicks into high gear in NL. Occasionally limping AA UTG in NL rocks. Limping AA in limit is a death wish. Just one of the many differences between the two games.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm a new player, so don't mind the stupid question. I've played more NL than limit, and have been doing a lot of studying both books and forums.

Why is limping AA in limit a death wish?

[Xhad]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is limping AA in limit a death wish?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't say it's a "death wish" but it is usually missing value for no reason. The payoff isn't nearly as much as in NL because it's not like you can limp for $1, see someone raise to $5 and then reraise him for much more, instead it's you limp for $1, someone raises to $2 and you raise him to a whopping $3. It's not universally horrible but you generally need nonstandard table conditions to do it.

[PokrLikeItsProse]

[ QUOTE ]
I should have been more clear as to where I was varying my play. I can see how limping with AJo in an online 8/16 game is a mistake but that wasn't what I was thinking about in varying my play. Normally I would have 3-bet the flop with top pair top kicker. I wanted to try waiting until the turn when the bet size doubles. Mistake or correct play?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that it is reasonable strategy. However, I think that you made a mistake in three-betting the turn. The bet and raise ahead of you is often someone saying he can beat top pair, although you still may need to at least call there. You committed yourself to the strategy of raising on the turn once you flopped TPTK and didn't re-evaluate based on the turn action.