A Preflop Poll

[Ringmaster]

J9o > 43s, pretty close
A6o > 96s, very close
KQo > A8s, not close
T9s > ATo, very close
98o > K2o, not close

[carnivalhobo]

J9 not close
96s close
A8s close
T9s meh
98o close

[KingGordy]

I agreed with the majority in all 10 choices

J9 pretty close
96s not close
KQo close
T9s, not close
98o not close

[ConfusedAgain]

It looks like deception and the chance of a c bet taking it down when you don't hit out weigh the better starting showdown hand.

[orange]

1-J9o. I think this hand is better based purely off pair value. I also think that straight value is better as well (ie. most hands that we make straights with enable stronger 2ps from him/etc).

2-96s fairly close. A6o has better pair value (obv w. the Ace since most players won't defend with stuff like A8 and the like). i still like 96s for deception though.

3-another tough Q. A8s is pretty nice, though it depends on the players in the blinds- if we are targetting a fish, i think that KQ is infinitely better (just for pure pair value alone). (there was a Q in HSNL a bit back on the hands you would want in a 4-bet pot and many said KJo).

4-T9s very close imo. Again, it sortve depends on players, and against a taggy utg open, many won't defend with stuff like AJ (though sometimes). still, i like having a fairly wide opening range.

5-98o not really close. i like this hand much better than K2.

[catcher193]

I'm suprised at 44/48 not/pretty for question 1, right after I made it I was like "thats dumb" its obv J9.

I'm also interested in arguments for the votes of K2o from the SB, I kinda think this is closer than most think but I can't come up with a good argument. (I still like 98 but barely)

I think A8s starts to trump KQo from MP as you go higher in limits and the games get tougher.
KQo is good for fishy/easy games where as,
A8s is good for flopping nut-draws that you can defend with your stack, and 4 bet shoving in agressive battles (with ~35% equity against almost all calling ranges.)

[yad]

1. J9o, not really that close. You're just going to flop a good pair that you can get value from much more often. Plus you've got reasonable straight/2 pair possibilities on boards that villains will tend to connect with also.

2. 96s, not close. A6o is just garbage as you are never really getting value from worse postflop except against a totally donkey. Not that 96s is great shakes either, but it's not total garbage.

3. KQo, not close. Same reason as above. A8s can make some decent draws, true, but you will tend to be OOP with them so I'd much rather just have a good top-pair type hand.

4. I prefer ATo here, but it's close. T9s just doesn't really play well OOP. I mean I'll raise it obviously, but from UTG it's not so fantastic. Whereas I'll get value from worse aces all day with ATo.

5. 98o, close. They both kinda stink IMO but I'm not great at these blind battles.

[BigPoppa]

If this was an MTT and I'm shoving any 2 from the SB, I want K2o for high card value.

In a cash game, I instamuck it.

[fitnessfreak]

J9 not close
96s close
KQ very close
T9s close
98o close

[Noam Chomsky]

J9o This seems like the clearest choice to me. It's got a lot of the same value as the 34s but with added pair/showdown value. I open both depending on the blinds but J9o is much preferred.

96s this is somewhat close, I guess, I mean I open both depending on the table but I personally just don't like the way Ax plays post flop, especially at lower limits where people are defending with A(7-9) a lot.

KQo This one is fairly close. Again, the Ax hands lose their value at the lower limits I think where by you get people defending with any ace and not folding many pairs post so you lose a lot of bluff equity with your draws.

T9s thought it's pretty close Again, depending on the table I open both, I think the T is where you really start to get to the point of being able to get value out of a lot of lower limit players who are defending with the smaller Ax hands but T9s just looks prettier.


[ QUOTE ]
I'm also interested in arguments for the votes of K2o from the SB, I kinda think this is closer than most think but I can't come up with a good argument. (I still like 98 but barely)

[/ QUOTE ]

I picked both K2 and 98 simply b/c I generally open about 85% of the time it's folded to me in the sb until the bb decides to play back more than just calling pre and folding to my c-bet.