NL 25 FR (9-handed) UTG

[Qar]

Greetings,

My first post here. A beautiful forum, thank you for all the fine posts.

My question is playing from the UTG or 2. position at a 9H table. Do you play (raise?) AQo, AQs? How about small pocket pairs? 22?

Thank you in advance.

[Mike Kelley]

I fold AQ probably 50% of the time from UTG and Raise small PP's 85% of the time with a limp now and then.

[wulfpacker21]

AQs some of the time

but it mostly depends on how the table is

[Teddie]

Ugh, folding AQ seems so [censored] nitty.

[Qar]

I sort of agree,it does feel bad to fold AQ. AJ is a fold, but AQ...somewhere there in-between.

[Larude]

Yeah isn't the difference between AQ and AK a littlebit exaggarated? Most people will threebet AK so we can get rid pretty easily of AQ in that case. There would have to be special circumstances to let me fold AQ preflop on a ninehanded table (very tough opponents).

[TheRedRocket]

Alot depends on your image and what else you are raising UTG. If you are raising most pp's for example then I think raising AQ is going to be profitable. You'll get even semi solid players calling with weaker Axs or KQ and paying off or pp's then folding to a cbet. But if your only raising JJ+, AK as well it becomes much tougher and is closer to a fold.

I don't think limping AQ UTG is that bad either, you can win plenty of small to medium pots with TP against passive players who will limp any A or 2 face cards

[jhill3535]

Raising AQ UTG is fine especially at lower levels where Villians will call with dominated hands. Raising small pairs from EP is also fine, you are looking to win the pot with a c-bet or make a set against bad villian's top pair/overpair. Usually you will want to fold both to a preflop 3 bet unless you are getting really good implied odds and you are fairly confident that the 3bettor will stack off with top pair or an over pair.

[FreshMeat]

i raise AQ AJ KQ all from UTG and i dont see any reason not to. i play 25 NL and the avergae players call pfr range is prolly any PP, any two cards 9 or higher, any connector, any suited ace or king.... not only that but alot of people dont RR with good hands like JJ, QQ, so you get a chance to draw out on them on flop. Cbets work alot of the time at this level so you get some money on the flop there. also, players rarely semibluff RR you pf with trash so when you get RR'ed it is an easy fold.

DO NOT just limp with these hands and then call raises. that is worse than folding! like say you limp UTG AQ and some folds then CO or button raises, folded back to you... what do you do? fold? no, he could be raising with any hand so you think call... then you miss flop 70% of the time and then what? check and then fold possibly the best hand....

and do not open fold these hands. this isnt a game populated by tight players where players are more likely to have good hands and play well. this is DONKEYKONG poker and these hands are profitable even in EP with a raise.

as for PP's i limp because i like sets in multiway pots. and pp's play well OOP against raises pf. if i was in LP i would raise with small PP's hoping to take pot on flop with cbet.

[Mike Kelley]

[ QUOTE ]
Ugh, folding AQ seems so [censored] nitty.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just looked at my pokertracker stats for AQ in UTG. It's not about being nitty it's about winning more money. I raise aggressively and CB aggressively and I've found AQ- to be a loser from UTG over about 50,000 hands. If you can look at your PT stats and it's winning you money over a large sample then by all means raise it up. Personally I'll play more marginal hands in position.