Defense against ep (FR)

Hi! i was trying to figure out what to do against tight ep that play sthng like 77+, aq and my conclusion was that i cant really defend w kjs or aTs and sometimes aqo, so i started 3betting these though it looked incredibly awkward and tight. i could use aq as a turn bluff postflop but doing it w ak which were 16 combos already thought was enough. it may look strange that someone cant really call and defend properly w aq or ats but it felt like that to me after 25nl. i wanted to read ur opinions on that and how tight u defend against ep in fr tables. online poker is too tight and 3bet w jj and ak seems dead anymore. i think sometimes guys open TT+ and makes all aggro strategies frustrating bad. really??cant call kjs and ats??? please help!!

If they are tight in EP and they open for a raise a raise you are not required to defend your blinds. Just let them take it. 3bet when you are very strong and maybe play cautiously with mid pairs if you get a straggler in the pot. You really only want to worry about defending vs. likely steals, not vs. peoples value range.

mmmmmmmmmmmm iagree ... but rigged some times

Learn to fold.

Agree. There is no such thing as defense vs EP raise in full ring. You can flat pairs to set mine and that's it.

don't 3b hands which are good enough to call.

You asked about defending against ep open raising with 77+ (e.g., 77, 88, 99?) when you are holding KJs or ATs right? If you know that the villain's range includes middle pairs, it seems to me that you're in pretty good shape with your cards. When the flop comes with some of A, K, Q, J, or T (which it often does), especially if two are the same suit, he's going to have a tough decision what to do if you bet out right away on the flop. If he just calls, you're generally good for another bet on the turn. As long as he doesn't land his set, he's going to then have a really tough decision to make after your turn bet.

On the other hand if he re-raises you on the flop, he could have the AQ combo, in which case you just fold (unless you've got a good OESD/flush draw).

I wouldn't 3-bet and I wouldn't fold pre-flop to an open raise if I have reasonably good cards. I would just call and trust in my post plop playing skill.

Folding AQo to a tight player who raises utg is not bad play. Chances are that you are well behind since they tend to play good hands only. The only hand that you have beat is AJ, you are behind to the other hands in his/her range.

Someone above mentioned call with PP to set mine. That's pretty much all you can do other than 3betting QQ+. If you have couple more peopl who called the UTG's raise before action gets to you, suited connectors may be playable in position.