$2.20 NL HE MTT: Strategy discussion

[Houbi37]

I’ve been struggling with AQ offsuit in late-position opens when the big blind is very aggressive postflop. Do you guys usually open it standard, or do you sometimes tighten up depending on table dynamics?

 

[fundiver199]

This is more of a general strategy question. But barring the bubble of a satellite I can not imagine any situation, where I would open fold AQ with no action in front of me. If AQ miss the board, its not that great of a hand, and then you can check behind on the flop or fold to his donk bet. If someone is overly aggressive, then maybe you get bluffed a bit more, but you also stand to win a lot of chips, when you have a hand. So I think, the real question here is not about AQ but about missing the flop against an aggressive opponent.

 

[puzzlefish]

AQo opens normally and then it just depends on what happens on the flop. If you miss and you think your villain is being aggressive with air, you can always try a 3-bet or 4-bet. The worst is when you both miss the flop and he has AK.

 

[fundiver199]

If you miss and you think your villain is being aggressive with air, you can always try a 3-bet or 4-bet.

If we think, someone is overly aggressive, we can fold less and raise thinner for value. But typically these players dont like to give up, so attempting to bluff them is rarely a profitable strategy. Instead we should pot control and not bet in between hands, that dont want to face a check-raise. Which can definitely include a hand like AQ, when it has missed the flop. Sometimes we can then turn top pair, and other times we just make a decision, if the opponent bet. On some boards like a hand like is a pretty reasonable hand to check back the flop and call an aggressive opponents turn and river bets to catch his bluffs. Obviously he could have a full house or even quads, but there are far more hands in his range, that missed this board and are potential bluffs.

 

[puzzlefish]

If we think, someone is overly aggressive, we can fold less and raise thinner for value. But typically these players dont like to give up, so attempting to bluff them is rarely a profitable strategy. Instead we should pot control and not bet in between hands, that dont want to face a check-raise. Which can definitely include a hand like AQ, when it has missed the flop. Sometimes we can then turn top pair, and other times we just make a decision, if the opponent bet. On some boards like a hand like is a pretty reasonable hand to check back the flop and call an aggressive opponents turn and river bets to catch his bluffs. Obviously he could have a full house or even quads, but there are far more hands in his range, that missed this board and are potential bluffs.

Oh yes, it's definitely not meant to be a move that is done repeatedly for profit. I think of it more as a means of letting the villain know that I can do that sometimes, which make them reconsider always being aggressive thinking they can just walk over me with their bets.