pretty good cards in early position

How do you guys play cards like AQ AJ KQs from early position? Mid to late position in a pot that hasn't been raised yet I tend to raise them. I noticed on my poker tracker stats that I lose most money from early position and I think It's probably because I'm still raising these types of hands from there. Or maybe I'm just playing too many of these hands from early position.

Would limping from here be a better option? Or am I better off just folding and waiting for better position? I understand that there are no set rules and that table aggression and things like that must be taken into account but any input would help me make better decisions at the table.

I'm just looking to plug the holes in my game and the advice I read on here is normally really good. I haven't posted much but I've been a regular reader for a while

I think you will lose the most money from early position no matter what you do. That's just how it should work. I would personally fold KQ and AJ from early position. With AQ, I would normally put in a raise. In this specific instance, the reason I don't want to play AJ in early position is because I don't know what others' preflop action is. I'm not quite as concerned about playing AJ postflop against one opponent out of position, but it's too easy for one of the other 7 or 8 random hands to be something that beats AJ.

With AQ, I'm more comfortable as it is significantly easier to play postflop.

My answers are based on how I play at FR (9-handed) games.

I fold AJ/KQ from the 1st 2 positions and generally fold AQo as well. If the table is playing super tight and I have a great image I might occasionally play AQo/AJ from EP but it's pretty rare. I also generally fold small pairs from EP.

For a little balance I will open from EP with suited connectors a little less than 1/3 the time.

I do NOT open limp!

Thanks guys. I think I've been playing these kinds of hands too much from early position.

I never limp from early position unless I have a small pocket pair. These I limp or call a small raise from any position because when they hit trips you generally get paid big time. I can't even count the number of times I've seen someone with AK hit an ace on the flop and bet aggresively at it only for someone to raise and the AK go all in. It must be the micro limits I play but it more than makes up for the times I miss the flop and fold them

Im playing them the same as WV.

Fold all but AQs

I think the best way to play AJ, AQ, KQ in early position is to simply call and see if enyone raises after you. Also it' s very important if you' re stack is big or short. I only raise in early position AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT. For me AQ never works in early position, AJ is good.

It depends on the table, but if you're going to enter a pot from EP, I think it's generally best to bet out rather than limp. When you decide to play them, holdings like AJ and KQ will still end up out of position against better hands since they won't fold. But you'll know that the range you're facing is stronger than if you had limped, and you can proceed accordingly once you see the flop.

Are pocket nines a raise in early positon guys?

I play 6 max and have nothing great to add the best way to play these types of hands but one thing I can add is that if you are losing money in any position other than the blinds there is a problem that is fixable. You may, and should, make less money the further from the button you get but considering you could fold every hand and be even, you shouldnt be losing money even UTG.

it is my opinion that you should have a standard raise for each position...regardless of cards especially when its the open raise...also, it makes a big difference if it is a cash game or an MTT...in an mtt you would need to consider many things such as :how many blinds do i have left? how many people till the bubble? what is my stack in relation to the big stacks at the table? and many others...oh and, fold AJ please for the love of god...fold AJ

gl to you
wooter

Yeah fold those preflop. To the one person that said you should lose the most from EP if you're a winning player you should be winning the least from EP but still winning. If you're losing from EP you can just fold 100% and not lose anymore. Or just fold all but AA and open jam that.

edit: guess I missed widowmaker's post, what he said

Generally yes

Some interesting points. I've definately tightened up my early position starting hands. I'll see how much of a difference it makes over a period of time. If I'm entering the pot though I'm raising from any position.

As for pocket nines, I treat them the same as small pocket pairs and try to see a cheap flop from any position, I probably wouldn't raise them. I make more money from limping small pairs and hitting a set. At the micros people stack all the time with top pair. It's insane

The odds of hitting the set are against you -- significantly. Perhaps it's better to try to win the hand pre-flop (or at least thin the field down) with a healthy raise every now and then?

that's a good point, I decided to try raising small pairs from later positions to take down the pot there and then. If I'm called by anyone and miss the flop, depending on the number of players I'll probably c-bet and either take the pot down or check it to the end. So far this seems to be working well for me.

when you have two high cards, i think that it is always good to raise preflop, because if you let too many limpers into the pot, odds are one of them will end up getting a better hand than you