Since it's early, I'd make the same raise I'd make with AQ or AK. Chipping up early gives enough advantage to make it worth taking a shot here. If I flop an ace, I probably have the best hand. If I catch a jack to go with, most people will think I don't have AJ, and I might burn somebody else with 2-pair for their whole stack.
If somebody raises preflop, I let it go. Although this loses me a standard raise, it could pay off later when I get a better hand, and people think they can scare me off with a raise.
when the blinds are that low and no one has made a raise preflop, dont even consider folding that hand. WHEN YOU HAVE POSITION
when the blinds are that low and no one has made a raise preflop, dont even consider folding that hand. If it always gets you into trouble, at least see a flop and if nothing good comes out of the hand, then fold. If you fold hands like AJ when the blinds are that low, what hands will you play?
IMO thats flawed thinking.
By opening up your early position range, people will reraise you more.
Its all too easy to think.. well thaths good when I have AA or KK
The fact is the reason people will reraise you more is that statistically you will not have it all that often. So If you open in early position with 88+ AJs+ KQs AQo Then a savy player will throw in the occasional reraise because more than half of your range cannot take a 3bet. If you call/raise here you narrow your range greatly, making postflop easier for your opponent.
Others will call you as you are OOP for the entire hand and this is probably the biggest flaw in playing more hands in EP. You play more often with no positianal advantage over others.
The reason to play tight in EP is simply because you don't have any position on anyone. HEM is a very positional orientated game. Therefore the only hands you should choose to play OOP are ones where position is not a huge factor.
i.e. bigger pairs, AK, AQs
Even when you hold AA in early position, you are less likely to make as much money from it as if you had the same hand in late position.
Please tell me where people play A2 through 3 rounds of betting for real moneyOne of the main problems with AJ, is it dosent fair all that well on an A high board.
Example 1 You raise in EP with AJ. You get 3 bet.. you call.
The board is A 9 6. You c-bet. You get reraised.. how do you feel about AJ?
Example 2. You limp in early with AJ. You get raised 5BB by the button. You call. (you havent removed AA, AK, AQ from his range)
So how do you feel about AJ of the same board of A 9 6?
Well you may say .. 'OK im behind to AA AK and AQ, but Im way ahead of all other aces'
But this isnt true. Some of the low Aces will have made 2pair.
So you are behind AA AK AQ +4 Ax hands that made 2 pair.
You tie with AJ
There are 13 Ace hands.
On the flop you are behind 5, tie with 1 and beat 7 of them
On the turn you are behind 6, tie with 1 and beat only 6 of them.
By the river, you are behind 7 of them, tie with one and beat only 5 of them.
So you are slightly ahead on the flop, break even on the turn and slightly behind on the river.
Now consider what people will do when you bet.
The higher Aces may call 1 bet assuming that your flop bet may be with a low ace or with air, so when a T or an 8 comes.. that could be 2 pair.
If they fold, then they did not have an ace.. so the fact that you had one is irrelivent.
If they play back at you, you are not far enough ahaead of their Ace range (all aces preflop.. but AK,AQ,AJ and maybe AT plus 2 pair Aces).
Infact once the betting starts, there is only one hand that you beat, an unpaired AT.. and that will probably fold if you be into it.
So in essence AJ on an A high board is really only good as a bluff catcher.
i normally limp with aj in early position and fold to a reraise coz its to easily beat thats just my opinion though
fold