IntenseHeat
Legend
Bronze Level
Generally, I wouldn't say that there's anything wrong with making a 5x call with A-Q. But you know the members here always like to say that it depends. In this case it depends on what type of player this guy is and what he's shown you so far. Has he been passive up to that point? I don't mean inactive. I mean limping, flat calling, hesitant to initiate any action. When that kind of player suddenly opens up for 5x, it could definitely indicate that he is very strong there.
You have some players who value their chips in relation to their stack size and not relative to the blinds. To me 5x is 5x when the blinds are 10/20 and it's 100 or when the blinds are 100/200 and it's 1000. But some players will raise to 5x when the blinds are 10/20, but will only raise to 2x with the same hand when the blinds are 100/200.
Then you have player that are just super aggressive, to the point of being overly aggressive. Being an aggressive player, I respect aggression. But some people get carried way with it. They don't know how to pick their spots. Instead they constantly try to run the table over. It works too, that is until someone looks them up. For example, I was in a game last week. It was still pretty early. I had open to 3x from MP with K-10 suited. The player behind me re-popped it up to 12x. After action folded back around to me, I folded and let him take it down. The next hand was folded around to him and he open raised to 7x. At that point I knew he was just a super aggressive player. A couple hands later I raised with A-Q and was again re-raised to close to 12x. I called and flopped top two pair. I bet and he called on the flop. I bet, he raised, and I called on the turn. I checked to him on the river, both hoping that he would bet for me and not wanting him to fold if I bet. Instead he checked behind me. I took the pot down with my two pair and won a decent pot. But almost as valuable was the information that I gained. Because the hand had gone to showdown everyone was able to look at the hand history and see that he had 3-bet me with A-7 off. From there it was just a matter of time, Either he was going to slow down or he was going to have a short tourney.
That's why I say calling 5x pre with A-Q is fine. But, with nothing invested in the pot yet, folding it and keeping an eye on this guy is an acceptable option, especially when one of those other players that sees his raise as only a small portion of their stack, instead of five times the blind, will probably make the call. All you have to do is pay attention.
You have some players who value their chips in relation to their stack size and not relative to the blinds. To me 5x is 5x when the blinds are 10/20 and it's 100 or when the blinds are 100/200 and it's 1000. But some players will raise to 5x when the blinds are 10/20, but will only raise to 2x with the same hand when the blinds are 100/200.
Then you have player that are just super aggressive, to the point of being overly aggressive. Being an aggressive player, I respect aggression. But some people get carried way with it. They don't know how to pick their spots. Instead they constantly try to run the table over. It works too, that is until someone looks them up. For example, I was in a game last week. It was still pretty early. I had open to 3x from MP with K-10 suited. The player behind me re-popped it up to 12x. After action folded back around to me, I folded and let him take it down. The next hand was folded around to him and he open raised to 7x. At that point I knew he was just a super aggressive player. A couple hands later I raised with A-Q and was again re-raised to close to 12x. I called and flopped top two pair. I bet and he called on the flop. I bet, he raised, and I called on the turn. I checked to him on the river, both hoping that he would bet for me and not wanting him to fold if I bet. Instead he checked behind me. I took the pot down with my two pair and won a decent pot. But almost as valuable was the information that I gained. Because the hand had gone to showdown everyone was able to look at the hand history and see that he had 3-bet me with A-7 off. From there it was just a matter of time, Either he was going to slow down or he was going to have a short tourney.
That's why I say calling 5x pre with A-Q is fine. But, with nothing invested in the pot yet, folding it and keeping an eye on this guy is an acceptable option, especially when one of those other players that sees his raise as only a small portion of their stack, instead of five times the blind, will probably make the call. All you have to do is pay attention.
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