I have a pretty general question for everyone.
In what circumstances will you play hands like Ax, KQ, KJ, QJ, JT, etc?

EP/MP/LP/SB/BB?
Do they have to be suited?
Only in unraised pots?
Do you limp, do you raise?
Only against loose players? Tight players?
Heads up? Multi pot?

I'm talking NL tourneys here...

These are really general rules and I'll break all of them regularly in certain circumstances, context is everything.

Axs < ATs I'll only open with and raise as a sort of steal with value in mid late position

I'll limp Axs if the blinds are low with others limping ahead of me (hopefully two, but one will usually do) and ideally I'd like late position.

Irexes doesn't play Axo < AJ it leads to badness.

KQ I'll fold to any preflop aggression whatsoever. But I'll raise in LP as a semi-steal and limp with others (cause I can get away from a Kxx flop if I have to)

KJ - I'd like limpers and position.

QJ - I prefer to KJ

JT - great hand for mixing it up with and responding to preflop aggression.


Of course I regularly raise all sorts of garbage and lay down 99 preflop in mid position unraised quite often, so what do I know

Of course HoH vol 1 has a whole chapter on this.

IMO priority goes to:
1) position
2) suited
3) multi-way pot

Originally Posted by ypsieast

Of course HoH vol 1 has a whole chapter on this.

My HOH's are on the way from Amazon.com

in nl cash game, i tend to limp with KQ KJ QJ A10 in any position, and fold it to any raise... of course, u wouldn't limp UTG or from EP with KQ KJ QJ A10 at a very aggressive table where the hands are raised over 35% of the time preflop.

I tend to play AXs from MP or LP when theres at least 1-2 limpers PF.
KQ KJ QJ A10, i tend to raise on the button or CO. (most of the time its a min raise), and therefore will usually get u a free card on the flop if u dont pair up, and its checked to you. This is especially useful if u flop the FD or SD.

I never raise with these hands from the sb or the bb, due to the position.
I also never play AXo where X is 9 or less. And the only time i will play J10 is from the button or the Co, and it HAS to be suited. (this hand i just limp in with). I also like to play suited connectors 67 and up from the Button, and 109s+ from the CO. And with J10s and 67s+ i will fold them pf to any raise.

If in late position and no raise before then why not raise it up.

Keeps em thinking, and who knows might win it htere and then

These pretty much are all trouble hands. They look nice, but can really hurt you.

In early position, and depending on how the table is playing, i like limp in with these hands. raising with these hands just opens doors and invites reraises. Especially if 2 people call the reraise and you're looking down at a suited AJ. it could be a bit hard too throw it away, especially with a nice pot.

Middle position: it all depends on how the action was before me and how i can expect the action to be behind me. Not as easy to explain as it is in early or late position. Middle position is probably where i have the most trouble with these hands.

Late position: if i have almost a full table of limpers in front of me, i really dont see the reason to raise unless im holding AK or better. Raising in with a full table with QJ seems a bit silly. this is similar to raising in early positions: it opens invites for possible reraises. also, you can be looking at KJ or KQ that limped in early. If only 2 or3 people are in the hand with me, then a raise here with these hands are a good idea to narrow the field a bit more.

I dont like to think that the cards increase too much in value if they are suited. its only like a thirty-six percent chance of flopping a flush (draw) IIRC...Sure, it they are its great because if the flush does hit i have a strong hand, but when it comes to these hands...im looking to hit the top pair with a strong kicker...not raising and hoping to hit a flush.