3betting AQ

dvdfan

Never feel comfortable 3betting this hand and heres the way i look at it: (This is assuming the villain 3bets light ocassionally but not that much typical to what you get at 100nl)

1) We fold out all the hands we beat like AJ-AT and get called or 4bet by AK which were behind to.

2) If we hit Q high AA-KK is in hes range, if we hit A high AK is in hes range so are we looking to get all in on Q and A high flops or just cbet and try and get a cheap showdown if we have any resistance. Are we ever folding in these 2 circumstances on a dry board?

3) if the villain has KK-JJ and the flop comes A high hes probably shutting down and were not getting much value

So in summary by 3betting we force out hands we could get value from like AT-AJ, we build a big pot against hands were dominated or behind against and alot of the time were on a flop with Just A high. When we do hit were only getting paid off when were behind a large percentage of the time eg AK Vs AQ, KK vs AQ on Q high etc

I know from reading HH here and on 2+2 when someone has AQ facing a raise everyone says fold or 3bet, so has anyone ever put any taught into wheter it really is a good hand to 3bet with or is it just a play weve come to use as default. I know the whole idea of 3betting light is to get paid of when we do hit a hand but are we better of just folding these hands against a tight raiser and 3betting hands that arent dominated like PP and suited connectors, plus 50nl - 100nl dosent have many people that notice were 3betting light anyway?

Of course this dosent really apply when were in 3betting battles often at the higher levels maybe $1/$2 up but 100nl down where not many people 3bet but some do. Please tell me where my theory is wrong????

cooker3

Well there is nothing wrong with your theory per se but in general most opponants in my experience don't fulfil all those categories, lots call with far more then Aces, kings and AK, they call with lots of aces, pocket pairs, any old crap.
I had a guy last night who I 4 bet AQ against and felt happy about it because I knew his calling range was that wide.
As with anything it depends on the opponant and if the opponany fulfills all 3 of your criteria of why not to 3 bet it then don't 3 bet it but in general there are lots of players who don't fulfill it.

Primewise

Your logic is correct IMO, its very dangerous to 3bet a tight player because you're often find yourself dominated if called.


Better to flat call in position though because tight players still raise with AJ, A10, KQ etc. You don’t want him to fold these hands.


3betting would be ok if your opponent is likely to call very lightly

cooker3

Here is a question I was thinking about tonight.

You raise on the button with AQs, you are say 25/24 and have been 3/4 betting lightly, guy on the bb is also very aggro and 3 bets lightly and he knows that you can have any 2. He 3 bets you, now you happen to know his calling/pushing range is only QQ+ but his 3 bet range is huge, pretty much ATC.
What is the best play?

dvdfan

Primewise wrote:

Your logic is correct IMO, its very dangerous to 3bet a tight player because you're often find yourself dominated if called.


Better to flat call in position though because tight players still raise with AJ, A10, KQ etc. You don’t want him to fold these hands.


3betting would be ok if your opponent is likely to call very lightly

Yeah i would prefer calling in position against a tight player as long hes not likely to double barrell then ill call a flop bet, fold to a 2nd barrell or check the turn, and call river or value bet river, is this a weak line to take? OOP i think i would just fold otherwise you can get into a whole lot of trouble

dvdfan

cooker3 wrote:

Here is a question I was thinking about tonight.

You raise on the button with AQs, you are say 25/24 and have been 3/4 betting lightly, guy on the bb is also very aggro and 3 bets lightly and he knows that you can have any 2. He 3 bets you, now you happen to know his calling/pushing range is only QQ+ but his 3 bet range is huge, pretty much ATC.
What is the best play?

Its only midday:D your thinking ahead.

4 betting is not an option so assuming 100bb deep id just flat call as hes OOP on the flop, i can then choose to take my free card if need be and obviously push any A or Q high flop or FD on the flop. Hes going to get himself into a whole lot of trouble doing this OOP. I guess these are the situations higher stakes players come up against alot so they might be able to answer it better.

cooker3

dvdfan wrote:

Its only midday:D your thinking ahead.

It's 4am where I am

Bandana boy

at 100NL i am pretty happy to get all in with AQ I think there is about 6 players at that level who fold Ax pre flop to a 3 bet

phantom_lord

cooker3 wrote:

Here is a question I was thinking about tonight.

You raise on the button with AQs, you are say 25/24 and have been 3/4 betting lightly, guy on the bb is also very aggro and 3 bets lightly and he knows that you can have any 2. He 3 bets you, now you happen to know his calling/pushing range is only QQ+ but his 3 bet range is huge, pretty much ATC.
What is the best play?

4bet obv.