Preflop question against short stacks.

I wouldn't 3-bet unless you have a hand you are willing to gii with preflop for 50bb, I don't think you want to have a 3!/fold range unless the blinds get involved. AJo is borderline in theory, but in practice I'm happy to gii with 50ish bbs because Vs are going to show up with all sorts of AT and lower, KQ, QJ etc. This is assuming this isn't the kind of guy who has been nursing a shortstack for 3 hours and pretty much only gets it in with premiums.

The problem with 3-betting big is if the blinds have deeper stacks, you are in a potentially miserable spot if either of them call or 4-bet. You don't really want to 3! to $100, then fold when the SB cold 4-bets, but you probably should. I think you'd have to be very confident that neither blind is likely to get involved before 3! big. So in this exact situation, I'd probably 3! normal around $60 so I can happily get out of the way if either blind wakes up with something, and if HJ shoves and we are HU I'm going with it. That would be my base strategy that I would adjust based on the tendencies of the players in the blinds.

I'm way more concerned about them, the guy with 50 bb isn't a concern because you aren't going to lose a lot to him preflop. We have like 40%ish equity against a reasonable range from him, so we lose like 10bb when he jams, we win 4 bb every time he folds. Against a perfect GTO strategy, calling all-in with AJo is an error of less than 2bbs. The guy sitting in the HJ with 50bbs, probably isn't playing perfect GTO, so it is probably break-even at worse and against most humans is probably profitable.

It depends on the player, if the guy is very active then AJo is fine to gii with 50 BBs but if he's at all aware this is just a bad idea.

Grunch:

I could go either way on 3B'ing or flatting pre, with a lot of the decision depending on A) how loose/passive the players in the blinds are, and B) how often I think V is going to 4B versus just flat call.

My instinct would be to 3B to get this HU and IP, but I'm just folding to a 4B. I'd rather have a hand just slightly stronger or more playable - AJs, A5s, or AQo - something that will be easier to play post-flop.

If we 3B, I'm probably just going 3x, to $60. If he calls, the pot will be $120, and he'll have $190 left, so the SPR will be really shallow. If the flop comes J-high, awesome, but if it comes A-high, we're just doubling him up if he's got AK/AQ.

So, if I'm thinking through all this pre, I might just flat call and see a flop, even if it means the blinds come in. We'll be multi-way, but last to act, and with a pot that's only $40 to $80, with $230 behind.

Folding is fine, but seems a bit nitty if V is fishy.

We'll need to start by ranging V. Typical CO RFI range (modified 23%), H is often a favorite. Get to 10% range and H is a 56/44 dog or so. So first try to figure out what your V is opening with.

I like my BU and hate folding it. Raising shrinks SPR and positional superiority. If the blinds are sticky, we're often just bloating the plot. Likely with a superior range, but still. If they're straightforward, I'm fine playing 3!/f with AJo. They should fold even to a small 3!, and if they 4!, I can fold happily.

I don't feel like I have to call a shove at 50bb from CO, though this is going to depend on reads and the game. 4!s are just so nutted at LLSNL. I'd need to see that this shorty was loose and undisciplined at shortstacking before flicking in the call.

So, against most Vs, I'll 3! to 50. 2.5X both isos and hopefully gets this heads-up, while still preserving a little more maneuverability. Pot will be 100 or so, with 200 back, vs 120-ish, and 180 back. A 1/4-1/3 cbet can then happen w/o getting absolutely pot committed. Or we can x, ofc.

TL;DR: Probably 3!/f to 50. Overcalling if Vs are sticky. Folding if CO is OMC.