Folding AJ in LP vs EP opens
I’ve started folding AJo and even AJs a lot more in LP and especially MP vs EP opens in tournaments, especially early on.
On paper it feels strong, but in practice it’s been a constant headache for me. I either flop top pair and feel unsure where I’m at, get dominated when money goes in, or 3bet and isolate myself against a range that has me crushed. Looking back, AJ just feels like a slow EV bleed in these spots.
Lately I’ve been wondering if simply folding AJ in LP (almost 100% in MP) vs EP opens is actually the better long-term play. Less variance, fewer tough spots, and fewer chips leaked early.
Curious how others handle this. Still playing AJ here, or starting to let it go??
4 Replies
I find that AJ plays pretty well in position. It seems like in the spots you described, AJ is typically going to be +EV to play as either a call or 3-bet. It is the type of hand where there's a lot of nuance involved in how the hand plays out though. Maybe you could use some more practice playing these postflop spots? It's not enough to just play fit or fold. Sometimes you have to float and turn your hand into a bluff. Sometimes you have to fold a relatively strong made hand. There are lots of variations that can play out depending on the board, opponents and stack depth.
I actually have more trouble with AJo and ATo when I open in early position, get called and have to play pots OOP. Multiway spots especially can get pretty iffy, so I do understand where you're coming from. AJ can be a challenging hand to play.
I'm not sure if overfolding preflop is the best long term solution though.
AJ is a standard 3-bet for me when in position and opener was not UTG or UTG+1. Unless Villain has been opening wide in EP then I don't mind doing it.
And there are times it doesn't work. Recently in the $600 Borgota tournament (Day 1E I think) with a $2, 000, 000 guarantee I 3-bet against a large stack guy who had been frequently opening. I was in position and he was MP. The BB then 4-bet and he jammed (I folded obviously) and BB called with AK. The opener had AA and I just lost my 5, 000 chips and so be it.
A lot of the time the opener will fold and if they 4-bet I fold. But that happens rarely. Even if they call with AQ it means it is less likely an A will come and my in position bluffs will often work especially on low boards. Because it looks like I have a PP.
The times I choose to not 3-bet with AJ are either I don't think the original raiser is opening wide or I have been 3-betting a lot and have had to expose hands at showdown that were not strong. And OOP in the SB and BB it really depends on how wide the opener has been.
The answer really depends on a lot of things.
-What buyins are you playing? How do you typically range the opener?
-How deep are you?
-What stage of the tournament is it?
-Are you getting folds by 3-betting?
Folding AJ suited is almost certainly too tight in almost any SRP scenario.
Ya i agree, a lot of other variables come in with AJo, like table image and blind levels. I'm playing $100-400 live. I find most of the time against EP opens like UTG or UTG+1 its usually dominated or a coin flip. Folding has been a much better strategy for me and less EV bleed
