AJo in the small blind

[CavemanWins]

If your only on the second hand on a table and don't know your opponents.. And a fishy minbet comes out on the flop by the big blind. What do you do?

***** Hand History for Game 2956935209 *****
$25 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, October 30, 22:16:04 EDT 2005
Table Table 65652 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 1: dimpoul ( $14.92 )
Seat 3: Dandy812 ( $43.45 )
Seat 4: Bob681 ( $31.50 )
Seat 5: pwd9902 ( $23.92 )
Seat 6: CavemanWins ( $24.75 )
CavemanWins posts small blind [$0.10].
dimpoul posts big blind [$0.25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to CavemanWins [ Jh Ad ]
Dandy812 calls [$0.25].
Bob681 folds.
pwd9902 folds.
CavemanWins calls [$0.15].
dimpoul checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Kc, 5d, Qd ]
CavemanWins checks.
dimpoul bets [$0.25].
Dandy812 folds.
CavemanWins calls [$0.25].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4c ]
kempner has joined the table.
CavemanWins checks.
dimpoul checks.
** Dealing River ** [ Kh ]
CavemanWins checks.
dimpoul bets [$0.75].
CavemanWins folds.
dimpoul does not show cards.
dimpoul wins $1.95

I figured this guy could have anything, maybe even paired the 5. I was hoping for another Ace or a possible back door flush. If I didn't improve on the turn, I was going to check/fold. Why bet into the hand to win a little or loose more. Either I hit something or fold.

Any comments?

[CavemanWins]

Yes, I was really hoping for a T on the turn or river. Should I have built the pot? I am now thinking a dollar raise on the flop would have been appropriate for this hand. Take it down right there or build it hoping for a really good hand.

[dalecooper]

1. Raise pre-flop. 2. With the Ad and a gutshot draw, I bet 2/3 of the pot on the flop and see what happens. Your draw isn't great but you have a lot of the cards that other people might want to call a bet with, so rep a hand and find out. 3. I'd definitely bet that river. He has not played like a guy who has a king; he min-bet the flop and then checked the turn, which was a meaningless low card. When the king pairs on the river you can fire something out there, maybe just a buck, and you'll find out real quick if he has it or not.

[Miffed22001]

raise preflop here, you can always check raise or dump postflop if it misses you and you're out of position. After that if you get odds to drw then draw!

[CavemanWins]

Agreed on the post flop bet. But a preflop raise? I felt a preflop raise wasn't in order because the field was already small, and if I did hit something my hand would have been disguised. -- Trust me I did think about it. And since I didn't hit and didn't show strength, was just hoping for a really good draw to hit me and fire away hard. It always seems someone will call a HUGE bet.

But who knows? It didn't play out the way I liked with my initial strategy, so figured I would cut my losses.

Cavemann

[dalecooper]

Your play isn't bad either, I just prefer to be more aggressive in short-handed games, especially out of position. What happens if you flop top pair - jacks or aces - on a scattershot board and find yourself in a raise war with the big blind? He'll have position on you and you have no way of knowing what he hit with his hand, which could literally be any two cards. I'd rather raise him out and go heads up with the UTG player, or take it down pre-flop.

I do a fair amount of getting cute like this (limping big cards) in heads up play, but in ring games, even short-handed ones, I don't think it's that great of a play. You're not likely to make that much money off of it because AJo will so seldom hit a monster. I think you're better off getting the money in early when your hand is very likely the best.