Starting Hands in No-Limit Hold’em: How to Play AJ

Our journey through The Cusp continues. In theory, medium-strong starting hands like Ace-Jack are the most difficult to handle when you play No-Limit Texas Hold’em, online or live – but that’s only if you’re a Greedy Gus trying to squeeze every last chip out of your opponents.

In the real world, these quintessentially cuspy Hold’em starting hands are the easiest ones to play. Raise, call, fold, spindle, mutilate; your Expected Value heading to the flop is going to be roughly the same in many spots, and by “the same” I mean zero. Why waste valuable mental resources agonizing over which move delivers maximum EV? That’s how Greedy Gus becomes Grumpy Gus.

Not that Ace-Jack can’t be played intelligently. If you’re relatively new to Texas Hold’em (or even if you’re not) and you find yourself on cuspy ground with AJ, consider folding rather than chasing down a tiny amount of EV. As a general rule of poker pop psychology, making mistakes has twice the impact on your bottom line as making good plays.

However, if you happen to be a more practiced player with some post-flop chops – or you’re a smart beginner at online poker rooms working on your craft at lower stakes and freerolls –, here’s my take on the so-called Game-Theory Optimal pre-flop recommendations PokerSnowie gave me back in the day for Ace-Jack.

When Should I Raise With AJ?

If they’re suited, fill your boots. Depending on how you do the math, AJs ranks may be No. 10 out of the 169 possible starting hands in Hold’em when you ignore the suits, falling just inside the Top 5% in terms of equity. You’ve got at least 60% hot-and-cold equity over all but 20 of those other hands, and you’re flipping with another dozen, including all the pocket pairs up to Tens.

Ace-Jack offsuit is somewhat less appetizing. Now you’ve got maybe the No. 18-ranked starting hand in Hold’em – still a Top 10% hand, but very much on The Cusp. Assuming stacks are deep enough and all that, open-raise AJs from any position at the table, even under the gun 10-handed; fold AJo from early position if you’re full-ring.

Should someone else open in front of you, life is good when you’re holding AJs. Go ahead and raise in middle and late position – unless you’re on the button. Calling here with suited Aces, suited Broadways, suited connectors and pocket pairs is a good simplified strategy overall. You should also 3-bet AJs out of position when you’re in the blinds. Easy-peasy.

Folding can be easy, too. When someone opens and you’ve got Ace-Jack offsuit, you’re usually in a raise-or-fold situation, with “fold” being the better option. More on that in a moment; the only spot where PokerSnowie loves (loved?) a 3-bet is when you’re on the button facing the lojack.

Don’t get too deeply involved with any kind of Ace-Jack. If they’re suited and you face a 4-bet, you’re probably on The Cusp – only 5-bet if you’re up against the lojack (but not from the button or small blind), or if you’re the small blind taking on the button. And if things get this far with AJo, only 5-bet if you’re either the cut-off versus the hijack or the button versus the cut-off, and you’ve got the nous to tackle those plausibly wider ranges.

When Should I Call With AJ?

Certainly not as often as you would with Ace-Queen. When you’ve got Ace-Jack suited, marvelous; you could call opens and 3-bets from just about any position as a simplified strategy, but Snowie said to flat if you’re in one of these spots:

• Lojack vs. 3-bet from small blind
• Cut-off vs. 3-bet from big blind
• Small blind vs. 3-bet from big blind
• All other 4-bets than those mentioned previously
• Lojack vs. 5-bet from blinds

At the same time, don’t become a calling station with Ace-Jack offsuit. Ranges have to be very wide indeed if you’re going to flat 100% of the time:

• Cut-off vs. 3-bet from big blind
• Small blind vs. cut-off open
• Big blind vs. open from lojack, hijack, cut-off or small blind

When Should I Use a Mixed Strategy With AJ?

If you’ve got the intestinal fortitude – and/or money coming out your ears that you don’t mind losing.

It makes a bit more sense to mix it up with Ace-Jack suited. You’ve got enough equity and post-flop playability to crank up the aggression in certain spots where you might normally flat; unless you’ve got a read on someone, do this sparingly against the blinds, and rely instead on the power of position post-flop.

When it comes to AJo, again, your decision usually comes down to raising or folding. If you’re on the magical button, your hand is medium-strong enough to either raise or flat, but your raising frequency should increase the earlier your opponent opens – up to 100% from the lojack, as you may recall.

In hands where your opponent is the one on the button, call their 3-bets quite often when you’re in the cut-off; if they open and you’re in the blinds, call rarely from the small and a bit more from the big. Otherwise, it’s about a coin flip whether you should raise or call from the small blind with AJo after the big blind 3-bets you.

Everything else is raise or fold with Ace-Jack offsuit. And since we’re dealing with tighter ranges here beyond the button and blinds, “fold” is going to be the right choice at least 70% of the time – and virtually every time if you face any kind of pressure from the lojack.

Phew – that was quite the tour. The Cusp is indeed a strange and wonderful place, but if you take all the necessary precautions, you’ll enjoy peeling those two cards and seeing Ace-Jack, even when they’re not shiny and suited.

So what’s next on our list of Hold’em starting hands? Ace-Ten? Pocket Sixes? The answer may surprise you.