Poker Stove question

[deacon_bluez]

I am in late position and I have a villain raise from middle position. His PT stats show him to be 40/23.4 over a fairly large number of hands. I am holding AJo, which normally I might think of folding or at most flat calling.

When I run this in Poker Stove I see that I have 56.5% equity preflop. Does this mean that I should actually reraise? Would I be +ev to do that any time my equity is 50%+? Or is this logic badly flawed? Does anyone use Poker Stove this way during actual play?

Also, I suppose you would have to think about who else is left to act after you. Would it make a difference if you are in the big blind and everyone else folds to the raise before it reaches you? (Now you're out of position.)

[taipan168]

One thing not to forget is that Pokerstove calculates hand equity assuming you get to showdown (ie. see all five cards). If you are re-raising or calling a raise, you are only going to see the flop and will have to make a decision then.

There is a difference between hands which have showdown value and those which are playable on the flop. For example, although A2o beats T9s in a pre-flop all-in contest, with deep stacks and position, most players would rather call a raise with T9s rather than A2o since T9s can flop some very big hands whilst A2o is basically a bare ace and is always outkicked by a bigger A unless you flop two pair.

[Fnord]

^^^^ What he said ^^^^^

Playability is key here. Are you going to hit hands you will be able to felt or get away from? What's your plan for when you miss? Are you going to fight back sometimes on KK2 two tone flops?

Also, what's his raise % from MP? How positionally aware is he? How does he play post-flop? Does he tend to fold or felt under real heat? Pre-flop numbers are a start, but I think they're way over-valued.

[Robb]

I agree with everything taipan and fnord said, but will add two thoughts. First, I think you're ahead of his range (if we're discussing micros). Second, AJ is no fun to play even when you do hit the flop. Don't get me wrong, I play it. But without a JJ4 flop it's a headache.

When you look at the Top 20% of hands, they include a lot big cards, broadways and such. At the stakes I play, I see a lot more suited Aces and Axo. T8s may be a Top 25% hand, but I think it's more likely to see my opponents show down A3s. So your AJ probably dominates a good bit of his range. But it's gonna be a headache to play.

Just FYI, I'm either 3-betting him or folding preflop here. Against my typical villains with stats like that, I'm probably 3-betting about a third of the time, folding the rest, depending upon table conditions, stacks sizes, and what I've done against him lately.

[Ash256]

Problem is that his calling range is different to his PFR range

[Robb]

I am in late position and I have a villain raise from middle position.

Ash, I totally agree about calling ranges, but I thought we were discussing a calling/rr after his PF raise. Or do you mean that his 3-bet calling range is different? I'm kind of confused by your post. Maybe you were addressing someone else's reply, not mine.