DECISION POINT: In a Cash Game, it folds to the Hijack who raises. The Cutoff calls and the Button folds. You are in the Small Blind with AQ offsuit. What do you do?

PRO ANSWER: When determining the most profitable way to play a hand, you must consider certain factors that reduce a hand’s value. Big broadway hands like AQ have significant value preflop and regularly make top pair postflop.

The value of top pair goes down when facing multiple opponents and when out of position. In this situation both are true, so calling in an attempt to make a pair postflop dramatically reduces the value of this hand.

Reraising with this hand allows you to sometimes win an uncontested pot preflop. When you don’t you will often have thinned the field to one opponent on the flop, which makes continuation betting far more profitable than in multiway pots.

Also, when you do hit the flop, your hand is far more likely to win at showdown versus one opponent compared to multiple opponents.

Calling in this spot is not a good play by default. Your hand is well ahead of your opponents’ hand ranges and reraising will maximize value on the hand.

Reraising is the best play.