Under the Gun with A♠T♥, what do you do here?
DECISION POINT: In a Cash Game you are dealt AT offsuit and are first to act. What do you do here?
PRO ANSWER: Although this seems like a simple situation, many players struggle with the discipline necessary to consistently play profitable starting hand ranges. In this hand, we are under the gun at a 10-handed table. This is the worst position you can be in and the hands that you choose to play should reflect this disadvantage.
When you raise from early position, you are significantly more likely to encounter a premium hand behind you. Also, when you do get action, you are likely to be out of position against your opponents postflop. In addition, multiway pots occur more often when you enter the pot from early position.
Hands that make one pair, like big broadway cards, suffer greatly from this disadvantage. One of the more common leaks that players have is overvaluing one pair hands while being out of position, especially in multiway pots.
Continued below...
In this position, you should only be playing hands that perform well multiway, such as pocket pairs, or very premium unpaired hands, such as AK or AQ. Your hand, AT offsuit, should simply go into the muck every time from this position.
It doesn’t matter if this is the best hand you’ve seen in the last hour, this is a clear fold. Do not fall into the trap of open raising marginal broadway hands with so many opponents left to act.
Folding is the best play.
What would you do here?
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