Folding is actually one key way to exploit nits, and here are more ways to exploit tight poker players: https://www.splitsuit.com/how-to-beat-tight-poker-players
Part 8 of this 10-part series dissects the range a nit would open-raise with and how we should respond with AJ. If you have not taken the quiz yet, start here: https://www.splitsuit.com/preflop-range-quiz/
This video deals with two questions:
1. What did a nit open with UTG?
2. Should we fold, call, or 3bet with Ace Jack?
Comments
SplitSuit first looks at the range a nitty player is opening with. While the average person here assigned a 9-10% range, Split's range was considerably tighter. Keep in mind, this is a nit open-raising from UTG, and if they were truely opening 10% of hands from UTG, chances are they would be classified closer to a TAG or LAG. But beyond the open-raising range, we need to make a decision with Ace Jack offsuit. SplitSuit explains why flatting is a pretty bad line, why 3betting AJo could leave your overall 3betting range from UTG+1 absurdly loose, and why folding is actually a fine play. It may seem to go against the ethos of this channel, but folding preflop can be best!
**IMPORTANT LINKS**
5 Parts Of A Range Podcast
Building Open-Raising Ranges
Has 3Betting Ruined Poker Podcast
Tips For Playing Ace Jack
Disagree that AJo is the same as hands like A4s and K9s. AJo is the far better hand to 3bet bluff with due to blocking a substantial portion of an UTG raising range from a tight player as well as a big part of he range of hands likely to call or 4bet behind us, something hands like A4s and K9s don't do as good of a job of doing. Hands like 44/98s/9Ts are probably not in a nit's opening ranging from UTG or player's behind us call 4bet range. Also in the situations you do call your top pair potential is far better, which allows you to have more SDV.
sorry but giving the stake sizes that you put in the example )200bb , I think you should definitly open a5s , jts , 9ts , 78s , ats , ajs . If you wanna be a crusher in those tables , people cold call with a lot of garbage and play really soft and face up post flop in a regular 2, 5 live game.
Unless you have a good stack you should always fold that in that situation