I skipped to the end ... Those miss-clicks suck man. Every online player has experience them but man they sting every time.
For cash games, I think you should change your pre-flop raise to 2.5 instead of 3 x and keep the raise amount the same regardless of what hand you are raising as to hide what your hand contains.
In regards to the hand you had AJ and the flop came AAK .... Mainly I would have checked it to the other player to see if they would have took a stab at stealing the pot but raising is ok also. There isn't really a wrong play so I guess checking is just my preference.
I don't understand what 2.5x accomplishes. I see a major problem with it though, as it allows our opponent to call with a much wider range. They can call 60% of their hands profitably. That really sucks. Especially with rake, winning blinds is sooooo hguge, so i prefer to 3x and have my opponent fold 50% of the time, or call too wide, which ill be able to abuse IP.
No?
We all have slightly different styles and of course there are still some that like to 3x preflop but its no longer the standard. I haven't played on Black Chip Poker since it was on the merge network so I am unfamiliar with the play in that specific poker client. I at one point did play on BCP allot and hosted weekly games on the site but back to the topic at hand.
2.5 x is the more standard raise these days. 2 x allows too many hands to call and 3 x scares too many players out of the hand that have weaker hands that we want to be playing against. I even see plenty of players use slightly under at 2.2 or 2.3. Even at 2.2 / 2.3 X the BB will have to fold enough hands to make the bet profitable for us.
Again, i dont see the value of 2 or 2.5x. I understand its the standard. Moat opponents i play use 2x . But then against i can profitably call q2. Vs 3d i have to fold a6!
So to me „standard“ is not a reason. I need to understand how it makes money. Allowing players to call a wide range profitably against us is the opposite of that?
It makes sense because of the current landscape of poker (which is always changing ). The average player doesn't take into account the math behind each decision. So while you understand that 2.5 x allows you to come into a hand with a wider range the majority of the players your up against don't. You can always adjust if you find yourself at a table with some better players. Even then I would likely stick to my 2.5 or just find another table.
Plus the math aspect of poker is only one part of the game. It's an important part but doing what is mathematically correct isn't always the most optimal decision.
I go back to my example of " rush " poker. There are tons of 2 - 2.5 X raises because that is all that is needed to take the blinds.
You lose less when you are facing a big re-raise and need to fold. It can make your hand look weak when you have a strong hand thus tempting others to three bet steal. It can also make your hand look strong. So many reasons as to why to use under 3 x.
Even something like 2.8 ... 3 x just scares too many hands out that we want to be playing against and loses us more then needed when we have to fold when faced with a three bet or caught in a squeeze.