I am in the transition phase of full ring game limit to shorthanded limit and have a couple of questions..

1. Does the value of Axo change so much that it becomes playable in a shorthanded game; either for opening for a raise or even worth a call? Sklansky advocates never playing A8-xo in SSH, so I am wondering if that changes in shorthanded play.

2. Is it ever correct to open limp? For example, you have J7s utg, is this always either a raise or fold?

3. What is the common software used for tracking opponents, it is AceHud? Also, what are the three common figures used for describing opponents when posting hands? (x/x/x)

Sorry, I know, long post.

1. I play Axo from late position, and usually not at all if there's a lot of cold-calling. Otherwise, I'd probably muck it a good portion of the time.

2. Not really. Although it's less of a mistake in really loose games, raising or folding will almost always be better than open-limping.

3. Pokertracker. PokerAce HUD (PAHUD) is a program that works with Pokertracker to display stats at the actual tables, and most people that have Pokertracker have PAHUD too. The numbers used for describing opponents are as follows:

VP$IP (Voluntarilly Put $ in Pot) - The first digit, used to track how many hands your opponent is playing.

PFR% (Pre-flop Raise %) - What percentage of your opponents hands are raised pre-flop.

AF (Aggression Factor) - A ratio of how much your opponent bets/raises compared to how much they call. This factor is usually only used to guage Post-flop tendency, which is where it is most useful.

1) My usual standards are:
-Raise ATo from anywhere
-Raise A9o from hijack
-Raise A7o from cutofff
-Raise A2o from button

2) Raise/fold, though open limping is correct in rare circumstances

3) Acehud. VPIP/PFR/AF, and usually include WTSD numbers too.