i hate Ace-rag
i wont play it if i dont have to
why do people give it so much value?
i cant bet it with any confidence even if the Ace comes on the flop because someone else always has an ace... maybe ive just had bad experiences
what do you guys think?
btw, im referring to offsuit cards - ill play acerag suited
why do people give it so much value?
i cant bet it with any confidence even if the Ace comes on the flop because someone else always has an ace... maybe ive just had bad experiences
what do you guys think?
btw, im referring to offsuit cards - ill play acerag suited
Comments
Only losing players will attribute any value to Ace rag. The more you play, the more it becomes evident that even AJ is ace rag in early position. And, in NL play when you're not in position it's easy to bleed a ton of chips on a draw that's going nowhere but the flush.
When I first started, I thought hmm.... A rag is not a bad hand. Then I started thinking A middle rag is no good, but Ace low rag is good because you can make a wheel. Finally, I realized I win small pots with Ace rag, and lose very big pots with Ace rag. And, then I realized making a pair with A suited rag, is often a folding hand.
But hey, keep playing ace rag as it's a big money maker for me! It's a money maker for me when it's in my opponents hands.
Cheers
Magi
i cant remember how many times my AK has been called by A7 when an ace hits the flop
How about A2o? It's an underdog too! Even worse than A7o. A5o comes in about the same as A7o.
Change that to A2s and you become the favourite. But with 9 opponents, you are still only at about 12%, compared to about 8.5% for the others.
Probably comparing against 9 opponents is not reasonable. But your average ring game at Pacific would have say 5 people in pre-flop. In that case, A5o does have a slight edge. 20% versus 18% for the others.
But now, consider the impact of you making a significant raise with this hand. Most players would fold. Say you got lucky and had only 1 caller:
* A5o heads-up is a 55-40 favourite. Not bad...
* A5s heads-up becomes a 58-33 favourite. I like those odds!
Of course, that assumes any random cards for the caller. Chances are, your caller would have decent cards, say JTo at least. In that case, you are still a 55-45 favourite. Ok, he'd likely have much better cards but maybe not if he thinks you are bluffing OR if he is bent on defending his blind.
My conclusion: given the right position, Ax suited (even unsuited) is a reasonable hand for raising (assuming you can knock most opponents out) but a terrible hand for calling.
Am I totally out of line? I'd love to hear some experienced insight on this situation.
I would agree with that comment, but you hit it on the head by saying "given the right position." Early position or mid-position...forget about it. But, if I'm on the button and it's folded around to me, I would raise with this type of hand to try and pick up the blinds. As Sklansky says, "Sometimes folding is a better alternative to calling, but raising is the best alternative of all."
GG