The G-Spot:
Ragged Aces

Whenever you make a decision, you need a clear map of all the possible ways a hand can play out after your decision. Preflop, you need to project how action will traspire across all betting rounds for every type of possible board. You need to take your opponents' playing styles and poker hands into account, and you need to be aware of the type of information you'll need to acquire as the hand progresses.

Ragged aces look deceptively good to many players. In Killer Poker By The Numbers, I talk about hit-to-win poker, a style in which you're looking simply to hit hands and extract maximum value when you do so. It's important to master many styles, but in loose fullhanded games, hit-to-win is typically the winning style. If you're playing hit-to-win poker, ragged aces aren't playable

What Do You Do When You Hit The Flop?

Suppose you flop a pair with a hand like A5. If you flop a pair of aces, then you have to worry about being outkicked. If you flop a pair of fives, you need to worry about being against a higher pair.

Suppose you flop trips with your A5. If you flop trip 5's, you might win a sizeable pot; however, if action gets too heavy, you need to consider the possibility that you're against a full house. If you flop trip aces, heavy action can mean that you're against a full house or trip aces with a better kicker.

Besides the few times in which you flop a monster, the only time you'll be happy with ragged aces postflop are if they're suited and you flop a flush draw in a passive game that'll allow you to draw cheaply.

Ragged Aces Are Generally Bad Unless You're Not Playing Hit-To-Win Poke

Some players call raises with hands like A5 and then fold when they flop an ace. These players correctly identify postflop playability problems, but they do so when it's too late. Preflop raisers almost always bet on the flop, so calling preflop raises in the first place is just a waste of money if you're playing hit-to-win poker.

Does that mean that ragged aces are never playable? No. They become playable hands if you have lines of play outside the realm of hit-to-win poker. Of course, at that point, any two cards become playable. If a lucrative bluffing opportunity will present itself to you, it doesn't matter if you're holding A5 or 23. Avoid abusing such lines of play, but be willing to employ them when profitable opportunities arise. The key to playing ragged aces, and really, the key to playing all hands, is considering all applicable variables before deciding to act.

Tony Guerrera is the author of Killer Poker By The Numbers.
Visit him online at www.killerpokerbythenumbers.com

© The Poker Forum.com, all rights reserved