The Problems With Ace Rag
There are a lot of poker players out there that will play A-X in almost every position. Obviously combinations like A-K, A-Q and even A-10 are considered very playable in most situations, but the strength of your ace post-flop diminishes greatly when you have a weak kicker attached, such as A-4 or A-2. So should you even get involved with ace-rag ever?
Well, lets look at why hands like A-4 are bad to begin with. Say there is a small raise pre-flop and you and three other players call and the flop comes A-10-6 and your first to act. How strong is your top pair here? The chances of an opponent holding an ace with a better kicker is very possible since more than two players called the pre-flop raise. It’s hard to lead out here with a bet since you are opening yourself up to being raised by someone with a higher ace, and if you just check and someone bets, how likely is your hand to still be good? This is why more often than not, especially in early position, you should release ace-rag.
Now are there times where getting involved with a weak ace makes sense? Sure. If you’re sitting on the button and the action has folded around to you, then limping with a weak ace against just one or two opponents wouldn’t be terrible. Also, if there are a lot of limpers pre-flop and you hold ace-rag suited, you can call here and hope to flop big, and if you don’t you can still release your hand without having gotten involved for too many of your chips.
Still, in the vast majority of situations, you’ll want to stay away from ace-rag, as it will be very tough to ever know just how strong your hand is if an ace comes on the board. Always try to get your money in the best circumstances possible.
