Playing Ace Anything Hands

Written by Brock Lanning

Friday, 12 September 2008

Too many Texas Holdem poker players waste far too many chips on pocket hands with an ace in them. Anything lower than ace-ten is a hand that is just begging for trouble. That is not to say you can’t play these hands but you need to be very careful when you play ace anything hands.

You should remember when playing online poker that hands like ace-ten or lower are most effective in the later stages of a Texas Holdem tournament in which there are just a few players remaining. You should also remember that these hands player better from late position.

Let’s take a situation in which you have a pocket hand of ace-five on the button. Such hands are good to limp in with as long as the other players don’t raise because if a raise comes the hand is no longer playable. This is also a situation in which you would want to take advantage of position on the button, but again only if you are facing no pressure.

The problem with ace-low poker hands is that they can easily get you into a lot of trouble. If an ace happens to show up on the flop you have top pair but you have a weak kicker. How do you play your hand? Do you bet strongly with your pair of aces or are you worried about being out-kicked? You need to find out immediately so you don’t continually throw money away into a hand you are dominated in.

At a shorthanded poker table, hands such as ace-10 and lower can be much more effective than at a full poker table. When at shorthanded tables or even heads-up, any ace is usually a playable hand. You still have to show a little bit of caution since it is an ace-low hand.

Ace-low pocket poker hands have far greater likelihood of success at short tables but still must be played with caution and positioning is still important. It also helps if you are suited with these ace-low hands.

At least when suited you can be drawing to the nut flush and that is very helpful. You still need to be cautious with these hands though because most of the time the ace-low suited hand is not going to hit a flush. That means it is still a vulnerable hand and you need to keep that in mind.

Too many Texas Holdem players get trapped with ace-low poker hands because they don’t play them intelligently. If you play them cautiously they can pay off big when you hit the flop. If you play them aggressively you are likely to find yourself dominated and in a bad position.

Use caution when playing ace-anything hands at the online poker table.

Playing Ace Anything Hands

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