An Ace and a Race

van Tom McEvoy. Been playing in those rammin'-jammin' limit hold'em games lately? If so you've probably run into a lot of players who have the any-ace mentality. In these loose-aggressive hold'em games, in both the lower and the bigger limit games, the action often turns into an ace and a race. Any-ace players ultimately are doomed to failure, but they can give you a run for your money while they're still in action.

Several e-mail correspondents have asked me if there are times when they can play a ragged ace (an ace with a kicker lower than a 10). Yes. For example, I will play a raggedy ace when I am in late position and attacking the blinds and I think that my ace is good. Playing that ragged ace is one time when I give more credence to being suited, because when I am drawing to a flush at least I'm drawing to the nut flush.

If the pot is raised by an early player, you should pitch any ace that doesn't have a big card along with it. There may be one exception to this, and that is when it is a raised multiway pot and you are on the button and will be getting a huge price for the hand. In that case, you might call the single raise hoping to hit your suit or lucky straight (if you have a wheel card with the ace). But be prepared to abandon ship immediately if all you flop is an ace and there is any kind of action in front of you.

Now suppose you're against only one or two players and you decide to play an A-9 because you don't think that your opponents have anything better than that. An ace comes on the flop and it is checked to you. Now you can be aggressive with this hand and continue betting until you have reason to believe that someone may have you beat. Just be very selective about when you play these types of hands.

If I'm up against a loose-passive opponent who plays a lot of hands and I'm on or next to the button, I may raise with a rag ace to try to force the blinds out and play it heads-up against the weak-passive player who will spend most of his time checking. These are the types of players who will check-pass if they have nothing, and will only check-call if they have flopped something. Usually, they will not lead at you unless they have a big hand. A loose-passive player also might check-call through the entire hand with a better rag-ace than I have, so if my opponent check-calls me on the flop and I can detect no possible draw that he could be on, I probably would also check after him on the turn and river. If I decide to bet the turn and again he calls, I would not bet at the river because that would be a negative expectation bet - he would call me only if he could beat me, so there is no reason for me to bet.

Hands like A-9 or A-4 do have some value, then, against one loose-passive opponent when you have position on him. But anytime the pot is multiway, you usually don't want to play that type of hand. I also might play a rag ace in the small blind in an unraised multiway pot for one-half a bet. On the flop I can check from first position and see what my opponents do and develop a pretty good idea of where I stand. You could say the same thing if you're on the button with an ace-rag, but over the years I have lost bets with this type of hand. Occasionally I have made two pair or flopped a straight when I had a wheel-card kicker, but overall I have regretted getting involved with a rag ace. Before you decide to play any-ace, ask yourself, "What do I want to flop to this hand?" If you catch a piece of the flop, you usually wind up guessing about what to do with it. One of the secrets to winning at poker is to avoid having to make tricky decisions.

Just be aware that a lot of people play any-ace so that you can be on the defense against that type of warped mentality. In fact, if your opponents are playing weak aces and you aren't, this can be one of your best sources of profit because you know that they will always give you action when you have the better kicker. A lot of players know better than to play weak aces, but they simply cannot restrain themselves. Then when they flop an ace with no kicker, they can't quite bring themselves to lay it down, even against heavy action. The fatal any-ace mentality has taken its toll.

The any-ace mentality is pervasive in hold'em games up to $10-$20, often $15-$30 and sometimes even $20-$40, but in games higher than that you very seldom run into it because the players in $30-$60 games and higher usually are far more sophisticated. In today's economy the $20-$40 game isn't quite as big a game as it used to be and you will see a fair amount of very liberal play at that level. For example, I was watching a $20-$40 hold'em side game in a Southern California cardroom when this scenario came down: A player in middle position called the blind with the J? 5? and another player called with A? 4? two spots off the button. The flop came 8? 4? 3?. The J-5 checked, the A-4 bet, the blind folded, and the J-5 called. On the turn came the 5?. The J-5 checked, the A-4 bet, and the J-5 called. The river card was the 5?. The J-5 bet and the A-4 called saying "OK, I'll pay you off," and later complained about the bad beat he had taken!

Adjusting your play so that you can maximize your profits in the ever-changing conditions in modern hold'em games is important to your bankroll's health. Recognizing that how people play limit hold'em has changed dramatically during the last few years, T. J. Cloutier and I discuss how to adjust your strategy for today's hold'em games in our new book Championship Hold'em, which I am happy (and relieved!) to announce has just come off the press. Erik Seidel, the leading money winner in limit hold'em at the World Series of Poker, read a lot of our original manuscript and wrote the foreword for the book. Since I like what he said so much, I can't resist the temptation of including one sentence of his impeccable prose in this column: "You are in good hands with Tom and T. J. and I expect that as a result of reading their advice on limit hold'em, you will be in many more!"

If your hands hold up and so do mine, I hope to see you in the winner's circle in the new milleneum. Till then, have a happy holiday!