At the bottom of a dark dingy pit is a collection of rookie poker players, each one having befallen the same long and fearsome drop. What do these beginners have in common? They have all misplayed the rather ugly hand… Ace-Rag.
It’s a common error for first-timers, but after a while, and a few harsh lessons into the future, they gradually begin to learn a valuable lesson...
...Don’t overplay Ace-Rag!...
Okay, an ace is the best single card in poker, but when it’s matched up with a raggedy two, three, four, etc, it can be one of the most dangerous hands in the game, unfortunately dangerous for you, rather than your opponent.
For example, just say you call a preflop raise with A-6. What do you do when that ace flops and your opponent bets out? You’ve hit your best card but you have absolutely no idea where you stand. You could easily lose your entire stack, and many do.
Similarly, if you bet preflop and someone reraises, what do you do now? If you call, what are you hoping to hit? The ace could cost you your place in the comp and the six is unlikely to be the highest card on the flop. Even if it is, you could easily be beaten by an overpair. Are these the risks you want to be taking?
Just say you do hit your ace, and you do have the best hand, how are you going to get paid? Unless held by a newbie, a weaker ace will be reluctant to pay you off, and you’ll be hard pushed to get second and bottom pairs to stick any money in with the ace on board. Even against draws, your hand is vulnerable, because if you are outdrawn on the turn, you may have to pay them off with your top pair depending on the size of the bets.
Overall, it’s one of those hands where you will lose more than you will win. Too often you’ll be clueless to the true strength of your hand and, in poker, that’s a dangerous state of affairs.
This is not to say that Ace-Rag is unplayable, far from it. Many players will raise from late position, given that there has yet to be a preflop raise, and try to nick the blinds. If the blinds call, then you still have position with what may well be the best hand. You have taken control of the hand and have the opportunity to pressurise your opponent whatever the flop brings.
Personally, but depending on the type of comp, I’d prefer to opt for a flatcall on the button or cut-off with an Ace-Rag. Raising from this position often looks like a steal, so you may find one of the blinds playing back at you with a reraise. If this occurs, then you are once again stuck with the dilemma of what to do when that ace flops. If he bets out then you’ll be having to make an expensive reraise to find out where you are. Even if he checks, he could easily be trapchecking top pair strong kicker, and if he does checkraise, you won’t know if he is making this play, or actually putting a move on you as you’re expected to bet the flop whatever comes.
It’s a tricky situation, but possibly one best avoided. There’s nothing wrong with rasing your Ace-Rag from this position, but, somewhat bizarrely, I tend to feel more comfortable raising with cards that have more chance of being live if I was to be played back against.
So, the snoopy words of wisdom, which I urge you to take with a pinch of salt (hehe), are...
Ace-Rag – Approach with caution, only play preflop in late position, and be wary of your weak kicker when that ace does flop.
There is no shame in folding Ace-Rag.