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Weak Aces shorthanded, how to play them?

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  1. #1

    Default Weak Aces shorthanded, how to play them?

    I find myself in a dabocle every time i'm dealt a hand like A6 or A7 when i'm playing short handed ring. I know it's likely to be the best hand a good amount of the time, so i'm inclined to raise them and isolate and hopefully take down the pot on the flop with a continuation bet...that is how i play them the majority of the time if i'm not up against super maniac opponents who will make crazy bluffs. BUT the problem comes when I hit my ace and my continuation bets are smooth called against passive opponents.


    How do you play weak aces (A2-A9) short handed with position?

    How do you play them out of position?
  2. #2
    Miffed22001's Avatar
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    Anything A7 or better id be tempted to raise and bet the flop hoping to take it down quickly (my style is that i rarely play without raising so my hand strength is disguised)
    Again if suited id probably play any Axs for a raise too. As for A6 or lower im either limping or dumping, probably dumping as i found that playing these hands was a leak in my game (im not sure if this would be true for others)
    My thinking is that i dont want to just 'see' a flop and hope no one else has an ace. Similarily even in position do i bet at a pair of aces when my kicker sucks? Id rather thus not play the hand even in position than get caught with a poorer kicker. Obviously, im open to the idea you can raise any ace which will kick up your raising percentage but imo is likely to get you into trouble more often than it should.
    So, in short either raise with them in position or dont play them imo.
  3. #3
    heres my take, tell me if you think any of the concepts here are flawed - its not from a book so it could be all sorts of bad advice

    first of all, i just wanted to say that playing small stakes no limit affords you plenty of time to wait for better hands, even shorthanded. in ep, i dump weak aces suited or not. in lp, i dump A9o and below, and raise ATo above if it hasnt been raised already - if its raised i fold AT (and AQ). also in lp, i raise with suited aces down to like a7 depending on the table - sometimes i raise with a bigger range and sometimes less - but only when im first one in. if theres a couple limpers, i limp too and take a bigger crowd for my drawing hand - no point in raising a7s after 2 limpers + you still have the blinds to act.

    ive realized that after raising so many hands and getting so many weak calls, that waiting longer for better hands pays off more because the opponents still call even when your tighter than dmans ass.
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  4. #4
    If they are suited, I limp them for flushes (not pairs) and if they are unsuited then I muck them.
    The artist formerly known as Knish
    Only mediocre players are always at their best.
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