Starting Aces with Aces showing

What's a reasonable play if you have a starting pair of aces and one or both of the case aces are showing?


Some situations seem obvious: If you are left only against the ace/s and bring-in when you are first to act I'd go ahead and raise it, but what if you are next after the bring-in and have the whole field to run through.


If your kicker is completely live and you are two suited this helps, but say your kicker isn't fully live, is the hand worth playing?


I'm also curious about this same hand in hi-lo.


Anyone feel like writing a long discourse on this fairly common situation?

(A-baby)A in hi/lo situations is a powerful hand no matter if aces are dead or almost dead


At high stud, I'm still studying what's the proper play....:)


Marco

First, a note about terminology: the case Ace is the last Ace in the deck, so you don't refer to "both of the case Aces." /images/smile.gif


7CS4AP says that a pair of Aces is just about always playable, even if both other Aces are dead. I always raise with Aces, unless I'm the bring-in, in which case I bring it in for the minimum and hope to re-raise. I think that if your Aces are dead and you're in early position, you have all the more reason to raise, as you don't want a whole lot of players in with you. If I'm to the right of the bring-in, and five people have already limped, I usually wait until fourth street and hope to get a raise in then. This is whether my hand is live or not.


A hold'em analogy: a couple of years ago, Sklansky posed this question: UTG mucks but his hand is accidentally exposed: K2o. Next guy mucks and his hand is also accidentally exposed: K2o. You're next with KK, how do you act? I believe that the consensus was that you raise anyway, because most of your value with a pair Kings comes from scenarios other than when you make a set. This would not be true if you had, say a pair of Nines. The higher your pair, the less dependent you are on making trips. Indeed, with a split pair of Aces in stud, making open Aces is going to kill your action unless you're against terrible players.


As for high-low, I'm no expert there (so what are you doing playing $30/60 stud/8, Andy?), but I haven't dumped a pair of Aces yet (not on third street anyway), and I can't see doing so unless there are multiple people raising after I've raised with them and I'm convinced I'm behind.

are in a loose-aggressive game,fold ALL semi-dead pairs on 3rd--EVEN A's.

In a loose-passive game,bet 3rd and 4th. If U do not improve on 5th,check and if bet into ,fold.


Sitting Bull

Larry, you are folding much too often.

If it is the "Case" ace, raise. There's always somebody who thinks your bluffing.


If you get too many callers, you are in trouble, because you have little chance of improvement. Therefore, checkraise to knock opponents out.


I hate calling with a hand like this. So if you can't raise with this hand due to the number of players in the pot or for whatever other reason, fold it early and wait until the next time, unless you are in a tournament. Then you have to take other factors into consideration.

hi-lo, if your kicker is low, this is excellent. Much of the swing potential of Aces is from high 2 pair and a low. Also, your opponents will overvalue their aces, not knowing they cannot be paired.