Low Limit ATo from Early Position

I have read in Lee's book that Raising in early position with ATo is the proper play. It seems like I have lost money with this play and would like this forum's opinion as to what kind of flop I should stay with and dump. I am a new player so please be gentile with me /images/smile.gif . I would like to see as much theory behind this play as possible. Thanx!


G.

If you were to rank and keep a running count of the rank of hands [AA 6, 6] [KK 6, 12] [QQ 6,18] [AKs 4, 22] etc., and then used math to determine whether a particular hand was 50% likely to be the "best" hand out based on the number of opponents, you would find that ATo is more likely to be BEAT by a better hand than not. This criteria for evaluating a hand is not an end-all compelling one, but its a pretty good one and is a great start.


AJo and KQo should "routinely" be folded with 9 players yet to act, although there are some game conditions that warrent a marginal play. KJo, QJo, and ATo are out of the question.


To win at poker you need either a good hand or a good situation. Trouble hands in bad position offer neither of these advantages.


- Louie

Am I wrong to make this raise in early position? I am only following Mr. Jones' book and now just asking 'why?' I would like to make the best play, but understanding it seems more important! Thanx


G.

According to my copy, on page 37 Lee gives the following summary --


SUMMARY-EARLY POSITION


Raise: AA,KK,AKs

Call: QQ-TT,AKs-JTs,AQs-QTs,AJs-KTs,AK-KQ,AQ

Fold: Everything else


I believe ATo falls under "everything else".


P.S. I'm not sure why AKs is listed as both a raising and calling hand in the summary.

A-10 is a fold from early position. If I had to play it, I would raise with it rather than just call.


It's not a strong enough hand to play with all that action behind you. If an ace flops and you get played with, chances are reasonable that your opponent has a better ace (or a better hand). If no one has an ace you win a small pot. So when you win, you win small, when you lose you lose big. If the flop comes 10 high the board is so coordinated str8s are likely.


Position is a big concern with weaker aces or hands like KQ. What do you do if the pot gets raised behind you? Where do you stand if an ace flops? how about if the flop is 10 high? Not knowing where you stand in a hand is a sure method to lose money. Tommy has written some great posts on position recently and they're worth a view.

Thanx, I have reviewed and I guess I should not drink and read /images/smile.gif . Now I can clearly see why I have lost money in past hands. In less than a week of reading this forum, I have already improved one flaw in my play. THANK YOU!

I didn't like Jones book, for reasons including this.


You are probably beat. In a tight game you won't get called by a lesser hand, so you end up usually playing a weaker hand in bad position. If the opponent also plays well, then not only are you not getting good odds now but your implied odds are abysmal.


You should fold this hand early for the same reason you would not think about calling a raise cold with it: you are beat.


- Louie


PS. 2+2 starting hands are too loose in early position, unless you seriously outplay the opponents later.

"P.S. I'm not sure why AKs is listed as both a raising and calling hand in the summary."


Occasionally you might want to just limp with AKs as it plays ok multiway, and you may get a chance to limp re-raise with it. This also adds some deception to your play since when an A or K comes on the flop, you won't as likely be put on AK, by your opponents, since you would have (he-he) raised with it preflop.