Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey

[Joe826]

Good post man. I'm just curious though, why do you hate suited connectors so, but really like Axs? Just because of the high-card value?

[jpym84]

FWIW I'm also relatively new to poker and I've been playing Axs very profitably (usually just MP or LP, but sometimes in EP in a very loose/passive game). Just make sure you're able to lay down a top pair/bad kicker if you dont flop a flush draw.

[sthief09]

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I agree with almost everything Sthief says. He seems to overvalue Axs though. Regardless of whether or not it's profitable for him, I think you, as a beginner, should definatey stay away from this hand unless you are in late position or there are a couple callers ahead of you. Axs is very hard to play post flop, and most players lose money with Axs in early position.

[/ QUOTE ]


at most Party 3/6 and lower tables Axs UTG is profitable. I don't think there's a question about that. At 5/10 and up (5/10 is as high as I've played) I wouldn't make that limp. But the 3/6 games are loose preflop and usually pretty passive, so you can get 3-4 others in the pot with you. that's all you really need for this hand.

[MicroBob]

sthief's advice is spot-on.

both you and mayhap should read a lot in the ML and SS forums here.

read the hand-histories that are posted and the discussions about those hands.

if you are really analyzing those posts you will probably come to learn very quickly that you were not necessarily playing your hands ideally.

study in the forums and learn.


the idea that you think just pre-flop selection can ensure a winning session each time indicates where you are on this learning curve.
the good news is....it only take a little diligence to catch on to some of the ideas over there if they aren't familiar to you already.


btw, sthief posts in those forums quite a bit as well....as do some other outstanding players (unfortunately, i don't qualify in that group...YET)

[sthief09]

with Axs, you have an ace, which will hold up well in a small pot (if you aren't dominated). if I have A5s UTG and limp, and only one other plus the blinds see the flop, I'm not so worried. if I have 87s in the same situation, I will be worried.

people generally think of these as drawing hands, which they are, but you're going to miss your draws enough times where you need to be able to win with a pair. 54s or 87s winning with a pair is a lot more difficult than A5s.

similarly, some people think of suited connectors as if they're all alike. JTs = 87s = 54s in value. but that's not true. the high card value in JTs makes it a much better hand than 54s.

if there's 6 limpers to me, then I really care that much whether I have 98s or 54s because winning with a pair is going to be difficult. sure, 9s and 8s beats 5s and 4s, but you're not going to get 2 pair often enough for this to be much of a consideration.

(I have to admit I'm a little biased because I've lost so much money with suited connectors, and I'm in the green with every suited ace.)

I'm at work so I rambled a bit there, but I hope you got my point.