How to play A/10?

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klickitat

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I see a lot of people playing A/10 especially suited like it is golden. I have a very hard time with this hand and tend to play it like a weak A.


Can I get some help with this. Oh and can you maybe tell me how to play it by position? Thanks for the help.
 
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redbull168

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Same, I tend to not know how to really handle the a/10. It seems every time I push I end up getting smoked. Not sure if I am pushing to weak or just not understanding the best way to play the hand. More often then not I end up either folding it outright.
 
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Nutcracker69

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I see a lot of people playing A/10 especially suited like it is golden. I have a very hard time with this hand and tend to play it like a weak A.


Can I get some help with this. Oh and can you maybe tell me how to play it by position? Thanks for the help.

No problem. If you're playing on WPN, the key is to be in the BB and have it limped to you, taking away your preflop decision making and can just check.

Next, flop the nuts with an AA10 board. Find a way to GII on the flop or the turn. Then, come to realize that you were never going to win the hand when a king rivers for AK winner.

But don't come back here and post complaining about it, you'll never hear the end of it, especially because AK is superior to A10 preflop and so therefore you're a moron for thinking you had a chance to beat it when you flopped the nuts. Giving your opponent 3 outs on WPN with 1 to come is WAY too many!

Good luck, though!
 
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redbull168

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No problem. If you're playing on WPN, the key is to be in the BB and have it limped to you, taking away your preflop decision making and can just check.

Next, flop the nuts with an AA10 board. Find a way to GII on the flop or the turn. Then, come to realize that you were never going to win the hand when a king rivers for AK winner.

But don't come back here and post complaining about it, you'll never hear the end of it, especially because AK is superior to A10 preflop and so therefore you're a moron for thinking you had a chance to beat it when you flopped the nuts. Giving your opponent 3 outs on WPN with 1 to come is WAY too many!

Good luck, though!

ok how about outside of WPN since that wasn't really the question....
 
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Nutcracker69

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ok how about outside of WPN since that wasn't really the question....

I don't currently play outside of WPN so I wouldn't be the best to provide that advice. But I have years of experience outside of WPN and playing A10 despite the nits here thinking it is "garbage." I've won plenty of hands with it. But oddly enough, I've won plenty of hands with ANY 10, with 910 being the biggest winner for me.

My honest advice in a REAL game, such as a live game in a trustworthy casino would be to obviously only play it in good position unless you're feeling "cheeky" and most likely play it for whatever open the flow of the game dictates at that time, or call a reasonable open, again assuming you have position on whomever opened.

Then, if you opened AND have position, you might get away with seeing 4 if not all 5 cards with no additional investment needed. If you called someone down, it's a little trickier because depending on the level you might be able to get away with calling a single-barrel standard cbet (or, also a singl-barrel standard *delayed* cbet coming after the turn) and then reassesing from there.

The real problem you're going to find regardless of position or how you've played it is that you're very rarely going to find yourself in a spot where you "know" with a great deal of certainty where you stand. Many times, just because you paired up doesn't mean you're golden. If it was folded to your button or maybe, less conveniently, just a limp (or VERY WORST two) ahead before you opened preflop, you should feel confident and comfortable enough to make a decent enough (not crazy) cbet if you're fortunate enough to spike the ace. If you don't TID on the flop, though, unless you've gotten lucky with information during the hand, you're not likely to "know" you're good when called down here. So it is completely reasonable to play pot control small ball and even check it all the way down. Yes, of course, you are making yourself vulnerable to the player who called with one of the other 2 flop pairs to improve or even a worse ace to spike 2 pair. But that's poker and it's risk/reward. If you play this hand too fast and loose you're going to find yourself too often on the wrong end of AJ, AQ, AK killer.

You could chose to get tricky by semi-bluffing a gutshot broadway draw or something goofy like a 789 flop. Hitting the gutshot is more unlikely, but barring flush outs and board pairs you at least know you have the winning nuts. The 789 is another animal. You can live with spiking the 6 if you get called down, but you're now holding what is essentially a bluff catcher against a suddenly aggressive opponent. He could have been toying with you with the flopped nuts and praying that you like a 5 or 10 enough to stack off. Your other potential winning out is the jack. This is a little more palatable and should give you more confidence. But if your opponent leads out and shoves significantly (or all) on the river you're now left calculating if you're getting the right price to pay for a split and worrying that you just got really unlucky against the nuts 10Q.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I have no problem playing it in the right spots and for some reason suited it just seems pretty sometimes. But don't expect ultimate glory when you do chose to play it. That is, unless your Sammy Farha vs Oliver Hudson (Goldie Hawn's son) on the very first hand of the Main Event and you have the pleasure of being up against 1010. Go ahead and check out this youtube video. If nothing else, it proves that folding a10 every single time it is dealt to you might not be the best decision.

 
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donkcentralFF

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No particular way to play it.. All depends on range of opponent and hand position.. Best advice is if your putting them on a higher ace well hopefully the Ace doesn't hit the flop so you can buy the hand and if their an any ACE type of guy well A10 could be the nuts often..
 
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Depends on opponent and position ofc. You can 3bet from LP against player who has high fold to 3bet because this hand it's easy to fold when someone will play back at you.

I'm usually calling with this hand in position. If you flopped an ace you shouldn't play a big pot ( pot control is good there). If you flopped two pair or better you know what to do.
 
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Sidetracked

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Ats is much better than ATo, as the nut flush draw will always give you reason to play aggressively.

Also, the closer to the button you are, the more profitable the hand should become.
 
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Turn7

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In my opinion AT is quite the same as A8, A9, AJ... even the suited ones are not that better!

But there is one difference. An Ace in a heads up game is more worth than in a freeroll or any other early stage of a tournament...
 
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iceacb

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I prefer to play ATo closer to the button. ATs can be played a bit earlier.
 
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You guys are aware that suited only adds 5% equity, right?

And to say hitting a four flush with suited a10 is helpful so is hitting a four flush with as10x. Both have the same equity and outs on the flop.
 
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Nutcracker69

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No particular way to play it.. All depends on range of opponent and hand position.. Best advice is if your putting them on a higher ace well hopefully the Ace doesn't hit the flop so you can buy the hand and if their an any ACE type of guy well A10 could be the nuts often..

I love when people say "the nuts" when it's simply the better of two hands being played. ::chuckle::

That being said, I wholeheartedly disagree with you, if that wasn't abundantly clear based on MY advice on how to play the hand. Essentially the very best you can hope for from this hand (other than the video I posted) is HITTING the ace versus a bigger ace AND having the 10 come along for the ride. Since it seems like nothing but donks out there nowadays, they're never folding their AK even if you shove all in on the flop of A10, now you just need to fade the three kings.
 
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donkcentralFF

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I'm talking about certain players who dont know how to fold the A no matter what their kicker is.. I'm not talking about going crazy with it against somebody who only plays AJ or better.. My post is referencing the player who thinks their ace is good when you raise and they call with A7 suited.. The maniac who if they have an ace dont you dare try to bluff them
 
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Nutcracker69

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I'm talking about certain players who dont know how to fold the A no matter what their kicker is.. I'm not talking about going crazy with it against somebody who only plays AJ or better.. My post is referencing the player who thinks their ace is good when you raise and they call with A7 suited.. The maniac who if they have an ace dont you dare try to bluff them

ummm... unless they hit the underpair and you didn't, you're ahead. Why do you not want the easy chips?
 
WaroftheGods

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With my little experience, I never shove all in with this unless in a desperate position, I'll call a small raise if there's no more then 2 other players in the pot at a 9-10 player table, I always play this one with caution no matter my position at the table or standings in the tourney. This mite be laughed at by most for all I know lol but with this strategy it's been working out pretty good for me
 
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With my little experience, I never shove all in with this unless in a desperate position, I'll call a small raise if there's no more then 2 other players in the pot at a 9-10 player table, I always play this one with caution no matter my position at the table or standings in the tourney. This mite be laughed at by most for all I know lol but with this strategy it's been working out pretty good for me

You're not wrong. Playing a10 strongly at a full table is a -ev play.

Numbers don't lie on this one.
 
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redbull168

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I don't currently play outside of WPN so I wouldn't be the best to provide that advice. But I have years of experience outside of WPN and playing A10 despite the nits here thinking it is "garbage." I've won plenty of hands with it. But oddly enough, I've won plenty of hands with ANY 10, with 910 being the biggest winner for me.

My honest advice in a REAL game, such as a live game in a trustworthy casino would be to obviously only play it in good position unless you're feeling "cheeky" and most likely play it for whatever open the flow of the game dictates at that time, or call a reasonable open, again assuming you have position on whomever opened.

Then, if you opened AND have position, you might get away with seeing 4 if not all 5 cards with no additional investment needed. If you called someone down, it's a little trickier because depending on the level you might be able to get away with calling a single-barrel standard cbet (or, also a singl-barrel standard *delayed* cbet coming after the turn) and then reassesing from there.

The real problem you're going to find regardless of position or how you've played it is that you're very rarely going to find yourself in a spot where you "know" with a great deal of certainty where you stand. Many times, just because you paired up doesn't mean you're golden. If it was folded to your button or maybe, less conveniently, just a limp (or VERY WORST two) ahead before you opened preflop, you should feel confident and comfortable enough to make a decent enough (not crazy) cbet if you're fortunate enough to spike the ace. If you don't TID on the flop, though, unless you've gotten lucky with information during the hand, you're not likely to "know" you're good when called down here. So it is completely reasonable to play pot control small ball and even check it all the way down. Yes, of course, you are making yourself vulnerable to the player who called with one of the other 2 flop pairs to improve or even a worse ace to spike 2 pair. But that's poker and it's risk/reward. If you play this hand too fast and loose you're going to find yourself too often on the wrong end of AJ, AQ, AK killer.

You could chose to get tricky by semi-bluffing a gutshot broadway draw or something goofy like a 789 flop. Hitting the gutshot is more unlikely, but barring flush outs and board pairs you at least know you have the winning nuts. The 789 is another animal. You can live with spiking the 6 if you get called down, but you're now holding what is essentially a bluff catcher against a suddenly aggressive opponent. He could have been toying with you with the flopped nuts and praying that you like a 5 or 10 enough to stack off. Your other potential winning out is the jack. This is a little more palatable and should give you more confidence. But if your opponent leads out and shoves significantly (or all) on the river you're now left calculating if you're getting the right price to pay for a split and worrying that you just got really unlucky against the nuts 10Q.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I have no problem playing it in the right spots and for some reason suited it just seems pretty sometimes. But don't expect ultimate glory when you do chose to play it. That is, unless your Sammy Farha vs Oliver Hudson (Goldie Hawn's son) on the very first hand of the Main Event and you have the pleasure of being up against 1010. Go ahead and check out this youtube video. If nothing else, it proves that folding a10 every single time it is dealt to you might not be the best decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9mbaPj1jaA

Thank you, for the info/opinion. By what you say, it seems I usually play it to aggressively and end up getting called on it (actually usually happens) so I really need to not heavy bet the hand as much depending on the table environment.
 
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Thank you, for the info/opinion. By what you say, it seems I usually play it to aggressively and end up getting called on it (actually usually happens) so I really need to not heavy bet the hand as much depending on the table environment.

For sure, if it helps, think of it as being more equivalent to a7-a9 or even a6. I mean, hell think of completely as ace rag if you need to. Some of the nits on here certainly do. But I would never advise you to muck it PF under all conditions because it can be profitable. I just went head's up into a flop that was qk8r. Unfortunately I was in the BB and had 56o so I couldn't exactly call his 2x pot bet. But point is that flops like that can be great for you IF PLAYED THE RIGHT WAY. You are always hesitant to continue if 4th or 5th brings a 10. You aren't even really excited if the turn is an ace, since AK, AQ and QK all have you on the ropes. (Well AJ too really) But if you can maintain pot control, and it's okay to call off 1/3rd pot or less bet here if you are well enough stacked. Because most of your opponents won't expect you to show up with a10 when the jack spikes the turn. For all you know, it might have been a 4 outer. But you can now extract max value out of one of the very few hands you actually hope to see with such a hand.

Generally speaking though you need to look at your %'s of hands played in all positions with this hand and likely reduce them across the board. The only real exception to this is against a maniac who will pay you off handsomely with a real ace rag. Problem is you still need to avoid 3 outs for him to scoop and possible chop outs.

Good luck!
 
Poker Orifice

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No problem. If you're playing on WPN, the key is to be in the BB and have it limped to you, taking away your preflop decision making and can just check.

Next, flop the nuts with an AA10 board. Find a way to GII on the flop or the turn. Then, come to realize that you were never going to win the hand when a king rivers for AK winner.

But don't come back here and post complaining about it, you'll never hear the end of it, especially because AK is superior to A10 preflop and so therefore you're a moron for thinking you had a chance to beat it when you flopped the nuts. Giving your opponent 3 outs on WPN with 1 to come is WAY too many!

Good luck, though!

This sounds helpful... pfff

Seriously, guys think very carefully when reading this guy's posts. (this would be equivalent to Helen Keller going HeadsUP vs. Stevie Wonder, telling him she's got him outkicked).
 
omon2727

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Best advice is if your putting them on a higher ace well hopefully the Ace doesn't hit the flop so you can buy the hand and if their an any ACE type of guy well A10 could be the nuts often
 
Shumkoolie

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I'd sooner have AT than A6-A9 because you can at least make a straight with that hand more easily that with those other holdings. That said though, AT will still get you into a lot of trouble against opponents holding bigger Aces.

That Farha v. Hudson hand was just epic and was going to play itself out. Neither guy is backing down because it's a dream flop for both hands in that exact spot.
 
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I'd sooner have AT than A6-A9 because you can at least make a straight with that hand more easily that with those other holdings. That said though, AT will still get you into a lot of trouble against opponents holding bigger Aces.

That Farha v. Hudson hand was just epic and was going to play itself out. Neither guy is backing down because it's a dream flop for both hands in that exact spot.

I don't think you should EVER go out of the MAIN on the VERY FIRST HAND regardless of what you have, even the 2nd nuts. I was gonna say for Sammy it was easier cuz he had the nuts, but I should rewatch the video because I think a queen came to give qq the best hand. But hey, what do you expect from a failed wannabe actor who was raise by Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell? lol

To your first point I'm glad you clarified that it is, statistically speaking, "more easily" achieved a straight with a10 than a6-a9. But aks might pay off a runout of a2345 more easily than jqkxx. Depends on the player and pot odds though. But it is super common nowadays for player 2 to call off expecting a chopped pot to find player 2 has the topper. :)
 
PapaC

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In early position I will try to limp, and even if I get a small raise, I'm able to call that and at least see the flop. However, I won't get in a battle with that hand. I have no problem folding A10. This is how I would play that hand. The closer I get to the button the more agressive. I get. And even in MP, I plan to try and steal the blinds but that's only if there is no big raise before me, if so, I'm gone. If some fish could see the A and low kickers I fold, they would call me crazy.I'm sure they would call all the way with any A and many times they even get lucky. But for me, those hands don't work. I lose more if an A comes on the flop and I'm holding say A4 and I might call or 3bet myself. Anyway, A10 is hard to play along with many other hands which I muck right off. Maybe that is something I have learned here. Many say that anyone that plays most of his hands will lose in the long run. So the advice from other players is to fold fold fold. I do that and it has helped me more than I can write here. But one thing we all see after we fold is a monster comes to the board, and we want to kick our self. But what's that going to help when there is nothing that I can do about it. But this is something we all run into. We see those monster hands after we fold and that makes us start guessing what's coming. Makes us play many more hands trying to hit one of those monsters. Any way GL to you and I'm sorry this is so long. I don't know why I've got into writing to much on others treads I guess I have a lot on my mind. GL to you
 
thetick33

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is a lot of ways to play is a two bet hand for me if have position like min raise and no matter what board hits fire close to half pot after the flop usually pick up a lot of easy pots that way using ace ten whether suited or not. I usually limp anything lower than ace ten I dont like weak aces at all unless is suited and can hit a wheel

So I do the two bet with ace ten or higher whenever I can. So has a decent worth,,, problem is not to overbet so can lay down or get out of hand:) If am out of position I will be limping hoping to hit something that makes sense to make a move
 
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