ace rag in tournaments

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Phoenix14

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Is it profitable to play ace rag hands in tournaments in the long run?
 
Nikolay Nakhaev

Nikolay Nakhaev

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Aces are always profitable to play. I will never fold them unless there is a ready straight or a flush on the table and not in my favor.
all the same it is a strong good starting pair
but if we are talking about Ace high, here we must look specifically at the table. I can usually reset from A2-A9. except one suit.
 
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bon2great

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It depends on your seat. Close to button, yes. Otherwise no.
 
Kenzie 96

Kenzie 96

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A rag most often leads me to tough decisions with a crap kicker & fewer chips to work with when I do have a big hand.
 
JJP

JJP

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Ace rags have quite a bit of profitability when you are in position and when antes come into play. They block bigger hands and can provide you with good spots to steal chips. They will help you maintain a stack until you can get some better hands. Obv if you get flat called and flop an ace postflop then you should proceed with a bit of caution as you will be out kicked often
 
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LotharMcDowner

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Ace rag is a tough hand, I will generally play it if I'm the aggressor, but fold to a 3 bet usually. Sometimes if you have the stack its worth it to try to take a short stack out, but otherwise its usually a fold. Exception is A5 suited... that hand beats a surprising amount of 2nd tier hands that people play a lot. Definitely worth playing in unconventional ways ;)
 
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SubZero111

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It seems playing ace rag sucks. But sometimes you have no choice. I hate it . And nothing is worse than having AK and getting beat by A2. It happens somewhere in every tournament I am in.
 
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bstest

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Position with no prior raises, maybe. Connected maybe. Suited maybe. Semi-bluff maybe. Prior raises, no. Madman to the left, no. Good luck.
 
grumblbrumbl

grumblbrumbl

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Of course profitable. At any stage of the tournament is profitable to play with ACEs. If you always handed aces, you would be very cool.
 
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Phoenix14

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I tend to use them to semi-bluff with equity. Is this a good play?
 
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muky2

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Ace rags have quite a bit of profitability when you are in position and when antes come into play. They block bigger hands and can provide you with good spots to steal chips. They will help you maintain a stack until you can get some better hands. Obv if you get flat called and flop an ace postflop then you should proceed with a bit of caution as you will be out kicked often


JJP, I like your thoughts on ACE rag play. When I play the I use caution, think they are much better in late position and checked to you after they show up on the board. If I play them in an early position I many times check them to see if any one else is betting with them on the board and how strong they seem. Ultimately, if you are going to play Ace rags, you should be ready to fold a lot of them to aggression or better hands will crush you.
 
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B1BOMBER

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I don't like to play A anything if it will cost more than 1BB. I fold A K, A Q, ect. if anyone raises above the BB. I watch people shove pre-flop then whine when they loose to pocket 4's. In live poker I am apt to play an ace but not very often.:D:D
 
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