 The definition of holding
a 'rag ace’ or an
‘ace-rag’ is being
dealt an ace with another
card lower than a ten. So
the following hands can
be regarded as ‘rag
aces’: A9 A8 A7 A6 A5
A4 A3 A2. It could be
argued the range, in
which the term rag ace
incorporates, is smaller
or greater than the one
shown. For example some
would say that a rag ace
ranges from A2 to A6, but
in my opinion the best
way to determine an ace
rag is in the range A2 to
A9. In a nutshell a rag
ace is an ace with a bad
kicker.
How should they be
played?
So that’s enough of
the background
information, now how
should they be played? It
is typical of a beginner
player to overestimate
the strength of their
hand just because they
hold an ace, and this can
lead them into trouble.
This is a rare occasion
in poker where a
straightforward question
can be answered with a
relatively
straightforward answer: more
often than not you should
be folding rag aces.
This may come as no
surprise to any
intermediate and
experienced players as
they have read this
article or other articles
like this, and learnt
from mistakes they have
made at the table.
If you play rag aces,
you are primarily looking
for one thing to happen:
making top pair with your
kicker on the flop. This
is because this gives you
the best opportunity of
having the best hand and
to make money. If you
pair your ace and get
action from another
player it is likely that
they have your ace
out-kicked, especially if
they raised before the
flop. There may be a
slight chance that your
opponent is playing a rag
ace worse than yours, but
you can never be sure of
this and it is never
ideal to be putting money
into a pot when you do
not know where you stand.
Here are a few tips to
learn about rag aces
- If
you pair your ace and
bet out, your opponent
will only be
calling/raising with
the better ace leaving
you unsure of where
you stand, or he will
fold an obvious worse
hand – winning a
small pot. Furthermore
if you were to hold A5
on a board of AJ8, any
action you would get
would either result in
you losing the pot or
calling to win half.
In the best-case
scenario of your
opponent holding an
ace-rag, it is likely
to be a split pot by
the river.
- If
you make top pair with
your kicker you have a
better chance of
making more money from
another player that
has hit top pair with
a worse kicker.
However this situation
is unlikely and again
with one pair you can
only hope to be winning
a small pot
- You
make two pair on the
flop against someone
with an ace but with a
better kicker. This
will usually be a
profitable situation
for you. However it is
not common and it
would be a losing play
attempting to make
two-pair with a rag
ace against an
opponent with a better
kicker. It simply
won’t happen enough
to make the call
profitable.
As highlighted in
bold, the key idea to
remember with rag aces is
that they are not
designed to win big pots,
and if you happen to make
that two pair, it is
actually going to be a
losing play in the long
run. Just think about it.
If a player raises you
with his AQ and you call
with you A6 to see a
flop, who do you think
will be coming out on top
most of the time?
Hopefully this has
drilled into you that you
should get away from rag
aces as often as you can
– save yourself some
money at the table.
When can you play
ace-rags?
In spite of what has
been mentioned above,
there are certain
situations that warrant
playing ace-rag in the
hole (remember that no
answers in poker are that straight forward). When
playing short-handed
poker you can loosen up
your starting hand
requirements. When there
are 5 people or less at
the table it is
acceptable to play any
ace with good position.
The likelihood that your
opponents will be holding
any aces has diminished
significantly enough to
change rag aces from
losers to winners. The
rule that you may only
win small pots still
applies, but the size of
these pots will be
slightly increased
short-handed, as players
will have a tendency to
call bets with middle
pairs. Furthermore, an
ace also acts as a plan B
for clearing up
uncontested pots with the
high card. But be sure to
let paired aces go if you
come up against too much
action after the flop.
In addition rag aces
are better suited for
blind play (play within
the blinds and button)
for the reasons mentioned
above, as once again
there will only be a
small number of players
left in the hand. It is
likely that you have the
best hand so the optimum
play is to raise with any
ace if it is folded
around to you on the
cut-off or on the button.
If your opponent does
call than you can
evaluate how to play the
flop with greater
accuracy as you have
position on your
opponent. When in the
small blind you should
once again raise and hope
to take the big blind. If
your opponent does call
then a continuation bet on the flop is likely to
take the pot down. When
on the big blind with an
ace rag you should raise
if you feel you can take
the pot otherwise it is
best to check, as you
will be out of position
for the hand.
When you do play rag
aces, you should bear in
mind two key words: Isolate and Determine. You
should realize that rag
aces are not the kind of
hand that you want to be
playing in a multi-way
pot. Therefore you will
want to isolate any
possible opponents by
raising to keep the
action heads-up if
possible. If you do get
the call off one
opponent, you will then
need to determine the
strength of your
opponent’s hand and if
they does indeed hold the
better ace than you.
There are no tips or
rules to know whether or
not he does; you simply
have to have a good
understanding of your
opponent and the way they
play.
Evaluation
If you are unsure of how
to play rag aces, then
you should fold them. If
you are relatively new to
poker then rag aces are
either going to win you
small pots or lose you
big ones. This type of
hand is simply not
designed to win big pots
and that does not help
with the main aim of
poker - making money.
This risk you are taking
to win a small pot is
outweighed by the risk
you are taking of losing
a big one. There are some
situations in which you
can profitably play
ace-rags, but the
profitability margin is
not great enough to
concern yourself with
these sorts of plays,
especially if you are
unsure of what you are
doing.
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