Loose Aggressive Games and Suited Aces
When a game is both very loose and very aggressive, suited cards tend to gain value.
This is the kind of hand that is best when it flops a draw, and in a loose game, the odds you will be getting on the flop are usually better than the odds of making your draw.
So you profit from callers of each bet or raise that you on the flop.
Sometimes it’s easy to start thinking of a hand such as A 2
as just as good as a hand
such as A 6
.
The 6 is a little bigger than the 2, but you might think that because both kickers are pretty small, the added value of possible straights makes A 2
just as good, or maybe an even better, hand.
Don’t start thinking that. It’s not true.
It is true that under some very specific conditions, a 5
does on the average, make a little more money than A
6
.
This difference is attributable to the straight possibilities of the A 5
and the only slight
difference in high-card value between a 5 and a 6.
The game conditions for this are when the game is very loose and very passive, and you’re in late position.
Under these conditions you’ll get a cheap or free draw to an inside straight often enough to give a little extra value to A 2
through A
5
.
The value of an A 5
is close enough to A
6
in terms of pip value that the A
5
does make a little more money because of potential straights when the conditions are right-but the difference is slight.
TYPICAL GAMES
In typical games position tends to be more of a dominant factor than in either tight or loose games.
In early position you should stick to the dominating power hands.
In later position play the dominated power hands in unraised pots and the drawing hands in multiplayer pots, raised or unraised.
Pick the Right Table / Picking a Seat / Theories of Poker / Betting Theory: The Odds
A Theory of Starting Hand Value
A Theory of Flop Play: Counting Outs and Evaluating Draws
The Dynamics of Game Conditions / Table Image / Player Stereotypes
Women and Poker / Spread-Limit Games / Double Bet on the End Games / Kill Games
Short-handed Games / Tournaments / No-limit and Pot-Limit Poker
