November 12, 2009
Playing Suited Aces
In Texas Hold ‘Em poker online, most players are happy to get a suited Ace as a starter hand. If three cards to the suit come out on the board, then it will complete the nut flush. And the Ace could always just win the pot by making high pair.
Suited Ace hands though are not all equal. Some are have more power to complete a winning online poker hand other than the nut flush. The other suited card -the kicker - is important too. A King kicker is obviously a powerful hand and can be played from any position, even with a raise. Other highly ranked cards from 10 through the Queen are powerful too because these can complete a straight, or produce high pair or two high pairs.
It is the medium strength cards, from 6-9, that are riskier to play. These cannot complete to a straight, and if the kicker card does pair, it is not especially powerful. You can call the big blind pre-flop with these cards if there is no raise ahead of you, but if the flop misses your cards, with no Ace, kicker or suit match, then prepare to fold.
With suited Aces, the smaller cards 2-5, can also complete to straight, giving these starters more potential than the medium card kicker. However, it is still a weak Ace without the matching suit or straight materializing, and should probably be folded if any raise comes out. Keep this in mind when you play poker online.
