Trouble hands

In my last post I talked about starting hands you can win big with. In this post I will be discussing hands that can get you in trouble and cost you big money in the long run if you're not careful. Some hands are easy to get away from. 7-2 offsuit, 8-3 offsuit, 9-4o, etc. They have no high card, they're not connected, and they're not suited. There's no need to discuss their junkiness any further. What I'm going to cover here are hands that are tempting to play, but will end up costing more than they will profit.

My list of trouble hands starts with what many call "Ace-rag". This term simply means an A with a junky kicker. Here's what happens more often than not when you play A-rag. Someone raises, you call, 2/3 of the time you miss the flop and fold. The other 1/3 of the time you will pair either the 6 or the A. If you pair the 6, it is likely to be bottom pair. Not much value in that. If you pair the A, you will either win a small pot because your opponent will be concerned about the A on board or your opponent will have you dominated with a bigger A and take you for a scenic tour of value town. You are going to win a little bit or lose unless you hit two pair or trip 6's. These scenarios don't happen often enough to justify calling a raise with A-rag.

The next category is "broadway cards". I know you will see any two picture cards and be tempted to play with KT, QT, KJ, QJ. Then you'll flop a pair and get owned by AK, AQ, even KQ and AJ. The real value in those hands comes from straight draws and two pair hands. Remember that our goal is to be the one in a dominant position, not the other way around.

Finally the most overplayed type of hands are suited cards. You'll see two suited cards and think "OMG, it's suited. I can make a flush!" Remember that more often than not you won't be making a flush, you'll be making pairs. How much value does T-2 suited have on a board of T-8-3? Not very much at all. It's another trouble spot. Not to mention when you flop four to a flush, pay to draw, and miss. There are many ways these hands can cost you money and only a few ways you can win with them.