One Ace

Some more thoughts on holding a single ace in your hand.

As determined in yesterday's post, when your opponent has a single ace in their hand and you don't have a pair, there are 14 aces left in the deck. When you have a pair, there are 12 aces left in the deck. Math proves this.

But what does this mean? Well, behold the power!

If that ace hits, you're pretty fucked.

If you have a pair, the only way to beat them is by hitting a set, straight, flush, boat (yours full of board) or quads of your pair. You can't get two pair, if the board quads up, you're splitting the pot, if it trips up, you've got a worse boat. You'd better hope their ace isn't in the suit you get a 4-flush in, or that your straight doesn't begin with your card and end with a K. Nope, once that aces hits, you might as well turn it off and go home.

If you don't have a pair? Well shit, now you need to hit SOMETHING. Let's say you have KQs, because that's popular of late. You find yourself against something like Ah7d. You have 6 outs, plus the flush and straight outs, which add up to what? Like 3 or 4 more outs? Your Ace-holding friend? Everything else. If that ace hits? Why you're in worse shape than our pair-holding friend above.

So keep on playing all those A-rag hands, because you are practically GUARANTEED to have live cards. Unless you're up against another hand with an Ace in it, but that's another post. I mean, with 14 aces or 12 aces in the deck, that's logically 26 aces in the deck, or HALF THE CARDS! How you like dem pot odds?