A lesson in kickers
 

Here i'm going to locate the median for a random hand given any two live cards .

Ace is the highest and i'll associate the number 14 to it . Likewise , kings, queens and jacks are given the numbers 13, 12 and 11 respectively .

AK = 27 KQ= 25
AQ = 26 KJ= 24
.
.
A2 = 16 K2= 15

Now all we do is sum up all the values for all 2 live hands .

I'll save you the work , but the median is 17.33 . This means that if your hands kicker values are greater than 17 and a third , then your hand is in a better kicker situation . Hands like 10-7 add up to 17 which is slightly below the required value . I'll usually raise with all hands that sum up to 18 or greater .

10-8 = 18> 17.333
9-8 = 17< 17.333
J-7 = 18> 17.33 etc .

Hope you find this post fun !!

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

Can you explain how this is useful in a practical situation? I think if you're doing this kind of calculation and applying your kicker-value much, you're going to find yourself in some very tough situations.

Nichomacheo

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

It's practical in a sense that it gives you a good estimate to what hands you should be raising with preflop .

For instance , 10-9 on average is better than a random hand , so this is a type of hand that is at least worth a raise preflop . Many players tend to become overly aggressive when on the button and they raise with any two cards which I don't believe to be optimal strategy .

It is a rough calculation to the kinds of hands that one should be aggressive with on the button .

Nicho , btw i'm no rookie when it comes to heads up :P

I belong to the pocket fives community and decided to share some of my thoughts on here .

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

A2, a hand with a value of 16 in your system, is monumentally stronger than KQ, a hand with a value of 25. Defend.

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

[ QUOTE ]
A2, a hand with a value of 16 in your system, is monumentally stronger than KQ, a hand with a value of 25. Defend.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't really read his post so i'm not going to defend his "system" but to say that A2 is monumentally stronger than KQ is wrong.

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A2, a hand with a value of 16 in your system, is monumentally stronger than KQ, a hand with a value of 25. Defend.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't really read his post so i'm not going to defend his "system" but to say that A2 is monumentally stronger than KQ is wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's custom to read a thread you're going to take part in.

438,349,824 games 0.579 secs 757,080,870 games/sec

equity (%) win (%) tie (%)
Hand 1: 57.5450 % 57.28% 00.27% { A2s, A2o }
Hand 2: 42.4550 % 42.19% 00.27% { KQs, KQo }

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

Well if you're talking about hot and cold comparisons , then yes , A2 will win slightly more often than king queen . However , lets not fool ourselves here , we all know that in heads up , you'll make more money with king queen than you will with ace 2 .

The problem with most players is that they use pokerstove too often . It's not about certain percentages that matter ,it's about which hands will earn more money in the long run .

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A2, a hand with a value of 16 in your system, is monumentally stronger than KQ, a hand with a value of 25. Defend.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't really read his post so i'm not going to defend his "system" but to say that A2 is monumentally stronger than KQ is wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's custom to read a thread you're going to take part in.

438,349,824 games 0.579 secs 757,080,870 games/sec

equity (%) win (%) tie (%)
Hand 1: 57.5450 % 57.28% 00.27% { A2s, A2o }
Hand 2: 42.4550 % 42.19% 00.27% { KQs, KQo }

[/ QUOTE ]

um 5% doesn't constitute monumental to me.

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

Paxo , your argument is flawed .

Poker stove gives pocket deuces an edge over ace king , but we both know which hand you'd rather have in heads up play .


Bottom line is that kickers are so important in any type of poker game and you should be thinking along these lines when you're deciding which hand is more profitable .

Re: A lesson in kickers
 

[ QUOTE ]
Paxo , your argument is flawed .

Poker stove gives pocket deuces an edge over ace king , but we both know which hand you'd rather have in heads up play

[/ QUOTE ]
For future reference, this is where I stopped listening.