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I agree that a hand like A9s (or any AXs) is limpable pre-flop
if you can be reasonably sure that you'll build a high-volume, unraised pot. I'm sure Barry T would agree. SSHE operates under the assumption that such pots are the norm. However, I find that most LL games are, in fact, tighter. Certainly, they are looser than bigger limit games, but are 7-way limp-fests the norm? Reading the SSHE forums, you'd think not.
Consistently, I find that the type of games SSHE is written for simply aren't available. For that reason, I've abandoned many of its recommendations (such as limping early with hands that crave volume), with good results, I think.
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I think you mischaracterize the sorts of games SSH was written for, and I also think you are making a big mistake when you say "A9s (or any AXs)," lumping the two together. A9s is a VERY different hand than A2s. And if you fold it UTG in a "typical" online low-limit game, you are missing the boat. I know Barry says different, but this is one scenario that I think he's just plain wrong about.
As modest evidence, I present
Pokerroom.com stats that are the results of average players with hands in various positions. If you look up A9s, and set position to ANY, players to ANY, and table limit to whatever you want, you'll see that A9s is profitable TO THE AVERAGE PLAYER in any position.
Then do the same for A2s, and you'll see a BIG difference. A9s is nothing but black, but A2s has red all over.
Barry's recommendations for play UTG are too conservative for all but the toughest games.
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That's a really interesting resource I didn't know about. Thanks.
I entered A2s for $1/$2, 10 players and any position and got a grand total average of 0.00 wins and losses in BBs. It's true that each and every higher kicker with that ace got a steadily higher result though. One interesting item was the result on Ace with a non-suited card: ANY combination that wasn't at least an ATo yielded a negative result overall no matter the position (even the button). Since the button would be the most likely candidate for an A9o to yield a profit, I checked also the different limits. It remains a losing proposition (all positions) up to and including $5/$10 limits. At $10/$20 it becomes profitable only at the button. A8o, just to compare, still remains a loser though. All in all, interesting stuff.
Albert