Playing A2-A9 Suited -- especially early position

[PokerFun007]

Ed's book puts this hand in the "Bread and Butter" section of pre-flop hands. However, I'm not finding that calling or raising in early position with them is all that profitable. I'm still learning the game, so help me here...

The flush draw comes about 1 in 8 hands, and when an ace hits the board and I don't have a kicker to speak of it's -EV to continue with the hand when there are players betting on the flop. If I just call pre flop and get a raiser, I find that it plays like a pair of 2's...or worse, since the flush draw is so obvious and even low limit players see the flushes so clearly and fold to my aggression (they are pretty looking).

I find that bluffing I have a flush or a flush draw is better to make money than actually having one! People freak about the flushes at low limits it seems.

I enjoy playing KQs, JQs, and TQs because of the combo draws they offer more than Ax suited.

I know this is an extremely broad post, but I was wondering if any of you had any comments on this or any advice for playing A2-A9s.

Thanks all...you guys rock and have helped me a ton already!

[gman339]

A2-A9 suited belongs in the muck. When I first started playing this was one of the biggest -EV things in my game. Even when you hit the A you are almost always behind.

[MarcusT]

With A2-A5 you may have additional odds on drawing a straight, you just must not fall in love for it. In EP and MP I play only ATs+. In LP I play any A suited.

[KurtSF]

A2 to A9 suited in early position is junk.

And the flush draw comes way less often than 1 in 8. Where'd you get that number?

[PokerFun007]

[ QUOTE ]
A2 to A9 suited in early position is junk.

And the flush draw comes way less often than 1 in 8. Where'd you get that number?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.filmzone.com/articles/poker_odds_charts.htm

quoting from that link:

With 2 suited cards, the probability of:

• Flopping a flush - 118/1
• Flopping a flush draw - 8.1/1
• Flopping a backdoor flush draw (3 flush cards) - 1.4/1
• Making a flush by the river - 15/1

[PokerFun007]

[ QUOTE ]
With A2-A5 you may have additional odds on drawing a straight, you just must not fall in love for it. In EP and MP I play only ATs+. In LP I play any A suited.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are these limping hands then? AT and AJs? If not one is in yet, raise, if limpers, then limp along?

[RapidEvolution]

[ QUOTE ]
A2-A9 suited belongs in the muck. When I first started playing this was one of the biggest -EV things in my game. Even when you hit the A you are almost always behind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Being somewhat TAGish, I've found suited aces to be great for opening my raising raise preflop. I wouldn't raise with the low ones unless I was in EP. It's been important for me to play these as drawing hands, primarily. If I happen to have the best ace and betting has been light, that's great, but I'm not looking to hit top pair, crap kicker.

[SMACK BOOTY]

Fold A2-A9 suited in EP, its junk, and is going to do nothing but get you in trouble as a newbie. If an A hits, what do you do? Flush draws OOP are no fun either. I used to treat these hands as something special when I first started playing , and I learned the hard way to let these hands go. They are VPIP killers, and a ripe catagory for exclusion to tighten up your game.

[ship_it_trebek]

Depends a lot on table dynamics too. If the table is playing nitty, I'll open with a wide range of Axs to take down blinds or take advantage of weak postflop play. In EP they are garbage though.