In the last article I discussed how big of a leak the any Ace mentality is in limit hold em. It is more prevalent at lower limits but it occurs in the higher limit games too. When I see a player limping in with a weak Ace, or even worse raising in early position with one, I try to take full advantage of this observation. I also look for other leaks in their game such as playing trouble hands in early position and cold calling raises with them too. These same players are also more likely to defend their blinds. I also take note of the middle and late position players who limp in with the weak Aces when they are the first player in. Not all players with the any Ace mentality also have all of the other leaks I mention but there is a good chance they have at least one of them. Of course table composition makes a huge difference in whether these hands are leaks. In the typical tight aggressive game these holdings are suicide.

Even if they don't have the other leaks I mention they will still be playing an Ace holding about once every 7 hands on average if they just cannot lay down an Ace preflop. When they do pair their Ace on the flop (about 15% of the time if no one else has an Ace and 12.5% of the time when another opponent does have one) invariably they lose several additional bets when they are up against a better Ace. If no one else has an Ace then the weak Ace holder wins a small pot. As most players respect an Ace when it hits the board. Starting with a suited Ace one has about a 6% chance preflop of making a flush by the river. Forget the fact that 94% of the time you will either miss completely, or even worse, a 1 in 9 chance of catching a flush draw and about a 1 in 3 chance of completing it. Having the Ace in these situations could give the player additional outs. That does make them slightly better off than chasing with a smaller flush draw but that still doesn't make up for the times they miss completely.

Even catching an Ace on flop can lose to other holdings too besides an Ace with a better kicker. Some players with the Any Ace mentality will not give anyone credit for having a better hand. At other times they will chase with nothing more than their one over card hoping to catch that elusive Ace on the turn or river which they will do about once every 8.5 hands or so. Of course that doesn't mean they will win the pot. Just that they improved their hand to top pair weak kicker. The occasional flopping of two pair will occur about once every 50 hands or so but don't let them know this fact. Also realize that this holds true for any two cards of different rank. Just let them continue to play those weak holdings and buck the odds they are up against. Take advantage of every edge you can, whenever you can.

Of course there are days when the weak players are lucky and catch their weak kicker which holds up on the end or occasionally they will catch a straight or flush against your better Ace or chase down your pocket Kings and hit an Ace on the river. That's poker and you just have to remain positive about the fact that these type of players give you their money most nights. If they didn't win once in while they wouldn't be playing the game. Next time I will discuss additional limit hold em leaks.