I was sitting out in the smoke pit earlier (gotta do something different in this unchallenging job), and for some reason "Ace-King is the nuts...pretty much." Was bouncing around in my head.
I was thinking about it, and about hoow pissed off people get when their AK missed (mlinny's quote was just the catalyst that started this). Now most of you probably realize this already, but the reality is that I am only book smart, I don't come to many deductions on my own, and they usually occur later in my career than they do for others. Example, it wasn't until about 6 months ago (about 4 years into my poker playing) that I really sat down and said...Hmmm. I wonder where the half of the deck is. (If you don't know it's 8). So pair vs. pair, if you are 9's or higher without a read you would probably be wise to call, or bet in some fasion because the chance of someone having a higher holdings goes down dramatically after that. At least that's the way I look at it.
I had one of those semi-epiphanies in the smoke pit a few minutes ago. Most of it's simple stuff that I already (and you already knew), but it really got me to thinking more about emotional attachment to the AK. It makes me wonder why when the board pairs and I watch a guy call a checkraise to the river with AK, what's going on there?
What's weird is that I watched my AA get cracked 1 time and I realized that...it's just a pair. Before I understood odds, I knew that out of the 50 cards left...only two of them made my hand better, so I didn't ever really love Aces the way some donkeys do. But I loooove AK, and I was always pissed when I missed. But then I realized why it was such a great hand...is because it's such a great "not" hand. It's nothing (as we all know). (This is also why Aces are inversely so great. Because they are already a hand before we even start drawing to bigger hands, so you are already at an advantage with Aces, if you don't overplay them.) But when you miss and you have to lay it down or bluff it out after a raise you are upset. Why? Look at a roulette wheel, it has 1/4 markers too, if you think about it, so does the deck. So when any flop comes you are really only 1/4 to get a straight draw, because the flop can come #1 ragged, #2 low #3 medium or #4 high. But AK also has the added advantage of being two damn big cards put together. So you also have the chance that someone else who was playing 7/8, 9/10, J/10, whatever. In the end the numbers don't favor any specific cards in particular, you are just as likely to draw Duces as Aces, BUT you are much less likely to draw AK suited in any form.
Being the highest flush draw, the highest straight draw, and the highest pair draws, you are opening up more outs for yourself. So ironically, while people worship the god Aces, they should really be worshipping the god Ace-King, because it takes a little investment to get that many outs. The only exception would be to go up against Aces or Kings (because they are taking your outs), and then you are in a realy storm of feces.
Anyway, that was my smoke break in a nutshell, it took me 4 breaks worth of time to type this, and I'm sick of being here, so I am headed out soon.
