Hey Guys,

I feel like this is a pretty basic question, so as a small-stakes-player I'm a bit embarassed to post it, but I cant answer it myself:

I'm reviewing my preflop-ranges from all positions and it was always a uncontested rule for me, that the suited aces with the wheel draw are "better" than the ones A-6s to A-9s. But is it really that simple? The additional wheel draw may make A-5s better than A-6s but what about hands with a huge kicker difference like A-9s compared to A-2s? And would you say, that this is positional dependend (e.g. when I open from MP and BB calls the wheel draw has more value, because the ranges are more narrow but BTN vs BB the value of a higher kicker increases due to wider ranges)?

I hope my question became somewhat clear

vs a wider range the suited Aces get outkicked sometimes yes - but! -

lets say someone flats IP A9o... when making top pair he will outkick A7s and A4s... but he will probably also flat 97 or 45 or K9... and then you will outkick him on 77x or 44x or 982. also he will flat with suited hands so you will be able to win stacks flush over flush...

so the value of making a straight is always a bonus. even though it is close.

edit: in a single raised pot i still prefer A9s over A2s because you will get flatted alot by 44-88 and 98s,T9s

A9s to A2s all have very similar expected values as open raises in any position. Some of their EV comes from flopping/turning combo draws and some comes from showdown value or pair/kicker equity. Your results will be subject to so much variance that it's kind of impossible to prove that one is better than the other.
FWIW, Snowie thinks A5s and A4s have a slightly higher EV than A6s UTG, but they are not quite as good as A9s/A8s, but the EV difference is literally like one-hundredth of a bb per hand.