I watched a video which recommended playing small pps and suited ace in multiway pots in loose 1/2, 1/3, and 2/5 games. I had thought of Axs as pretty marginal. It is hard to play if you make one pair, and I thought you mostly made draws, maybe combo draws with it. However, if you make a flush, you may win a really big pot from a worse flush, particularly against players who have trouble folding a flush. I would assume they are better to play the deeper you are, the most multiway, and generally the lower the stakes.

ive won 400bb pots with the nuts vs weaker flushes and sets.

If youre in a weak game where they overplay their hands then see flops with good implied odds. I wouldnt go calling off 3 bets pre but if youre in th C/O in a family pot of limpers then see a flop and pile money in. Might not be great hands to RFI in early position but they can be profitable in the right spots.

It's always situational. Position and stack depth are key. You can pretty much open any suited A from LJ or later, although A2s is marginal still. They don't tend to be as good cold calling, especially with large live raises and rake, although they rend to be more okay as calls from the button and of course the BB.

Just stick to solver ranges or close to it preflop. There really is no shortcut.

I pretty much only play small pocket pairs and Axs in position but I'm obviously a huge nit.

But mainly just kinda doubt they're very profitable expect possibly in LP, especially in standard run-of-the-mill raisey preflop games that feature a non-deep stacks.

GcluelessspeculativehandnoobG

(Hope I don't derail the thread.)

I have several situations with hands like A5s/A4s, in raked low stake games like 2/3.

1. Two or three limpers to Hero at LP, over-limp or iso-raise here?

2. UTG straddle and one or two callers, squeeze at button with A5s/A4s?

3. If we RFI in LP and either of the blinds 3-bet. shall we call with A5s/A4s? In low stakes live game, there isn't many bluffs in 3-bet range. Even against such a range, A5s/A4s has about 33% equity. Plus the position. Seems like an easy call. However, it seems like I always run bad with them……

4. Does Hero always 3-bet at SB with A5s/A4s against a steal (e.g. from CO or BU)? If we get 4-bet, shall we fold A5s/A4s?

Probably very stack dependent, but if playing non-deep (which my typical run-of-the-mill table typically is), then I'd just passively overlimp these in LP (possible exception opening after 0/1 limpers). If stacks are non-deep, then my guess is that it would be quite a mistake to attempt to get a decent percentage of our stack in preflop with them (which a raise / 3bet / calling a 4bet / etc. will do). And as for equity they have against a 3betting range, this is kind of an illusion due to our poor postflop IO vs RIO (ex. compare how much you make versus KK on A high flops versus lose versus AK on the same flop).

GcluelessNLnoobG

I agree, it's def situational for sure. For example I'm not calling someone from the button with A6s if it's heads up and raised from EP; I would want it to go multiway in these spots (unless I was light 3betting) because the more players in the hand pre, the better our IO's are if we hit a NF (which is why they're called multiway hands)). We're not looking to flop top pair really but we do flop two pair every now and then and if the original raiser has AK we still get paid on a nice pot.

Upswing level up video on multiway pots says Axs often better than suited connectors, because Axs makes winning flushes and suited connectors loosing flushes with like 5 players to a flop. Think it may be correct to overcall a raise with Axs in low stakes live.

Playing solver ranges is not optimal. It is generally correct to overcall with suited broadway against weak ranges. Small pps are usually calls, overlimps, or smallish raises over limps and probably should be limp/called or raised smallish from ep. Of course correct to fold small pps in ep in a tough game.

Video said unsuited broadway as well as suited connectors/gappers go down in value in like 5-way pots.

1. Generally yes, maybe not though if villains have a strong limping range and are calling a lot. IE, they have AQ in their limp call range.

2. Calling a straddle is a limp. This isn't a squeeze, it's an iso raise. It is the same answer as 1.

3. In LP unless vs someone who has a very strong 3b range, A5s and A4s are generally going to be continues either as 4 bets or calls. But if you hit a marginal made hand like one pair and a lot of money starts going in, it is okay to bail. If the flop comes A highand opponent goes for three streets with large sizing on turn and river, there is a good chance we should fold.

4. Generally always 3betting going to be good. A5s is always going to be either a call to a 4bet or a jam as a bluff. But this assumes villain will have 4bet folds. If it is always AA and KK, obviously don't jam A5s. A4s is similar, but vs a CO open we can mix all 3 options, jam, call, raise.

It's 100% dependent on the range of the original raiser when I'm deciding to 3bet suited baby aces from the blinds. Also would like to know how they respond to 3bets, do they always call (then we tighten up) or mostly fold (then we can widen it out even more).

If I said it one I said it a thousand times the way you beat live low stakes poker (1/2 through 5/5, and even 10/10) is to play the player (the player's range specifically). Just because a guy has a normal opening range from LP isn't gonne be enough for me to justify a 3bet with A5s from the BB if he loves to defend 3bets and he's sticky post flop, but that's just me.