Quote:
Originally Posted by zoogenhiem
Attempt at logic: A2347 is #7 in A-5. 86532 is #7 in 2-7. As someone who has a decent amount of 2-7 experience, I'd always cap and pat probably any 8 and definitely any 86 given this action. Therefore I'd cap and pat A2347 in A-5.
Is this reasonable or bad logic?
There's a non-trivial point regarding the difference between A-5 and 2-7 that gets glossed over a lot. There are a lot more possible hands in 2-7 because suits and straights matter, so with the same possible card combinations in each, you end up with more possible hand ranks in 2-7 and more hands each of a smaller number of ranks in A-5.
The flushes make four more #1s, four more #2s, etc. By the time we get to #7, there are a significantly larger number of ways you can make a #7
or better than there are in 2-7. Additionally, draws to a particular rank of hand will have more outs, since straight cards don't counterfeit the hand in A-5. Both of these seem like small effects until you realize how they compound to give villains more draws to top-tier hands and more cards to complete those draws. Hands become more vulnerable as you continue up the scale. #7 is a very strong hand, but villains can have a lot more draws to beat #7 in A-5 than they can in 2-7 (where nobody should be drawing to 356 or 3458cccc for example), and the total number of hands rank 1-6 is larger.
This is one of the reasons A-5 is a stupid game. If somebody thinks he has a hand he can draw at, he almost always does. In Deuce, lots of draws look better than they are, so the potential for drawing mistakes is much greater, and conversely the potential for expert play exists. A-5 is a pretty dumb game in that regard.
That tidbit might illuminate the discussion of this hand, in that a good Seven is still a pretty vulnerable hand, so people want to draw smooth rather than pat it. Whenever you collate A-5 hands next to 2-7 hands you need to be aware that, say a #7 in Deuce is a lot more bulletproof than in A-5, despite there being only six better hands in each game.
I'm still capping and patting btw.