View: Aces full of 9s is a better hand than than Aces full of Kings

View: Aces full of 9s is a better hand than than Aces full of Kings

Hear me out.

The game is 5 card stud. Which is a better hand, AAA99 or AAAKK?

If it were a community card game we'd just say that aces full of kings is better, but there's no sharing cards, so AAA99 is the same strength of hand as AAAKK; however, AAA99 blocks more straight flushes than AAAKK (I think independent of suits?). So we are beat less frequently. That our absolute hand rank is higher with the AAAKK doesn't translate to 'better' - which is really just 'how likely we are to have the best hand'.

(with apologies to Alex Bellos)

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19 September 2024 at 07:34 PM
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29 Replies

5
w


and here i was thinking you were pondering a call


call me crazy but i'd rather have AAAKK


Depends on the hole card imo.


Could AAA88 be even better?

If not, then maybe AAATT. Or then the AAA99.

AAA55 may be king though, maybe not. Or, in fact AAA77, smack in the middle.

Thinly veiled ad for stud.


I prefer quads and a Joker btw...


I wouldn't be too scared of a straight flush. It's a rare hand and if you get beaten you have a good story to tell to your 1-2 limit table you are going to play from there on.

AAAKK blocks less straights than AAA99. You want to get called by hands like straights.


My $0.01:

If you're going beyond hand rankings then far more important than blocking straight flushes is the difference in pay-off value where AAA99 is better because the up cards will look less connected/scary and because it blocks less sets/boats (because opponents more likely to play KK than 99).

Which cards are hidden is more important than the ranks though.


by raidalot k

Which cards are hidden is more important than the ranks though.

Yes for sure - but in this hypothetical, all we know is our hand and we're being asked to choose between two with no information about which are our up cards.


What if the game was 5 Card Draw?


by plaaynde k

Could AAA88 be even better?

If not, then maybe AAATT. Or then the AAA99.

AAA55 may be king though, maybe not. Or, in fact AAA77, smack in the middle.

Thinly veiled ad for stud.

Believe 6 through 9 all block 10 SF. Def. not 5 or 10 as they block fewer. And for 9 you block 2 second nut hand (not that anyone is holding a K high SF and folding an 8 high.)


View this was stolen from some old Englishman's book and article at The Guardian.


by txdome k

View this was stolen from some old Englishman's book and article at The Guardian.

View I have no idea what you're talking about nor who Alex Bellos is


Worrying about hands like a boat vs straight flush which will probably never happen in your lifetime is pointless.

AAAKK is better bc it unblocks straights people can make instead of having AAA99.

But id be surprised if the difference over a long period of time is anything more than negligible.


by Mike Femton k

I wouldn't be too scared of a straight flush. It's a rare hand and if you get beaten you have a good story to tell to your 1-2 limit table you are going to play from there on.

AAAKK blocks less straights than AAA99. You want to get called by hands like straights.

by borg23 k

Worrying about hands like a boat vs straight flush which will probably never happen in your lifetime is pointless.

AAAKK is better bc it unblocks straights people can make instead of having AAA99.

But id be surprised if the difference over a long period of time is anything more than negligible.

Irrefutable points. Not blocking worse can be as valuable as blocking better.


In stud if you have aces full, you can't be up against another aces full, so aces full of 9s might be slightly better. There really isn't much difference between AAAKK and AAA22. In stud 8 it is probably better to have aces full of low cards, for blockers and deception.


Don’t you not want to block straights because you have a full house and beat them? So unblocking them is better.


by smoothcriminal99 k

Don’t you not want to block straights because you have a full house and beat them? So unblocking them is better.

Yeah, probably true. There are 500+ times more straights than straight flushes.


I would rather have AAA99 than AAAKK, because the latter completely blocks KKKXX, who is always going to pay us off.


by AlanBostick k

I would rather have AAA99 than AAAKK, because the latter completely blocks KKKXX, who is always going to pay us off.

is 999x really folding where KKK isn't?


it's also better in 2-7 and razz


every straight must contain a 5 or a 10


by borg23 k

is 999x really folding where KKK isn't?

It's 5card stud. If it's limit obv no one folds. I think in pl or nl it's actually difficult to see a situation that all the money isn't in by the river or one of the players folds before the river with either hand eg x999 vs two pairs.


This guy tries to tell me in the Omaha forum that antes aren't dead money. I can't make heads or tails of his logic, and I've actually played Omaha games with antes.

Now he's trying to make some obscure point about stud, which is always played with antes.

I suggest everyone take this thread with more than a grain of salt.


what does the solver say?

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