Personally, I hate the idea of new years resolutions. They are nothing but false promises to oneself that the individual has no real stake in actually achieving in the first place. If there was something that momentous that needed to be done they would already have done it. There would be a real, actionable plan in place already. Anything that a person wants to do or change is cheapened by making such a silly statements

That being said, I am prepared to cheapen myself significantly.

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Here’s a little discussion of how one might be able to get some mileage out of the rag ace that was so disparaged in the last post. There are times when it can pay off; the trick is recognizing those situations and disabusing oneself of thinking that it is a generally good hand. For reasons already discussed, it is not to normally be played. Especially when making the transition from small home games to serious play, it can be difficult not to perk up when an ace appears. Any hole card is only as good as the support it receives from its partner. Simply having a jack is nothing to get excited about. Pairing it with a suited 10 however opens up some options. It is the same with an ace. An ace with no support can do very little.

Little, however, is more than nothing. When is it advisable to play this hand?

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This is a big problem for players that have learned to play primarily from friendly home games. It’s a bad habit that, if carried over to casino play - as bad habits tend to stick around - can cost a lot in the long run without even knowing why.

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