Is A2-A9 that great?

[KaciBlakely]

I find people will always play A2, A3, A9 etc. On TV you always see pros raising with any ace. Why do people value aces so much? Typically the answer is that if an ace comes on the flop, you have top pair?

But is top pair really that great? Ace rag isn't that great of a hand to raise with, and thus usually there are a lot of people in the pot, so top pair usually doesn't win a hand, unless you hit more than top pair.

Also, chances are, everyone will play an ace anyway, so someone is likely to have a better kicker. On the other hand, what are the chances of an ace coming on the flop with a bunch of people in the hand, because chances are at least one other person has an ace and then the chance of an ace coming on the flop is around 11%.

It seems everyone puts such high value on an ace, when really, I'd rather have two face cards over A2-A9.

Your thoughts?

[$o$o$ucce$$ful]

This is a great question Kaci and I hopefully will be able to give you a great answer.
Not all pros willr aise any ace, in fact many pros tend to stay away from Ace-Rag(any ace below AT). Depending on the position, chip stack, blinds, and who is in the BB there perception will change.
For instance I was playing in a 300+15 buy in tournament at Turning Stone casino in New York. I had played with the gentleman sitting in the BB all tournament we were always at the same table. It was his BB and Blinds were increasing at a fairly decent rate (I had 38,000 and blinds were only at 250/500).
Anyways the gentleman was an extremely extremely tight player. He has only been in 2 all in pots and Had AA and AK in both of them. So in this position I want to RAISE with any ace. No matter if it is Ace Rag or a very strong Ace because I know he is not going to call unless he has a decent hand.
And decent hand for me( a loose aggressive player) is different then a decent hand for him(a tight player).
So in my head I am thinking if I make it 4xBB then he will not call unless he has
A.) A Bigger Ace then me
B.) A middle Pocket pair
C.) Maybe MAYBE a hand like QJ KQ or KJ.
However if he raises I put him one one of the following
A) A monster pair (AA,KK,QQ)
B)A monster ace(AK,AQ)
So the point is if you are going to raise with weak aces you ahve to be able to dump them if you are reraised. Because 99% of the time you are beat, Or hammered in a pot.
So to your question of whether or not Ace rag is good........Depends. I know that is not the answer your looking for but I hope to have been of some help.

I find people will always play A2, A3, A9 etc. On TV you always see pros raising with any ace. Why do people value aces so much? Typically the answer is that if an ace comes on the flop, you have top pair?

But is top pair really that great? Ace rag isn't that great of a hand to raise with, and thus usually there are a lot of people in the pot, so top pair usually doesn't win a hand, unless you hit more than top pair.

Also, chances are, everyone will play an ace anyway, so someone is likely to have a better kicker. On the other hand, what are the chances of an ace coming on the flop with a bunch of people in the hand, because chances are at least one other person has an ace and then the chance of an ace coming on the flop is around 11%.

It seems everyone puts such high value on an ace, when really, I'd rather have two face cards over A2-A9.

Your thoughts?