A-Q: A Very Dangerous Hand

Daniel Negreanu once said that A-Q is a hand which has cost him millions of dollars over his career.  And I never really thought about this too much despite hearing the quote until I read a good article on the subject.  Basically, the article went into a discussion about how most people will play A-Q like it’s a premium hand even though it isn’t even an equal to J-J or A-K.

Furthermore, players like to play A-Q out of position thinking its value allows it to be played from early position – even if somebody has raised the pot.  But the truth is that you can’t play A-Q like it’s a premium hand, and you definitely can’t get caught playing it out of position!

The reasoning is that, although A-Q is a theoretically a top 10 hand, it is still a drawing hand since you don’t have a made pair or even connectors.  With A-Q, you’re relying on the board to at least turn up an ace or the unlikelier K-J-10 combo.  You can also get a very good two pair with A-Q, but this is yet again another hand which relies on the board heavily.

Personally, I think A-Q is a very useful hand to play in loose/aggressive games where everyone is betting out with marginal hands.  But on a tight, nitty table you’re not going to get as much value out of A-Q since players will be sitting around waiting for premium hands more often.  And when you’re going up against A-A to J-J/A-K, you’re going to be dominated more times than not.  In short, I can definitely understand Negreanu’s quote a lot better now.