The Ace-Raiser and the Drawer of Poker

Ace-Raiser This guy raises on Ace-rag, in any position, at any point in the game. He'll bet his Ace-high the whole way through, preferring to put his opponents to the test and keep control of the hand throughout the game.

What to watch out for: See if there's a difference in how he plays Ace-rag and an Ace with a good kicker. And watch out for his pairing the board with 5s, 6s, and other low cards. Of course, take a look at the flop.

In a No Limit game: If you're paired-up or on a good draw, or convinced he's still playing the Ace-high, try a re-raise (if he's first to act) or try leading out with a sizeable bet (if you're first). This way you can see if he's serious about his hand. Even if the re-raise doesn't make him fold (if he's still on Ace-high), he'll probably check the turn, as an effect of your re-raise, you often "buy" a free turn by taking control of the betting. Then you can choose if you want to bet the turn, and if you don't, you can see the river for free. This approach is usually much cheaper than calling down all the Ace-high's bets. If you want to push him out, you'll have to keep leaning on him.

In a limit game: The strategy is the same, except it'll be a little harder to test his strength. Just stay in there raising and, if you have a chance, re-raising this guy. You already know he's in love with Ace-high, so don't let it be a cheap date.

Drawer

This guy is often looking for long draws, he'll obediently enter pots with good pot odds, overestimating from the beginning his chances of winning the hand with, say, 5-6 suited. Remember, pot-odds play starts with an estimate of how your hand stacks up against other players', and rarely do you see a pot that justifies staying in on a 12-1 draw. This guy doesn't see the "12" in this case, on the "1."

One way to identify this person: They often ask to "rabbit hunt" an unfinished board when the game is over (to see if they would've completed their draw). Of course, rabbit-hunting doesn't always scream "inside-straight draw," but you can be sure he was trying to improve the hand. You'll experience that this player is often the type who will play face cards with horrible kickers.

In a No Limit game: Recognize the draw in relation to your hand; then either give up or put this player to the test for all his money. If you try to test him, be sure that he's chasing.

In a Limit game: Don't let this guy make you pay too see his draw. You'll have to re-raise him aggressively every chance you get to wear on him. Fortunately, people who go to the river on long draws often miss, and there's always a chance he'll give up. But since he's always overestimating his chances of winning, just remember that he'll probably call you to the river. The idea here is to wear him down with consistent bets and hopefully teach him a costly lesson about waiting around for long draws.