A5s from UTG, first in — fold, call or raise?
The answer
Raise
open it up
The math: This six-max UTG chart opens every suited ace. A5s is a standard 2.5bb open.
Why
A5s blocks strong aces and can make both the nut flush and a wheel straight. Those escape routes matter when its top pair is out-kicked. At a six-player table only five opponents were dealt in, so the first-in range is wide enough to include it.
The spot
- Your seat
- UTG
- Stakes and stacks
- $1 / $2 · 100bb
- Your hand
- A♦ 5♦
- Board
- Preflop — no board yet
- Pot
- POT · $3
- Action on you
- You’re first to act
Every option
Foldgive up the hand
Why not: A5s is inside the six-max UTG range. Folding gives up its ace blocker, nut-flush potential and wheel-straight equity.
Calllimp to see a flop
Why not: Limping gives up the initiative with a charted open. Raise first in rather than inviting a cheap multiway flop.
Raiseopen it upCorrect
2bb · $4 · 2.5bb · $5 · 3bb · $6
The idea behind it
Low suited aces combine blocker value with nut-flush and wheel potential. They are not the same as weak offsuit aces, and this six-max baseline opens them from every seat.
Concept: Starting hands
Terms in this spot
Play it instead of reading it
The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.