How you play these hands is crucial to your success as a Hold’em player because they constitute about 15% of the hands you’ll be dealt. Most players almost always see the flop whenever they hold an Ace and this makes them big losers in the long run. You should normally voluntarily enter the pot only with You should not play with Ad. 9c. and below because they just don’t win often enough to show a profit in the long run. For example, if you are dealt an Ace in a ten-handed game, there’s a 75% chance that another player also has been dealt an Ace.
You’re a big underdog if his kicker is higher than yours. If you have something like Ah. 6s. and get an Ace on the flop, and get action, then you’re probably beat and are playing a guessing game. That’s not the way to play poker. 
Since most players do play every hand with an Ace, be careful when the flop has two or three wheel cards in it. If you have Ad. Ks. and the flop is Kh. 3d. 5s. and you get a lot of callers, you have a problem hand. It looks like any little card could make someone a wheel and that’s probably what will happen. This is especially true if there were no pre-flop raises. This makes it more likely that someone is holding an Ace and a wheel card.
If you have Ace-little in one of the blinds and it’s raised before the flop, you should throw it away even though you already have a small investment in the pot. You probably do not have the best hand at this point since the raiser doesn’t figure to have a worse hand than yours. Don’t get tied to the hand just because you already have $1 invested. This is especially true if there are many other players who have already called the raiser in front of you.
If there are one or more pre-flop raises, and you hold Ad. Qh., you could very well lose a lot of money if you flop an Ace and play all the way to the river. There is an 18% chance (in a ten-handed game) that the raiser has Ac, Ad., Kh. Ks., Qd. Qh. or As. Kd. And if he doesn’t, one of the other callers probably does.
If you get a Queen on the flop, you will have a pair of Queens with an Ace kicker, but for you to have the best hand, the raiser would have to have raised before the flop with something like Ah. Js., Ah. Td ,Ks. Qd, Kc. Jh., Qc. Jh. or Qd. T s. That’s not too likely.
Ad. Qh . is a classic trap hand when there’s a pre-flop raise and you should learn to be careful with it. You have to know your players and what they are likely to raise with and not raise with before the flop.
One good thing about playing two of the top five cards is that any straight draw to the Ace-high straight will be the nuts. You will rarely have to split the pot because you’ll be using both of your hole cards. Keep in mind that the higher the cards are on the board, the more likely it is that someone can and will make the nut straight. This is due to the fact that players are more likely to play the higher cards necessary to make this straight.
On the other hand, the lower the highest card on the board is, the more likely it is that someone has made a small straight. For example, if the board is 2d. 4h. 5s. 7c. 9h. and there is a lot of action, you can be certain that someone made the straight. But, when the board is something like Kh. 5h. 8s. Jc. 4s. and there is a lot of action, it’s less likely that someone made a straight even though it’s possible.
If you flop an Ace-high straight, you should almost always bet it for value because this is exactly the type of flop that will make other second best hands pay you off. Someone will usually have what they think is the nuts (even though a straight is possible) and someone else will probably be on a draw to a better hand than your straight. Make them pay to beat you. Anyone holding a straight draw, top pair with top kicker, two pair, trips or a flush draw will usually be there until the river. Don’t let ‘em play for free.
