Playing Pocket Aces

Graham

I received an article from a writer for my other site and thought it was very well written. Though it probably isn't advanced enough for everyone here, I thought I would still post it. If anyone disagrees with anything in the article post it here.

Here is the article: Pocket Aces | AA | How to Play Aces in Online Poker

Thanks,

Graham

blackmagicz

HAHA I could have used that last night in the FTP 32K Guarantee....

SB with AA re-raise button raiser to 600 original raise was 90....(first level blinds 10/20) he calls...flop comes JJ4...I shove....he flips over KJ....WEEEEE :)

actyper

I stopped reading after the first bold

1. Don't limp. Ever.

Silly to say never ever do this.

JimmyHo

if you are at an aggressive table with aggressive players to act after you, calling with aces with the expectation of re-raising is acceptable.

JohnnieH

You have to be aware of YOUR table image. If you are usually tight, re-raising will give off to much info.

As Jim said, cold calling an aggressive player is a nice trap. IF IT WORKS!
If you miss a scary flop, you only are holding a pair. Be prepared to let them go if necessary.

Hellmuth's Mole

pokerJAH;157778 wroteif you are at an aggressive table with aggressive players to act after you, calling with aces with the expectation of re-raising is acceptable.

Is there any other type of table online?

Nooner81

Is there any other type of table online?

I have been playing a lot of .5/.10 & .10/.25 nl of stars lately. I am finding that there are only 2-3 aggressive players at a table.

Far too often I see the agressive players winning pot after pot stealing blinds.

If I have pocket Aces and am in early position I always raise. If I am in late position with rockets I like to call instead of opening with a raise.

For instance I have been dealt pocket rockets 4x already today in 61 hands.
I raised 3x pre-flop and was only called once. I won the hand all 3x with little to show for it.

The 4th time I was on the button and called. Both blinds saw the flop which was KQ6. SB bet, BB folded, I raised, SB re-raised, and I went all-in. SB folded and I won a $10 pot.

I see nothing wrong with calling in late position in an unopened pot.

BlondeFish

Agreed. Anybody that says you should always raise with AA 100% of the time or that you can NEVER fold AA pre-flop in a tournament, I want that exploitable player in my table. Never say never in poker, and always avoid using "always"! :D

actyper;157776 wroteI stopped reading after the first bold
1. Don't limp. Ever.
Silly to say never ever do this.

JimmyHo

Nooner81;158132 wroteFor instance I have been dealt pocket rockets 4x already today in 61 hands.

Can't say I have ever seen this live. Got to love online poker.

herschelw

Hellmuth's Mole;157784 wroteIs there any other type of table online?

Yes there is. Absolute poker and bugsys room Both are full of tight passive and loose passive players. Although a year from now they'll likely be much more aggressive than they currently are.

Chuckieland

herschelw;160066 wroteYes there is. Absolute poker and bugsys room Both are full of tight passive and loose passive players. Although a year from now they'll likely be much more aggressive than they currently are.

no, they won't
absolute has alot of those players before majority of good players are boycotting them. (superuser issue)
check 2+2

zunni74

BlondeFish;158266 wroteAgreed. Anybody that says you should always raise with AA 100% of the time or that you can NEVER fold AA pre-flop in a tournament, I want that exploitable player in my table. Never say never in poker, and always avoid using "always"! :D

As a guide for new inexperienced players, I'd rather see it say raise every time with pocket A's. Too many new players try to play 'tricky' poker and slow-play their big hands after watching too much TV.

In a loose passive game (yes they still exist), Aces edge against the field is lost after 4-5 callers. A raise (especially AFTER a few of those calls), will likely thin the herd.

Start by teaching players why it's good to raise, then teach them the exceptionalities to that rule. IMO.

MCflip73

pokerJAH;157778 wroteif you are at an aggressive table with aggressive players to act after you, calling with aces with the expectation of re-raising is acceptable.

Jim, that's what you/I hope for in all cases..., obviously, it doesn't always happen that way and you end up with 4 players seeing the flop. Some "big blind" special then lays a smacking on your rockets and you're all of the sudden short stack at your own table.

Good example yesterday at Ching Hill, I got them UTG with Mr. Horseshoe being the agressor at the BB, has the tendancy to raise each and every pot he enters but on this particular hand, he didn't and what do you know, he flopped a set of 4s on me with 47o. The rest is history.

In my experience, AAs either gets you a small pot or loose some big ones!

DrTyore

I didn't read the article but...

Zunni's post is pure gold. Excellent points.

Mark

JimmyHo

MCflip73;161634 wroteIn my experience, AAs either gets you a small pot or loose some big ones!

This is why raising is optimal pre-flop; getting too tricky comes back to bite you.

MCflip73

pokerJAH;161791 wroteThis is why raising is optimal pre-flop; getting too tricky comes back to bite you.

Someone mentioned it also (couldn't recall who)..., they said that AAs pf is already technicall "there"..., it has nowhere to "get to" or "improve" upon..., however, AAs after the flop is still a pair regardless...,

I guess I'm just playing the hand tooo damn cute!

adpro

MCflip73;161794 wroteSomeone mentioned it also (couldn't recall who)..., they said that AAs pf is already technicall "there"..., it has nowhere to "get to" or "improve" upon..., however, AAs after the flop is still a pair regardless...,

I guess I'm just playing the hand tooo damn cute!

I agree with this. I play AA, AK, KK, and QQ the exact same.

I make it very hard for anyone to come in to see a flop, and if they do, it's usually only one or two callers, so I'm in good shape.

Sure, sometimes I'll lose, but not very often, and I'm quite happy to steal the blinds most of the time with this hand, even if it's a small amount.

I would say that with these hands, I only lose about every 1/5 or less that I get called on. The other times it all depends on what is on the flop.

So, lets say I've got KK pre-flop. I make a large bet and get one caller.

After the flop, I will raise a bit more than I did before the flop, no matter what comes up (as long as I don't hit). Usually the other guy folds. If not, I am scared.

However, if another K comes up on the board, I play it like I might have pocket queens and just check. Usually the other guy has AQ or something and will raise me. This is when I turn around and put in a HUGE raise (big enough to scare him, but maybe pull him in for even more if he actually does have a hand. If he calls, we see the river and I win 99% of the time. Most of the time I'll get a fold, though, and take a nice pot.

For A's, same as above. AK I don't slow play at all. I simply put in a huge pre-flop raise then represent it on the flop with a bigger raise. I win the pot at that time more times than not, so once in a while it's ok to lose those chips. I won't call any more bets or raise any more after the flop if someone calls me though. Too risky and I already gave up a bunch of chips, so why give up more to lose?

If I hit with AK, I still play it aggressively on the flop, cause there are too many trip possibilities out there that will bust AK easily.

But yeah, I like what was mentioned earlier. AA is a made hand, so raise it most of the time to win. Top pair isn't a slow play hand. Something like a full house, a flush or a straight can be slow played a lot of the time, but I don't think top pair should be slow played unless you are HU, and even still, I want the other guy all-in when I have AA HU.

JimmyHo

it all comes down to selective memory; you remember the times your aces get cracked but not the many times they hold up to win the pot.

I still remember playing at a club when I a player under the gun raised to $10 pre-flop (1/2) and I had pocket aces. I re-raised another $35 and he called me. The flop came 882 and he came out betting pot. I pushed and he called with 86off. Still remember this hand to this day.

pkrfce9

muck pf, jimmy. ldo.

that kind of gold never tarnishes, man.

JimmyHo

https://www.pokertableratings.com/hand-history/ipoker/2699724979/13912996026