There is no better feeling in the poker world than looking down at one’s cards and seeing two fat and juicy Aces staring right back at you. You are perfectly safe in the knowledge that you have the best hand right now; a good way ahead of all of your opponents. However, I still have to endure those terrible bad beat stories about how someone “never wins with Pocket Aces” or “my Aces always get cracked”. I’m sure you’ve likewise been on the receiving end of such stories and probably a few “bad beats” with aces yourselves. If anyone tries to convince you that Aces are in some way “cursed” or unlucky, they are just plain wrong. Aces should be a very profitable hand for any Texas Hold’em player. If you can’t make money with the best possible starting hand in poker, maybe it’s not your game. Alternatively, you just may have not been playing Aces optimally. They are not unbeatable and require some caution.
This article should give you some good, practical advice about how best to play the Pocket Rockets.
PRE-FLOP: Aces play best heads-up. They do not play well multi-way. Raising is best.
Because of the above reasons, we should always be looking to make a raise when we hold AA. Ideally, you want to be facing down just one opponent on the flop. Consequently, limping in early position may seem tricky and might conceal the strength of your hand, but is just a plainly bad idea. If you limp, especially in looser or more passive games, you are encouraging over players to limp in to the pot, meaning you might be facing half a dozen opponents on the flop, meaning there is a good chance you will have been out-flopped by a weaker starting hand. Unless you improve, if you’re facing strong bets and raises from the opposition, you’ll have to lay your hand down, and as we know it is quite difficult to lay down Aces.
Other players tend to limp Aces in early position in the hope that they will be raised by a player in later position so that they can re-raise and build a big pot. Again, this is a sub-optimal play. You may as well turn your hand face up. Your range is polarised to Aces or Kings. It is just an outrageously strong line to take. So unless they have another premium hand than they will just fold and you’ll pick up a small pot, clearly missing out on obvious value.
For those reasons, it is evidently best just to raise pre-flop with Aces pre-flop. Your hand isn’t nearly as clearly defined. If you have a fairly wide opening range, especially in late position, then the opponent is going to have a hard job putting you on Aces. Similarly, if your opponent just flat calls your range, his hand is defined as being one that is in the marginal to reasonable range rather than the monster range. Likewise, if he re-raises, we know we have an opponent with a premium hand meaning we can make a lot of money and perhaps even get the money in before the flop when we are a massive favourite. It is therefore perfectly clear that it makes sense to raise with Rockets before the flop.
POST- FLOP PLAY: Don’t slow-play. Look to build a pot. Be prepared to reconsider the strength of your hand if unimproved.
After seeing a flop, it is still advisable to be betting aggressively. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, the pot isn’t going to build itself. Betting for value helps to create a sizable win, assuming we are ahead at the end. We have the best possible starting hand; we deserve to win a big pot. Secondly, it helps define the opponent’s range of possible hands. We are able to judge what our action should be on later streets based upon what the opponent does when we bet or raise. In that vein, if we get raised on the turn, as previous Key Concepts articles will tell you, we can pass if we fail to improve as a one pair hand is probably not the best hand.
Thirdly, because Continuation Betting is so common, if we lead into the pot, our opponent may call or raise us light because they believe we are c-betting with air. Good players often float continuation bets, meaning we can employ the check-raise on the turn if the board is suitable, building a big pot. Again, if our opponent is drawing, we want to bet because we can give him mathematically unfavourable odds to call with a large bet.
As final words of advice, I want to re-cap the key principles
-Aces are not indestructible. Be prepared to lay down if unimproved in the face of strong action.
-Don’t fall in love with Rockets just because it is the best starting hand. Stacking off with one pair when our opponent has a set is bad for the bank balance.
-Never slow-play Aces pre-flop. Just don’t!
-Less is more in terms of opponents. Aim for heads-up pots.
There we have it. See if you can put this advice to good use next time you get dealt Pocket Aces.
Key Concepts takes a brief hiatus now for a week or two as we begin a new “Back to Basics” series tomorrow aiming to help absolute beginners learn the game from the very basics. Even established players may need to brush up on the basics and there will be plenty of great strategy advice. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series so far and have been able to improve your game. Key Concepts will return soon, so remember to check back.
This article was written by meshuganater.
Tags: Aces, hold'em, Key Concepts, pre-flop. post flop, strategy, tactics