Limping in with Pocket AA

Personally I feel that limping in with AA is a very risky proposition.if the board has any pair then you wont know whether one of the weaker hands has his set.
Hence its always better to raise Big with pocket rockets so that even if one person calls you will get some value out of it.

If you play small ball poker two things might happen....

One is that even if you win u wont get much out of the hand as you slow played.

Secondly one of the opponents might have two pairs and beat you on the river.

Very rarely will you be able to trap someone slow playing aces. I have got caught many times that way. I wonder how others feel about it. Please let me know your 2cents about it....

All I know is that I tripled up early in a SNG today with a set when people with AA and KK both tried to slow play.

yep i either do 2 things keep the pot small and play it like AK or make an enormous raise PF and let ppl know i got them bad boys. i usually do the 1st thing in SnGs and do the 2nd in tournaments(cuz ppl there play extremely loose). I have tried slow playing AA but yea its frustrating

It is very dangerous to limp with AA. That's why usually I win a small pot or lose a big one with AA since it is difficult to play for value. If you limp there is a good chance that a dog will catch up, and if you raise, everyone might fold. I almost always raise unless I'm very sure there will be a raise after my limp so I can 3bet.

better to just take the blinds down with it and be happy with it with a raise than look like a damned fool limping, checking and calling. i don't know how many times i've been on the BB and been slow played by AA when i hit 2pair or better with whatever lousy hand i was dealt and allowed to check in on. you always know because they either cuss about it afterwards and call you a donk for betting them out (which, i thought, was exactly what they wanted) or like a complete fool, show them. hands i would have gladly folded to any kinda preflop action...and they're trying to herd up the entire table with their AA with a limp....while when i get AA, i'm getting nervous when i get more than one caller with it.

I wish every hand was this difficult to play for value.

AA.jpg

Never ever limp in cash games.

Gotta disagree...plenty of hands/situations make it worth your while to see a cheap flop and limp.

As this relates to the OP...occasionally (see rarely) limping w/AA from early position adds some deception to your preflop play and opens up opportunities to limp with your weaker hands.

These are "forest before the trees" (meta-game) considerations that don't have as much value in SnG's, tournies, or micro/low limit cash games.

But, if you play against the same opponents on a regular basis then you need to mix things up...

sometimes.

There is NOWAY I would ever limp with a huge hand like AA you have to at the very least make a good 3x pot bet for value here and get nsome of the weaker handsz to fold becaused when yopou get a bunch of limpers in there can catch anythiing 2 pairs, str, flush draw, n3 of a kind etc and when it comes down to it even though AA is a great starting hand it is still just 1 pair and alot beats 1 pair in poker

I think it can be advisable on occasions in freeroll play to limp AA, the call stations and wild players are very likely to call any raise or even all ins so seeing the flop can give you a better chance to assess the situation.

I agree fully with the theory of betting or raising high to throw off weaker hands but this can only be applied when playing other players with a grasp of poker strategy, in freeroll the normal rules of poker play are out of the window, the limper catching two low pairs is just as likely to have called your pot raise or all in.

Sure odds wise if you can get head to head pre-flop with your AA you stand an 85% chance of taking the pot as opposed to 34% if all 9 of you have limped in, but in freeroll the majority take no notice of odds and are relying on luck as their main weapon rather than a useful bolt on if you get some.

I think you have to treat every situation when you get pocket rockets on its merits, judge for yourself based upon the history of play, position, stack status, etc, at that particular table at that particular moment in time rather than adopting any coverall strategy on how to play them.

The only way it generally wins you alot of money by limping is when you flop a set, and even then if it comes A-2-4, the big blind might have 3-5. One of the biggest pots I've ever won came when I limped from the button because only one person called and I was afraid if I raised I'd lose everyone...the flop came out K-3-6....I bet 8$ and was check raised by the SB to 20$...knowing I was behind I called anyway and hit an Ace on the turn and then a 6 on the river....he had 3-6. It worked here but I was still way behind after the flop and needed to catch a 2 outer to take the lead.

Limping with AA from ep in cash games is dangerous for the majority of players and should not be recommended. The hand is not defined to opponents and you may find you have let a handful of limpers into the pot behind you. In the majority of cases where this occurs at micro limits some pot size or above bet tends to occur by the AA player only to be called down by opponent(s) on good draws, two pairs or trips. You win more in the longer run and much more safely by 3 or 4 betting this hand from ep.

I will only limp with pocket aces if i am in a situation with a very aggressive player then i will try to get him to double me up....ill take the risk there but otherwise i dont do this much

I don't raise or limp as standard with AA.

But I always end up raising.
I want to take the flop two or three handed, I'll bet as much as I can whilst still expecting to get one maybe two callers.

9 times out of 10 any player with half a brain will put me on jacks through to aces. Or if I'm lucky enough to be in late position, they'll often think I'm representing the big pocket pair.
If an ace or king hits on the flop, the intelligent player can take a stab at it and I can get paid.
But most of the time, the money is either in taking the pot down on the flop or in the guy who's played AT flopped top pair top kicker and overplays it.


I bet it all the way, if someone is going to outdraw me then they're going to pay through the nose to do so. I'm happy to take it down on the flop but I'll trust someone to make a mistake and pay me off with something marginal the rest of the time.

Additionally, betting hands like this strong all the way not only builds a big pot but gives your bluffs a little credibility. In fact, I'll often turn over the aces after someone folds to my flop bet just to show that me betting strong means a big hand.
To be honest, my intention in playing it this way is mostly to give my bluffs credibility, but that doesn't work nearly as well as it should. The truth is that people just don't believe that I'd bet 80-100% of the pot on a safe looking flop with aces and they pay me off.

Maybe it's different wherever you play, but in every game I've played, limping with aces and slow playing is gutless and stupid. You'll lose a big pot and win a small one. Bet it every time.

Raise it up. Raise the same as any hand you are going to play, though -- because it's best to raise preflop. If you raise 3xBB with AA, raise 3xBB with JTs too. That way you will disguise the true value of your hand when you play a monster, while showing strength with your lesser range.

Whatever you do, it's silly to go all-in with AA (unless you have been shoving with anything.) But not as silly as limping.

If you limp in with AA, you are not allowed to whine if you lose. It's an Official Poker Rule.

I only limp in with AA if
table has been loose-aggressive where people constantly raise during pre-flop and I'm utg.
I only limp in if I'm utg and I can smell a raise. Once there's a raise, I get ready to reraise.
But normally, this is NOT an action you want to take majority of the time. Like lot of people say, it's better to win small pot than to lose a big one.

Limping method with AA is usually a method to steal all the dead money(money from people who folded) during pre-flop.

I don't mind the odd limp with the rockets. Lets face it a double up at any time helps and mixing it up with different hand selection for the bump can only help to keep the opposition guessing.

Yeah what Ted said. Get fancy with A-A....and that's the fast track to the bad beat section.

I usually put in a pot sized raise with A-A. You'd be suprised how often that gets called or re-raised.

The only time i limp with AA is in the small blind when every one has folded to me. On the rare ocassion i limp with AA, i have been at the table for a while and have a good read on all the players. 99% i raise.

why would anyone ever want to limp into a pot with AA... the fewer players in the hand the better chance your AA will hold,

bah! someone slow played me with em tonight. i set mined 66. the ace hit on the flop...my 6 did not. everyone checks...6 hits the turn, i bet...he calls, all else fold. the riv was a 2 or something, he had me covered by a little bit so i shoved...oh, look, he's got AA. but i'm more than sure, had his A not hit at all, he would have called it down anyway...which is another reason you should not be limping, unless its one of those situations you have a wild man behind you who you KNOW will raise you...or you're just god of post-flop play, which i most certainly am not....its a hard hand for any amateur to lay down and after they limp thinking they're tricky, they'll sit there calling it all the way down to the end after they're beat, even if they hit a 3rd A. you're throwing away a powerful hand, reducing its chances of winning...with hopes someone will hit something not quite good enough to beat you but will bet like crazy about. it's not that good of an idea...especially since he let me see the first 4 cards for free...me, and 2 other ppl in the hand, and trips isn't a guaranteed win to just be check-calling....though tonight, i was slain slowly by the rockets...i'll get the next guy who tries it though

Ok, I am a new player...ie. i have only been playing for 4 months seriously. However, i have been playing at least 20 hours per week for 4 months, sometimes more. I've read some books, watched some tape...etc....

Anyway, my opinion is this....limping AA is a 99% no-no. The only people you want in the pot are people with hands which AA dominate ie. lower pockets and AK AQ....you do not want a large multi-way pot by any means and you especially do not want hands like 9/10 suited to show up at the table.

That being said...if you are under the gun, i think it is sometimes, at loose as **** tables, to limp AA because you absolutely know someone will raise and you can 3bet them and either get the fold or isolate them for post flop play.

But generally...I have learned the hard way, slow playing AA is a way to lose a lot of money.

Your goal isn't to get your hands to "hold", it's to maximize the size of the pots you are likely to win and minimize those you are likely to lose. If a player to your left has been raising every pot, then limping with the intent of three betting might be a better approach. That's a contrived example but there are other situations where limping with AA allows you a better chance of getting all of your chips in (with AA) pre-flop.

Sure, 99 times out of 100 raising AA from early position (or any position) is the way to go. But, you can't think in absolutes for two reasons: 1) You'll miss out on some rare but profitable opportunities 2) Your more observant opponents will know what you're doing and pick you apart.

Just yesterday, a guy to my left was raising my limps from early position (really he was raising every un-raised pot). I pick up KK and limp, he raises, I 3bet, he folds. I pick up AA on the next hand. I limp, he raises, I 3bet, he shoves.

Sure, I got lucky. But a little luck and some non-standard play allowed me to stack this guy where standard 3xBB raises probably would've just gotten me the blinds or a small pot.

Actually had a post about this myself. I limped with them today which is a rare thing. Probably raise at least 9 out of 10 times or more normally. Either way limped early had 3 people go all in i was last to act and called knocked um all out. Gotta consider your opponents.

i usually raise preflop b/c even if theres no flush draw or straight draw on the flop people like to play bad hands for cheap and alot of the time someone will hit 2 pair or even a set. its not worth the risk

I agree with the 99% raise preflop with AA, but on the rare occasion your sitting at a table and your in EP with a super aggro still to act who always seems to bet big and you "know" that raise is coming it can be very good to limp - reraise. There are no absolutes in poker but you definitely don't want too many people seeing the flop when u get pocket Aces.

ok. so iget that i should raise big preflop with AA rather thaan going all in !!!
right???
I thinks this is the best stratergy i can follow from now on...
Lets see how it works...

always bet big with AA because if u don't then u are beggin for trouble. Remember that it is only a pair and if u allow the limpers to come in they can easily hit. Besides how do u put anybody on any hand if u are not testing their strength by raising?

Very aggressive play with АА - it's my rule.

I have limped AA succefully before. Calling after a raise to induce a squeeze is good and can disguise your hand well. Generally though it is a cash game move just to balance your play and you must be able to fold post flop.

AA allin will only get the blinds.. I always look to get maximum value and sometimes that borders on slow play. Dependent upon the players 2xBB to 4xBB is usually enough to get only 1 or 2 in the hand.

If a king flops and I now have an aggressor I know to be cautious ..... too many times my AA has lost to trip Kings. If I had gone allin for sure the KK would have called. Always looking for maximum value

limping AA pre in a cashgame is not as optimal as raising as a default line. with a plan it can be fine.

also limping AA is hard to balance, esp if u limp re raise.

Yes limping with pocket aces is very risky. most of the time you wont get any value out of it and if you are in early position, you induce other players to want to limp as well.


When i first started playing poker, and i was in early position, i limped a lot trying to get players to raise but 8 out 10 times this never happened. never try get cute with slow playing them because you always get burned.

Be aggressive with them and you should get the value you are supposed to out of them

Limping with any hand makes the baby jesus cry so stop doing it!

Only if it is aggressive table, otherwise you should always bet.