Playin Aces

I think its one of the hardest things to do in poker, is to master how to play aces especially in short handed games. For example- my aces got busted twice in one hand the other day because three handed someone raised with ace three, my aces limped in, and so did a Jack King and they caught two pair with J K and three of a kind with the three's

What is the best strategy to play these aces?

I think that if you can limp in from someone else's raise then that could be a good way to play them, if you are more than 4 or 5 handed however, a re-raise could be possible with the likelihood of rag aces being out there?

Lets Debate

Get as much money in preflop. Seek showdown on wet flops. Stack on dry flops against fish.

[/debate]

i got sick poker tracker 4 aces , i call reraise with aces some1 reraises at my limits kk qq or ak so calling 10 high flop there cert all in but only do it 2 super tight players

I likie... alotie!

Don't get cute, play them fast. You know what Doyle always says about AA...

Stack with them no matter what. On anything. Even on boards that are heavily coordinated for flushes and straights.

I mean, what are the odds the other guy really has it? He's probably bluffing.

I never limp with aces, always reraise/push if you have to PF. Postflop, they are just a pair, so proceed with caution if board looks scary

ya, i would hardly ever slow play aces, especially preflop

I only slow play aces when short stacked or at the end of a tourney. Other that that, they are all-in.

thats exactly when you wanna go all-in pf, other's might think you havent got much when you're short-stacked!

I don't think it's ever right, in any circumstance, to just smooth call a raise with Aces. It's much better to 3bet/4bet the raiser 2.5-3x his bet. I think it's necessary to define your hand, and to show bonafide strength pre-flop, in order to put pressure on your opponent. This accomplishes two things:

1. It puts the pressure on your opponent, who is now forced to believe that you are ahead pre-flop.

2. Whether you're in late or early position, you're usually given control of the pot. Even if a person has Kings and the flop comes J-8-4 rainbow, a good player will usually check to see how you lead out. No need to mention calling down a forced bluff here.

The trouble that most players have with Aces is usually the mystique that it has, that somehow Aces are the end-all to a huge payoff. However, in a game where players are likely to raise with hands like KQos, Js10s, you will really have to be the aggressor in order to save yourself from possible suckouts.

One thing to be aware of is leaning just beyond the edge of the game's comfort level. What I mean is, if you notice that the game is very tight, a typical 3-5xBB raise should weed out the garbage hands before the flop. However, if the game is loose and there's a lot of action, depending on your image and position, it may be necessary to either:

1)Lead out with a very big raise from Early Position,
2) Re-Raise 3x the raiser from later position, or,
3) If you know that people are raising damn near every hand, or a couple maniacs are to your left, check with the intent of popping it up upon the raise.

*Note that Number 3 is a volatile option, since these maniacs may just surprise (see: Upset) you by just smooth calling with 64offsuit. Depending on your stack and your opponents' stacks, I wouldn't try anything fancy like this unless you have them covered and you are willing to allow more players to see the flop and risk losing it all to a suckout in exchange for a possible big payout.

All that being said, do know that Aces are just as good as any other hand until you see the board develop. In most cases, if you're not getting paid off from this hand, it's usually one of two things:

1) You tried to slow play the hand by building the pot / slowplaying / trapping.

2) You got all your chips into the middle with the best hand and the opponent sucked out.

The biggest factor that should determine how to play your Aces should be the texture of the game, and your opponents. Pay closer attention to the pace, ebb & flow of your game, and you should know how to execute your hand accordingly.

If it's not rare to see people putting it all-in Pre-Flop with 2 or 3 callers (*ahem* freerolls), then don't be scared of shoving all-in PF with your hand. Whether you get a walk or not, it's usually worth the shot. But, if the game is tight, then again, 3-5xBB is usually sufficient, and if you get 3betted, then shoving is your best play.

One last thing to be aware of: Your opponents' stacks.

If your opponents pops you/opens up, figure out what the pot odds are for him. If you have him/her covered, consciously try to commit them to the pot by forcing them to call/fold a bet worth at least 1/3 - 1/2 of their stack. If they've opened up with a 1/3 of their stack already, I would already be shoving them to commit the rest of their chips pre-flop, as it's just as likely that they are either putting it all in, or folding, by the turn.

So yeah I was just talking about how to play this...

Well...

Here's what happens when you limp from EP trying to induce a bluff deep in a 2,800 person tournament.

Dealer: miked2000 posts the small blind of 300
Dealer: Lance Funston 7 posts the big blind of 600
Dealer: You have been dealt [As Ac]
UTG: Sax_me_the_Old calls 600
HERO: Iron Mic Titan calls 600
CO: blkislovly calls 600
BB: Lance Funston 7 checks

Dealer: The flop is [6s Jd 7c]
BB: Lance Funston 7 checks
UTG: Sax_me_the_Old bets 1,800
HERO: Iron Mic Titan raises to 3,600
UTG: Sax_me_the_Old calls 1,800

Dealer: The turn is Q♠
BB: Sax_me_the_Old checks
HERO: Iron Mic Titan bets 5,400
BB: Sax_me_the_Old raises to 26,775
HERO: Iron Mic Titan has 15 seconds left to act
HERO: Iron Mic Titan raises to 35,301, and is all in
BB: Sax_me_the_Old calls 8,526

Dealer: Iron Mic Titan shows [As Ac]
Dealer: Sax_me_the_Old shows [Qd Jc]

Dealer: The river is 4♠
Dealer: Iron Mic Titan shows a pair of Aces
Dealer: Sax_me_the_Old shows two pair, Queens and Jacks
Dealer: Sax_me_the_Old wins the pot (81,177) with two pair, Queens and Jacks
Dealer: Iron Mic Titan finishes in 258th place


So, yeah... that's what I get for not consciously thinking through the circumstance and not bumping up the bet to show strength. Idiot.

That depends on how many people you have playing with you. If a good amount of cards come up and he's raising heavy, there's no saying he doesn't have it. Aces usually have about 80-90% chance of winning pre-flop. (1 vs 1). But if there are many people playing (3 or more) chances are large that they're going to hit something more than one pair.

The only time I'll slowplay pre-flop (can count on 1 hand), is if I've got VERY aggro. on immediate left, who will raise extremely wide range. When it gets back to me... p-u-u-u-u-s-s-s-s-h-h-h-h!

Does folding AA pre-flop in a limit game count? I've done that once, just to say I could!

I happened to like this hand, as an example:

MissKiwi is at seat 1 with $6.81.
Hero is at seat 2 with $10.11.
mu33 is at seat 3 with $8.97.
StringFly is at seat 4 with $10.06.
The button is at seat 4.

MissKiwi posts the small blind of $.05.
Hero posts the big blind of $.10.

MissKiwi: -- --
Hero: Ah As
mu33: -- --
StringFly: -- --

Pre-flop:

mu33 folds. StringFly raises to $.30. MissKiwi
folds. Hero re-raises to $1. StringFly re-raises
to $3.05. Hero calls.

Flop (board: Tc Td 2h):

Hero checks. StringFly bets $6. Hero goes
all-in for $7.06. StringFly goes all-in for $7.01.
Hero is returned $.05 (uncalled).

Turn (board: Tc Td 2h 4c):

(no action in this round)


River (board: Tc Td 2h 4c Ad):

(no action in this round)




Showdown:

Hero shows Ah As.
Hero has Ah As Tc Td Ad: full house, aces full of tens.
StringFly shows Js Jd.
StringFly has Js Jd Tc Td Ad: two pair, jacks and tens.