How Should I Play Pocket Aces?

ok. i think i may be playing AA wrong. let's say it's elimination tourny, and your dealt AA. the blinds are 100/200 and your UTG. i open bid with a low 400. just enough to make people with bad hands to drop but keep people interested. then i check after the flop if there isn't anything really helpful (ex. K,Q,J, or 10) there is i bet 400. after the turn i always bet 400. then at the river I bet another 400.

Ok. for some reason i don't understand i have been getting my noggin knocked in. people have been catching up.

should i

go all in after the flop
go all in after the turn?

or raise it higher preflop?

any suggestions?

you're letting them get amazing odds if your'e only betting 2 Big blinds on every street. I mean think about it this way say you have 2 people in the pot against you after they called your 400 pre flop. Now if you bet 400 on the flop the first guy to act is now getting at least 4:1 on his money which are nice to chase a lot of draws and the next guy to act is getting 5:1 which makes it appealing also. Then on the next round you bet another 400 now the guy behind you is getting 7:1 on his money, you're basically making it impossible for them to fold their draws. first of all you need to make it between 2.5x the BB - 3x the BB preflop.
And then after that you need to be betting roughly 1/2 pot or a little more or less depending on board texture and what kind of odds you want to give your opponents. You really have to consider what kind of odds you're giving your opponents when making your bet, when you want them to draw some more give them a smaller amount to call but when you're ready for them to quit drawing put in a bigger raise.

a minumun raise doesnt really eliminate most players from the hand, generally you want to raise at lease 3x the big blind. when you check on the flop you are giving your opponent free cards to turn 2 pair against you. (unless you are playing against agressive players whom you know will try to bluff at the pot)

So, basically, you're saying that instead of checking you should raise again?

the only time i limp or min raise with AA is if i am short stacked, and i need the action. all other times its a standard 3x raise, and add a big blind for every limper if there are any. if someone raises in front of me. i will 3x there raise.

How do i play pocket aces? Should i limp in with pp aces from any position? Should I raise no matter what position im in? And if the flop comes out 8910, is it worth pushing all in? Or would you consider them having jq first? I know it feels good to look down at pocket aces but what is really the best way to play them?

I love pocket aces, but I usually limp in just to see how the others are betting. If the flop is 8910 I just call to see what comes up. I play aces very tight. I wish I could tell you exactly what to do but I feel it is a gut call. That decision is up to you. Just watch the betting it will give you a good idea of what is going on.

We don't need two threads so similar started same day, so I've merged them.

Get as much money in as you can when you know you're ahead, raise preflop. Stack sizes are also important when considering how to play them...

raise more 3X BB plus 1 BB per limper, and or bet more on the Flop, the turn, and the river, watch out for str8s and flushes.... your bet should be going up as you see the flop, turn, river. You have to make them pay to see the next card, see if they are willing to pay to see the next card.
Thought, if this is a freeroll, most of what has been said won't do much to help.

What you really need to do is what all and none of the previous people are saying.
Develope a standard of play that works for you:
this standard will include;
type of game
number of players
buy-in
position on table
previous playes by other players on table (take notes)
stack size (yours and theres)
how close to payout
ect.
ect.
ect.
oh, and track the sucess of your set choices and change them if they don't work a fair % of the time.
as getting beat out with slow playing poket AA thats what your asking for.
I bet if you had kept track most of the time you were beat by face card rag and small poket pairs that filled.
If you get rockets make the other players beat you dont let them. that's my rule.

thanks bob you have been really helpful. i need to increase the betting a little bit more. thanks

Of course they are catching up. You are letting them see more cards for nothing or cheaply. As for how you play them it depends on lots of different things. Position on table, position in tourney, stack size, other players etc. But one thing you do not do is let somebody see cards for nothing. Win the pot first and foremost.

In tourneys you want to get money in the pot preflop with 2 or less callers.

3-5 BB to vary your play, but 3 BB with AA is good as you don't want everyone to fold.

The next important thing to note is the texture of the flop.

-Check for straight draw possibilities
-Flush possibilities
-Flops that may need the villian more time to catch up before betting out etc

If the flop looks dangerous to you, you need to out price the draws, so if they call with a draw they are making a mistake.

Remember if you think your beaten (they made there draw on the turn/river) you can always fold if your hand didn't improve.

Also if you got more callers than you thought, don't be affraid to change your plan, and try to get to the showdown cheaply if you feel your beaten.

The real problem here, as one or two others have noted, is this: you are trying to apply a single cookie-cutter rule to unique situations. You will never consistently win that way. Most of the advice above is both correct and incorrect, depending on the usual variables (stack sizes, position, history, tourney stage, your style etc.....)

And one more thing -- min raising, especially into multi-limpers or from EP is often an online tell that min-raiser is holding a big pair. I am especially cautious against min-raisers in those situations.

For me it depends on the situation. I would definatly raise 3x BB Pre-flop and/or re-raise a raise. A lot of players make the mistake of letting other players at the table see the flop by not defending their hand. If no straights or flushes are on the flop, I would raise half the pot to weed out the weak hands. I like to slow play my AA to profit as much as possible from the hand. Don't over rate pocket AA as I have seen many players lose by going all in pre flop.

unless there is a pair or a straight draw and unless you're certain your opponent called you and outflopped you. you dont want to give your opponents the chance to outdraw you later on or to bluff you out of the hand. now of course this depends on how the table is playing. if your opponent is known to play loose agressive I wouldnt be surprise if he flopped something, but remember you took control of the hand and if you give it to your opponent you also risk losing the hand

been noticing late in the tourny (blinds 200+ if i bet 3x most people fold) that raising 3x the bb is working out really well, and i've been winning more and more with AA. Early in the tourny (150-) people are still calling 3x the bb. so i have been just making it 500 (bb 10 thru 150), and that has been working out well. thank you people for your advice!!!!

Pretty much all this. And...

Min-raising AA UTG at a tight table is no crime (although I prefer raising 2 - 3x BB). But checking the flop after you've let everyone in cheap is suicide. If I got 5 people to call my min-raise, I'm raising the entire pot or more post-flop. The only time you might not wanna do this is if you catch a set on a dry flop. But scary flops are why you need to weed out the trash to begin with. You really don't want to be in a situation where you have to raise huge in bad position on a scary flop to induce folds - that is, if no one already caught their straight, flush, set of 5s or even 2 pair.

I was BB in an unraised hand yesterday, with J4. Flop comes a J49 rainbow. I make a standard raise. Mid position goes all-in, the cutoff calls, I call. Turn is x, river 9 (not that it would have mattered). Mid pos had KJ, cutoff had J9 and a boat. The only person you would have beat with AA was the chick who went all-in the first place. Moral of the story... 3-4x raise, I fold and probably so does the cutoff.

I'm gonna be te contrary one today. dont raise and see what happens or just fold. my last several have been busted by str8's or flushes.
basicaly, I hate AA

This is how NOT to play AA

PokerStars Game #27684373944: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2009/04/30 20:54:35 PT [2009/04/30 23:54:35 ET]
Table 'Klio IX' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: TRM_SHRiMP ($6.55 in chips)
Seat 2: cobarn ($3 in chips)
Seat 6: tres420 ($1.42 in chips)
TRM_SHRiMP: posts small blind $0.01
cobarn: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to TRM_SHRiMP [3s Ad]
tres420: folds
TRM_SHRiMP: raises $0.04 to $0.06
cobarn: calls $0.04
*** FLOP *** [Ks 9c 7s]
TRM_SHRiMP: checks
cobarn: checks
*** TURN *** [Ks 9c 7s] 4♥
TRM_SHRiMP: checks
cobarn: checks
*** RIVER *** [Ks 9c 7s 4h] 7♥
TRM_SHRiMP: checks
cobarn: bets $2.94 and is all-in
TRM_SHRiMP: folds
Uncalled bet ($2.94) returned to cobarn
cobarn collected $0.12 from pot
cobarn: shows [As Ah] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
copper4393 joins the table at seat #3
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $0.12 | Rake $0
Board [Ks 9c 7s 4h 7h]
Seat 1: TRM_SHRiMP (small blind) folded on the River
Seat 2: cobarn (big blind) collected ($0.12)
Seat 6: tres420 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

If you play AA slow you deserve to get them cracked. AA as with most pocket pairs are heads up hands. The more people in the pot the odds of winning with AA drops like a rock. With three people in the pot AA drops to something like 53% advantage. Compared to 80/20 when HU.

Don't believe me? Play the freerolls and see how many times AA and KK gets cracked when there are multiple players in the pot. Compare that with how many times AA and KK gets cracked when played heads up. (80/20-ish and 70/30 -ish).

Table conditions and the players tendencies will dicate how much to raise, but at the lower stakes a 2xBB isn't going to scare too many people. All the LAG players are definately going to call.

It's frustrating when you put in a stiff raise and you get called by 10-8 offsuit and they hit a flush or a full house. But you are putting the odds in your favor by driving out as many hands as you can. Don't worry about scaring the table, there is going to someone out there who thinks their KJ or AJ are unbeatable and can't shove their money in fast enough.

It depends on the caliber of players around you. If the buy in is low your probably playing with donks that will call anything to get a flush or something. And im not saying anything is rigged online but id be careful with AA. try betting more prefolp to get folds and if nothing looks good on the flop Id be willing to bet that you have the hand so bet more. I dont like playing AA to the river because people usually beat a pair if their calling raises like that

I will play it both ways. If the table is really tight I might play them a little slower to try to get some action. On a loose table...yum yum.

your goal should be to play them, only concentrate on that.
if you know no -one will call your raise - just limp.
if you know you are gonna get action- raise the amount needed to get max 2 callers....
if you have ballsy players looking to play- raise big- this will disguise your strength.
if you are under the gun at late levels- always raise, don't limp.
if you are at the big blind with them, bet the amount to get 1 caller, if there were several players all-in before you, it might be best to fold them.
in anyway- play the players while holding them- it's also a poker art of itself.

i tend to limp if im in early positions cause its very probable that one of the players in your table make a raise so then you can re raise and if he doesnt call, at least you win his initial bet. In middle positions maybe a standard raise of 3BB its more convenient because betting too much will produce lots of player who are gonna fold good hands ( like aj, kq)...
if you are in sb, or dealer limping is the best choice ( if no one enter in the pot), thats because you want those players to enter in the pot so you can win as much chips as possible..

There are about 500 posts on Cardschat about this subject. I would recommend you search them and get a big cup of coffee because you'll be reading for awhile. If that's not enough I think you should read Super System by Doyle. He breaks down AA,KK,AK,QQ, and pocket pairs as well as a ton of other stuff. Great book for beginners and semi pros too.

Treat them like pocket 2's and play them very cautiously.

you don't want dominated hands hitting 2 pair with KJ

a pair of aces is only a pair.. win a small pot or lose a big one

From what you have said though I really think that at that level you are making the pot to small, not enough value for such a big hand. Since the pot is so small also yes you are giving ample opportunity for people to catch up.

i always slow play them n win 90% of the time. but you cant always expect to win with the highest pair. I rather play with monsters than having the dual bullets.

Playing Pocket Rockets can be a tricky thing to do properly. The more you play, the more you see them get sucked out on by a mid pocket pair, or suited connectors. But raising too much preflop scares everyone away and you get no value on a hand you been waiting all session for. I believe the biggest factor on how to raise preflop is by knowing your opponents. Do you have an opponent that has been a call machine? Or is 3-4x a big blind bet going to scare everyone away? Is there someone at the table who has been raising frequently and will do the dirty work for you preflop if u just limp in (hand positioning is crucial), then come over with a raise (that way u at least have their raise in grasps) There are manyy factors that contribute how to play them, but I am highly against just limping in or making a minimal raise, DONT let people see FREE cards. I like to check after the flop to let ur opponent take their fate into their own hands, then push the action on the turn and river.

and as with any hands....dominance is merely an illusion..any two cards can win...may the poker gods be with you!

Hi anarchy 304
I think you should check out some strategy articles, you'll find interesting stuff:
strategy articles on poker strategy OR strategies tips at pokernews.

...

Isn't AA the biggest monster there is??? I seriusly doubt you win 90% of the time slow playing AA.