Pocket Aces

would you usually go all-in with pocket aces? I use to, because I watched 'em do it on T.V. but I rarely seem to win with them. I don't get it, its suppose to be a good hand right? I raise big, people call, and I get beat nearly every time. I am going to assume it is just bad luck. Or am I missing something?

well, majority of the time ive been lucky to win when starting with aces. Pre-flop you need to make a normal raise with them. On the flop you need to bet big, its kind of that simple really. Sometimes you can make more money off them by even limping pre-flop, but thats another story. Well, try new things with pocket aces and see what works you, GL!

I usually raise very big but not all in. Anyone with any sense won't join you with crappy cards, but they may join you with faces or pairs, or decent draw cards. After the flop I usually check to see if there is any thing that could be damaging or if there is any thing with a lot of potential and make another big raise or all-in from there. If someone trips up hey they prolly would of won the hand anyway but with rockets after the Im willing to take my chances agianst to pair with something pairing on the board or hitting the third ace, but this is just what I do with bullets and many people have different opinions you just have to choose a style or a few ways of playing the bullets and just stick with it.

Dexter,

I assume you mean the all-in push that is a huge overbet, i.e. your not shortstacked. With AA, it is IMO a bad play as typically you will lose quite a bit of value. I usually (and think most other players do as well) interpret the all-in push as a player that is scared to see the flop but has a strong enough hand they don't mind playing for stacks, so AK or JJ. A loose player may now and again bluff all-in with crap, but that is not really worth discussion.

Who will most likely call the all-in? KK, QQ, JJ, maybe AK, or if a player reads you as loose and puts you on AK and has a mid pair.

So if you have AA, is the above range of hands the only callers you want? No, you want a much greater range of hands to call a sizeable bet and then get your money in postflop. You want KQ, JT, 66, Ax to call. If you go all-in they have little choice but to fold.

thats really brutal. did you start throwing stuff at home? lol

ugotkicked thats exactly what i am talking about, thanks for the playable link. so I just learned thats a bad beat, or would that be considered a cold deck? I thinks its a bad beat.

Dexter,

That is a bad beat....cold deck is if you are not getting dealt playable cards for an extended period of time, i.e. you are getting 72, J6, K3, and/or when you do see a flop you don't connect.

It's clearly a bad beat, pair of aces is only 80% chance to win any hand, so 1 time in 5 that you play you usually loose, if you don't know the time to fold aces, and are getting bad luck everytime that you got it you're gonna loose, there is no invencible hand pre flop

How much you raise should be decided on how the players at your table have been playing, your position at the table and the actions ahead of you. If there are lot of a limpers, push 'em out right now and collect the pot. If one player has shoved, shove back twice as hard. Slow playing them may be a very good option as well too (esp if you make a set on the flop and don't face a draw), it all depends on the situation.

Limping is the wrong thing to do, but every once in a while I will just to trap an aggressive villian.

before the flop pocket aces are rated the number one hand how are you gonna pre flop fold you can't but you see two queens on the board and some one bets big you might have to lay poacket aces down..........

I learned just recently not to slow play monster hands.

Had KK with 30-60 blinds and 3 bet preflop and got two callers. Board flopped Qd3d8c. Not a bad flop for me, a little scarey with the flush draw though. I bet 180 for value and he called. Next card was a 6 or 5 of spades. Bet 280, again for value but raising trying to see his strength. He flat calls again. River came out Kd giving me a set but making the flush more possible.

I could only check to him here. And, of course, he bets the pot and I can't let go of my hand. It's staring me in the face that I'm beat, but I already donktarded the hand, so why stop there.

Slow playing gives a good chance for someone to suckout on your big hand. I don't do it anymore. I at least 4 bet a big hand anymore.

I am making the assumption that you play lower stakes.

With pocket aces you should play strongly pre-flop, re-evaluate, and probably play strong on the flop

Something I've notice since playing online, and probably why my Aces hold up 90% of the time since realizing it.
I hear a lot of people complaining about their Aces not holding up, and I just thought I'd share an observation of mine. Most people only raise 3 to 5x the BB, or get hyper aggressive and go all in.
Online, a raise of 5x the BB is not respected by 70% of the table! Hard to fathom huh? But think about it, how often have you raised with your Aces only to have 3-6 callers and you end up losing to the guy playing 9/3 or something like that?
So what do I do? Well I'll tell you like this
BB = 30 ( I raise to a min 240) 50% of the time it's folded around 40% of the time I only get 1 caller 10% = 2 callers. After the flop I bet the pot nothing less.
BB = 100 ( I raise to 800) everything else same as above.
As you can see I raise a min of 8 times the BB. If it is raised before me I raise it to a min of 6x their bet.
Simple enough and may not be how you'd play them or be your style, but It works for me and I can honestly say that my Aces stand up 9x out of 10 when I play them this way.
Take it for what it's worth too you and good luck on the felts

If you have the chance, always go all in with aces. If you dont, then its just dumb and you'll allow suited conections connect on the flop for cheap and take away ur stack if you don't apply any pressure.

Not sure about cash games, but in tournaments and sit&go's I play the aces depending on my position and relative tightness/looseness of the table. With freerolls, I like raising 5x-10x blinds preflop in late pos (almost guaranteed to get lots of callers) and sometimes I raise 10x blinds preflop. It's the only way to make sure your Aces are heads' up with something reasonable instead of crap like 5-8f which a surprising amount of players play.

I mean seriously, don't you hate having your AA get cracked by crap? But I also hate it when everyone folds preflop to a big preflop raise, so I sometimes consider just doing 3x preflop raise or even just 2x. I rarely limp in with AA, and I'm always amazed and shocked when I see somebody who does.

These dirty rascals seem to give us all the deception that they are winners. Don't sweat it when you lose goin all in with them. I hate em. I suggest this Before the flop any two cards are winners..... I feel its a 50/50 chance with any two until the flop comes down... so in the future i would slow play them rockets... If the flop comes in your favor fire away small they will prob fold to your small to med bet just as well as an all in GL and remember check once lol

At a CC FR on Carbon 2 weeks ago I had pkt As one hand, pushed all in and WON! 2-3 hands later I get 'em AGAIN but this time I decide to slow play 'em and get called pre flop---the flop shows 6-7-9o, the guy who called me had, what else but the 8-10 in his hand! Had I not gotten greedy and pushed AGAIN instead of slow playin', I' SURE he would have folded again like the rest! From now on I get pkt As, dats it!! ALL IN!!

the biggest mistake is to slow play pocket aces its always a bigger risk to lose when to much players are in the game always raise or all-in when you dont have a raise befor

the best thing to do with pocket aces by my opinion just go all in the worst hands fold, then it's just luck when you hit your A

If you have aces, and people raise for you you should always put them all in if they raise big. Aces you should play against 1 or 2 people. Not when there more then 2 people in the game. If you get a flop like k-4-2 the chance is big, someone has k-q so you can clean him if you don't get beat.

But remember, if you just have a feeling and you know someone has better like 2 pair, you should easily fold aces.

Most of the time you want to raise enough to thin out the competition.
The more people to the flop the less likely your hand will hold up. If you are in late position you need to raise more as the pot has grown larger and it gives the other people in the pot incentive to stay in it. So my rule of thumb is 4xBB+1 for every limper. If the pot is raised triple it. Your goal is to to get the pot large with only one or perhaps two callers. After the flop you're unlikely to get much action except for those hand that might have you beat.

I usually try and bet the donkey's out. Doesnt always work, but remember with AA, you still only have one pair, and a lot of bad hands can catch something to beat it. Remember that on TV, you usually see a final table, much different than early in a FR,

Depends on several factors. Why rake the blinds when a few well placed bets could earn you a nice payday. Also allows yow to bow out cheaply on floped pairs or trips, 3 suited cards, or possible staight draws. Doesn't hurt to change up your game either.

i will all in ,and i think the pockets aces is not a hard cards.
can win the hand ,but cant get more cash.

I really don't understand when people saying they lose with them almost half of the time or something.. Come on, it's easy, don't play them wrong! I win with them more than 90% of the time, because this is the best starting hand and one of the easiest to play.
If you have pocket aces you want 1 or maximum 2 callers. If more than 2 opponents looking at a flop which is, or can be scary, you have to lay it down because you estimated poorly the amount of raise and the possible callers before the flop.
And if you have that 1 or 2 caller, don't slowplay it on the flop, raise at least 3/4 pot at any flop, or you can have a family-pot at the river with one pair in your hands, and you can tell another bad beat story.

Aces...win a little money..or lose A LOT.

People who know will tell you.....if you win more than 80 or lose more than 20 you're probably playing them wrong....raising too much..or not raising enough. You're going to lose at least 1 in 5 times OVER TIME.

That means you might lose 5 times in a row, then win ten, then lose once then win 5, lose 2 times, then win 10......you're not going to win 4 and lose one in most single tournaments IF you happen to see aces that many times.

Pocket Aces

I usually give a raise with AA in hand, maybe give a raise of 3 times the big blind, but much depends on my position on the table, also depends on how my opponents play and notes that I have them in my notebook.
It is better to give a raise and see the flop and analyze the results of which give an all in and lose the game.

I saw a guy at a live game slowed play AA and got beat by a guy that hit a set on the river. The guy next to me said, "thats why I go all in after the flop with AA". The very next hand I had JJ in the sb and the same guy (in the bb) raised $20 and I called. Flop came J rag rag and I checked because I was hoping he had aces. He pushed and I insta called. Sure enough he had aces. There is no way to play aces a certain way and win every time.

You must play this hand in different ways. Sometimes go all-in, sometimes call, sometimes raise 3x or 4x BB. And yes, sometimes they will crack your AA, bad luck...

I am going to try your strategy. It has gotten to the point that I don't trust pocket A's or AK. When I do have luck with them, I find that the best strategy for me in the tournies is to bet about 4x the big blind and wait to see what kind of calls I get. I really don't want to push everyone out so after the flop if there is a bet, I usually just raise the bet 2x to 3x and let others think they have the best hand. Bet all in after the turn and by then I usually have them on the hook. Don't know if this is the best strategy but if the cards on the board warrant it, this usually the best strategy for me to make money on the pocket As. What do you think? Should I be changing my strategy?

i agree first part but no1 easily folds AA beleive me for example there was flush in the board i bluffed like i had it, some1 called with AA without flush, he couldnt fold and won :S

I normally make a standard bet 3xBB, 4xBB before the flop. When I make a set then make a small bet or even check. When I don't make a set then I raise pot (or 3/4 pot). Be aware of people who re-raise you, maybe they have made their set...

Yeah, I to have made the mistake of limping in because to myself Im thinking * Humm his hand must be weak ill bet him hard * in which I would captalize and get a big hand... but now I am starting to realize... I really dont want to many people in there with me lol.

I have seen sooo many times some the person I could of pushed out with a strong preflop raise make a set on the flop and I fall right into there trap....

Normally, players get too attached to aces and can't fold in obvious spots in which they are beat, which may be your problem. if the board is 789JJ and is 3 flushed and your opponent pushes, a lot of players tend to call with aces when I would advise a fold here. If you push all-in and are called by an inferior and and lose, then you can just attribute that to variance and you did nothing wrong. Be decision oriented.

pocket aces to me are a good starting hand but thats it!! u cant have more than 2 players going agenst u and u never know what will flop 4 to a str8 or flush? you aces can be cracked about 40% of the time i think it is so thats not the best odds ive seen play it out and try to get a set