A little help on overcoming fear please

Hi I'm a new member although i have been browsing the forums for awhile reading the threads and posts of the members of the community. Anyway, I've been going to poker clubs and home games lately and thinking of taking my game to a higher level, but for some reason when I'm dealt Pocket Aces or Kings im so scared of getting cracked because there was a time where i lost over 400$ when i got dealt Aces 3 times in one night consecutivly losing my whole stack when i got all the money in preflop by 8 6 off suit who caught runner 8s on 4th and 5th and AQ who caught a flush on the turn and AK who caught 2 kings on the flop. Im playing on scared money and thinking my hand is going to be cracked, so now i tend to reraise over the top or raise insane amounts of money when i get dealt these hands thus not maximizing profits. Any idea on what to think of or how to play these big pocket pairs better? thanks in advacnce

Raise preflop, pay attention to your opponents playing styles, don't overbet the flop and proceed with caution on the turn and the river. Not maximizing your winnings with big hands is the same thing as losing. GL

g0tjohnd said:

Hi I'm a new member although i have been browsing the forums for awhile reading the threads and posts of the members of the community. Anyway, I've been going to poker clubs and home games lately and thinking of taking my game to a higher level, but for some reason when I'm dealt Pocket Aces or Kings im so scared of getting cracked because there was a time where i lost over 400$ when i got dealt Aces 3 times in one night consecutivly losing my whole stack when i got all the money in preflop by 8 6 off suit who caught runner 8s on 4th and 5th and AQ who caught a flush on the turn and AK who caught 2 kings on the flop. Im playing on scared money and thinking my hand is going to be cracked, so now i tend to reraise over the top or raise insane amounts of money when i get dealt these hands thus not maximizing profits. Any idea on what to think of or how to play these big pocket pairs better? thanks in advance

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I used to have this complex. What helped me was to study probabilities. I read some books and articles about it. I got over being "results-oriented" and now I know that not every hand can win EVERY time. Good hands can lose and bad hands can win.

To start you off: Pocket Aces will win an average of 80% of the time versus random hands pre-flop. So no matter what, you should win with them 80 out of 100 times. However, you WILL LOSE with them 20 times out of 100. That's just the way it is.

Anyway, study up and figure out what is the correct way to play these probabilities. Then you'll be on your way to conquering your fear. Good luck.

g0tjohnd said:

Hi I'm a new member although i have been browsing the forums for awhile reading the threads and posts of the members of the community. Anyway, I've been going to poker clubs and home games lately and thinking of taking my game to a higher level, but for some reason when I'm dealt Pocket Aces or Kings im so scared of getting cracked because there was a time where i lost over 400$ when i got dealt Aces 3 times in one night consecutivly losing my whole stack when i got all the money in preflop by 8 6 off suit who caught runner 8s on 4th and 5th and AQ who caught a flush on the turn and AK who caught 2 kings on the flop. Im playing on scared money and thinking my hand is going to be cracked, so now i tend to reraise over the top or raise insane amounts of money when i get dealt these hands thus not maximizing profits. Any idea on what to think of or how to play these big pocket pairs better? thanks in advacnce

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Seek out the people who will call your all in preflop and play them as often as possible for as much money as you can afford.
You now seem to be playing with people who actually fold (!) to a huge preflop overbet.
Game selection!!

What the others said.

Also, ensure that you play at a level where you can easily afford to lose, should you be unlucky. This helps enormously to avoid these kinds of problems. Ideally, you need to be able to think of the chips as just chips, a way of keeping score in a game you are playing for fun, like the meaningless paper money in a game of Monopoly. That way, you can play the game for its own sake and bring your best game, undistracted by money worries.

It seems to me that you had an awful run of bad luck. Don't let this condition your game. You got your aces cracked 3 times going all-in preflop. There is nothing you can do about it, you played it correctly.

In general I believe the best approach to playing aces is exactly the one you used, trying to get the money in preflop. As was pointed out by Mr Sticker, AA is an 80% favorite HU against any random 2 cards. Losing 3 times in a row in those conditions is very odd and won't happen alot.

More often than not you won't be able to make the pot very big preflop, in that case just proceed cautiously when the flop doesn't improve your hand or is not favorable (ex. of good flop for AA is when the board has a pair of dueces or 3's or 4's, when it's all rags, etc). When I say proceed cautiously I mean try to keep the pot small, don't make it too big. Follow your reads on your opponents also, but controlling the pot size is the most important thing. Big pots are for big hands. Unfortunately, AA is a huge hand preflop, but not a monster anymore once the flop comes. When the conditions are not right, pot control is the key.

Four Dogs said:

Raise preflop, pay attention to your opponents playing styles, don't overbet the flop and proceed with caution on the turn and the river. Not maximizing your winnings with big hands is the same thing as losing. GL

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Hmmmm, the version of that I've heard is that money not lost is the same as money won. Always in the back of my mind, especially when I get KK, AA, is that winning a little pot is much better than losing a big pot.

AA early in any sitting scares the bejesus out of me too. Later, after things have calmed I play them confidantly, but early, when folks seem to be looking for any action, and have too much money in thier pockets I sing the Jeopardy Theme, and am very cautious.

Had a few AA's cracked myself. Still plow ahead if i'm lucky to get them though. Especially when theres loose hands at the table. odds are on the AA side, so overall they are money in the bank.

But never forget to watch the table. If Mr Solid reraises your raise post flop, you better start thinking about retiring those AA's.

Your fear is based on an expectation of the future. Manage your expectation by completely accepting the risk of loss. Once you have completely accepted that you can see the game as probabilities playing out and your ego wont get in the way.

dj11 said:

Hmmmm, the version of that I've heard is that money not lost is the same as money won. Always in the back of my mind, especially when I get KK, AA, is that winning a little pot is much better than losing a big pot.

AA early in any sitting scares the bejesus out of me too. Later, after things have calmed I play them confidantly, but early, when folks seem to be looking for any action, and have too much money in thier pockets I sing the Jeopardy Theme, and am very cautious.

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I'm not going to lie. I was in EP one time, and i was doing well even. I got AA and actually said under my breath "ahhh f***". I don't know if anyone actually heard me, but i know i said it. I hate playing aces, because Doyle Brunson said it best... With aces, you're probably going to win a small pot or lose a big one.... Just don't fall in love with them. Know that they do hold up 80% of the time against random hands. And against hands that will call a big raise ... they are usually DOMINATED to the max.

Always remember that poker is a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep playing solid poker. If you have fear of losing money...you're probably playing outside of yoru bankroll means. The key to strong solid poker is fearlessness.

I have no fear of As or Ks. I will push everytime with those two hands. Of course, to do this you have to play within your BR. If I lose, I reload and I'd do it again if dealt them.

I don't want to make any post flop decisions with those hands. I get all my money in early and either win right then or get a caller and see if I can hold up. But usually it's the caller who is sweating when he sees the As or Ks. If the poker gods decide I should lose so be it - but I'll take my chances there.

Egon Towst said:

What the others said.

Also, ensure that you play at a level where you can easily afford to lose, should you be unlucky. This helps enormously to avoid these kinds of problems. Ideally, you need to be able to think of the chips as just chips, a way of keeping score in a game you are playing for fun, like the meaningless paper money in a game of Monopoly. That way, you can play the game for its own sake and bring your best game, undistracted by money worries.

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