$100 NLHE MTT Bounty: How to play with premium cards?

How to play with premium cards? Incredibly, I always get lost playing with AA, KK, QQ and JJ, I always go limp or maxing a 3bet, and most of the time I have punched for two pairs, crack ... what is the best option for extracting values?

Do not slow play hands like AA, KK, etc, have to protect your strong hands pre flop.

I play depending on opponents at the table, stacks, dynamics of the game. There is no universal answer, as always in poker.

gatinhoAK12 said:

How to play with premium cards? Incredibly, I always get lost playing with AA, KK, QQ and JJ, I always go limp or maxing a 3bet, and most of the time I have punched for two pairs, crack ... what is the best option for extracting values?

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With these hands, we will open a raise trade from any position and will often be ready to go all-in already on the preflop. Premium hands are better played in a Bank with a limited number of participants and ideally we should aim to play one on one. The main goal is to make a big bet on the preflop and the flop to immediately knock out many opponents. And also watch the stage of the tournament and stacks of opponents. Chart starting hands to help you. Good luck! :icon_stud

One thing to keep in mind, just because you got dealt AA doesn't mean you automatically win the hand. I generally won't slow play premium pairs in tournaments, one in a while in cash games but never tournaments. Preflop you should continue raising with those hands until it gets allin. Once you get post flop it completely varies as there are probably many hands that now beat you...so there isn't a universal correct answer postflop as there is preflop.

Everything depends on how play your opponents and what is your position at the table.
PREFLOP

A: If you are on early or middle position and your opponents likes limping or are tight, you must play aggressivley, raise if nobody earlier did it, if sb raised, your 3-bet should be around 3 - 3,5x
B: The same position what above but table is agressive, 3-bets, 4-bets are very often you dont' want to scare truculent players. Here you can use slow play.
C:Late position give you much more information, the same, you can use slow play-limp [but almost never when nobody does beting]

FLOP
A:Not every flops are safety for you with premium hands, if you have f.e. kings and the flop shows flash draw or high straight draw or include ace [better if those are two aces, more chance noone has ace in this spot] you have to be careful. Kings/queens are strong preflop but after not necessarily, this is a repeated mistake. If you see resistance, you should ask yourself "what is he calling me with?"

Most of the time we play premium hands aggrresively

At the table 6 max in the initial stage raise 4-5 BB. On the bubble, raise, re-raise. In the prize zone raise, re-raise.

Don’t slow play

others have already mentioned it but just to add my two cents. I wouldn’t slow play those types of hands. When you do slow play that’s when you end up getting burned. You have a strong hand most likely the strongest or close. So slow playing KK and letting the big blind check to get I. The pot and others as well will decrease your chances of winning. Just cause you start with the best hand doesn’t mean you will win the pot. You have to remember you have only one pair and ussally improving means hitting another of those cards which you only have two outs for.

Someone that jumps in with 5-8 can just as easily hit a two pair as they have more cards they can hit.

If you do go to the flop be careful with people calling you down to the river then shoving or 3-betting. They could’ve hit two pair or a straight etc.. combinations that are less likely for you.

gatinhoAK12 said:

How to play with premium cards? Incredibly, I always get lost playing with AA, KK, QQ and JJ, I always go limp or maxing a 3bet, and most of the time I have punched for two pairs, crack ... what is the best option for extracting values?

Click to expand...

it depends on the opponents at the table, but I think that in all cases it is safer to send all in the flop if you have AA and not let your opponents see all the cards to protect you. with KK I think you have to be aggressive before the flop to minimize opponents and if there is not an A on the flop you have to send all in directly. in poker the risk still exists but I often win with this method. but what can I say that I have often seen people lose with these hands when he lets the opponents see all the cards good luck