What a good raise for pocket A?

thatguy6793

thatguy6793

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So i played a tournament last night and on one of my early hands I was lucky enough to get a pair of Ace's in the button position. I was sitting on 1000 chips and the blinds were 10/20 and there were three calls before me so I raised to 60. I figured that wasn't to large and would probably keep at least one person in but everyone folded. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to get the free chips but did I make a mistake with the raise (i.e. was it too large?) or was it just one of those things that happens sometimes? In everyone's opinion whats the best way to handle a pair of aces on the pre-flop in the button?
 
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Mark Renzi

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To me it depends on the game and players on how they are playing and also where im at in postion. so many factors play a part on how I would play pocket aces preflop.
 
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CallmeFloppy

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There is no set amount. Every game is different. Sometimes you are at a table that will fold to any raise and others that everyone will play anything. You need to see what is appropriate given the game, the stage, the stacks, the opponents, the atmosphere, the beverage selection and the snacks. ( did I miss anything?)
 
thatguy6793

thatguy6793

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There is no set amount. Every game is different. Sometimes you are at a table that will fold to any raise and others that everyone will play anything. You need to see what is appropriate given the game, the stage, the stacks, the opponents, the atmosphere, the beverage selection and the snacks. ( did I miss anything?)

No that's everything, I was really just wondering if in this situation if I played it right but I guess i still got my answer lol. Thanks for the help!
 
darthdimsky

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I believe you might have even underplayed it. The general rule is to raise it to [(# of players x bbs) + 3xbb]. With this general rule of thumb it should've been 120. This is to chase away most weaker hands, drawing hands and iso ideally one player with a very strong hand. Just bad luck you got no action.

Why they folded really depends on a # of other factors. For e.g. your table image till that point, how they were playing, etc. It might even be worth experimenting a pot sized bet (in this situation it should be 90) or higher to trick loose players / calling stations into believing you are blatantly trying to steal their limps. Since they are playing OOP there's a chance someone might open shove or 3b shove with just top pair. e.g. KQo on a Qxx board.

Better to have won the blinds and limps than to have called and lost chips from a 2 pair or a low flush/straight IMHO. With just a call you would've had the SB and BB in for sure, guaranteeing 5 other players in the flop action. Given this context you came up a big winner.
 
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Bagdalac4ever

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Well, I go always all in with Aces. That is how you make players with small cards to fold and you get smaller chance to get killed by straight with small cards or flush. I don't care if I get killed with higher cards but I hate when I let someone to see the flop and he kills me with 53 or 22
 
Alucard

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doesn't matter if everyone folded. You have to raise with Aces. I've seen many players try to slow play aces and go down including my self.

Infact, you have to raise more IMO. raise 3bb+abb per caller. So if there are 3 limpers, I'd raise 6BB. It depends on the situation but this is my standard amount.

But if there blinds are small I'd try to raise more since many suited connectors will call considering the pot is small in earlier stages
 
Gabinho12345

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Your raise was too small, not too big given that there were 3 limpers in the pot. 5-6BB would be better raise size.
 
johnny tigre

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i guess you made the right move raising with pocket As, maybe the guys who called have garbage cards and just want to see the flop cheap.
Your raise served its purpose to put away those with bad cards, it just so happen that everyone except you has bad hole cards.
 
eberetta1

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Lost todays cardschat game held on intertops. 2nd hand, maybe of the game. One guy limps in. . I am small blind with AA and click on pot raise which is 240 chips and a starting stack of 1500 chips. Bb calls and limper calls. 4 9 6 rainbow appear. I raise pot which is 480 chips, bb calls, and original limper goes all in.

I figure this limp may be chasing a straight with maybe 35 or 57 in his hand, so i call his all in.
The guy has pocket nines, so i lose to trips. I guess i wrote this to say that once people see a flop, I gotta worry that someone already can have trips or two pair before betting starts.
 
Teodora Agardi

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Well... it depends for me on the players... and the position ,but 90% I go All In ...
 
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JCMystery

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Depends on the chip stack of the relative players. I bet 20x the big blind. If that puts me all-in that would be good.
 
thatguy6793

thatguy6793

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Thanks for the advice everyone! I posted this about a week ago but after reading all of your replies and have taken them all into consideration. I've been changing some aspects of my game and studying and have noticed significant improvements in my tournament finishes and my cash game winnings. Couldn't have done it without y'all!
 
Aalexandar

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Playing AA preflop might seem like a simple *dump chimps in the middle of the table forcefully* type of situation, but it can actually get quite complicated. The overall goal of your preflop play with AA should be this:

1. Isolate
2. Bait
3. Capitalize
What that means is, if you have 2+ players in the hand preflop, you want to raise more aggresive than usual as to get as many people out of the pot as you can so you're left with 1 eventually 2 villains. Because the more people in the pot, the bigger the odds of someone hitting that random runner runner straight or flush or whatever beats your AA.
Post flop play is all about value, getting it in as big as you can. If your opponent called a pretty big raise it's safe to assume he has AT THE VERY LEAST 2 suited face cards, so if you see any A K Q on the flop it's a safe shove, and depending on opponent's skill level you're probably going to get a call in the lower stakes MTTs and SNGs.
 
veritasi

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I think, it depends on the situation, type of tournament etc. As for me, it's always 3bet or allin
 
sergik1992

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You had 100 bb, so normal raise for you was 2,5 bb +3 (3 limpers before you) = 50+60=110. But it`s only my opinion)
 
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Fastone2

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AA is always good to get. And I have the same issues that you had. Seems that its best to get AA when your deeper into the game. Nobody gets to excited until after the first hour....
I think, its best to raise, to knock out the luck factor to some degree...
 
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muunas

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your actions were all good. i also rise 2x or 3x to get the chips from your opponents because two aces is a winning hand. i want to cry when i get two aces or two kings and everybody folds, but i had also many situations when i lost with two aces
 
antonis32123

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Early I like to bet/raise a lot to protect my hand , I hate when my KK AA get cracked because I wanted some action or to set some traps , even if that means I won't get a lot of chips in the pot , but until now I'm satisfied playing them like this :)
 
FIERROS

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If you get AA is not a guaranteed that you are going to win for me AA is all in because if you let player see a flop is bad
 
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rob feugill

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I usually raise 3x depending on tournament I guess
 
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myuk1

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i would have probably raised more. If everyone folded, its more likely that it is because they were very weak rather then them having some sort of read on you. Unless u folded every single hand preflop before this one, they probably didnt have a read.
 
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