I was wondering what you all do when you have pocket aces. It seems no matter how I play them I always end up losing the hand. I have heard people say they just fold them. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Originally Posted by Destiny_35

I was wondering what you all do when you have pocket aces. It seems no matter how I play them I always end up losing the hand. I have heard people say they just fold them. Any suggestions would be helpful.

i think it all depends on how you have seen the people around you play, you have to analyze the players and then decide how yo u are going to play it

With AA, don't dink around preflop: RAISE or RERAISE

Too many people slowplay before the flop.

You can slowplay after the flop if you hit a set or rags flop.

If you slowplay preflop and rags flop, the blinds or other perpetual callers might have hit their hand or are drawing to hand that can beat AA.

Also, in order to win with AA you MUST be capable of folding them in certain situations. Ex. 3 Spades flop with a mutli-way pot and you have red aces or, three cards to a straight (8-9-J).

i usually raise about whatever the pot is....and if im re-raised I put them all in there
after the flop....if there is no str8 or flush draws...i put the rest of my chips in...if i lose to two pair then whatever...but thats how i play AA

you have to play aces aggressive and hard to try and get the limpers out so they cant draw out on you. Remember winning a small pot is better then losing a large one.

Originally Posted by S1lverShot

i think it all depends on how you have seen the people around you play, you have to analyze the players and then decide how yo u are going to play it

When i get pocket aces its ALL IN rite away,i lost to many pots by slow playing them and giving the other players a chance to see the flop

Remember that pocket aces will win about 31% with full table so if you raise hard before the flop and get the weaker hands out your chances go up to about 80 something % against one player. hope that helps.

the two biggest mistakes I've seen made with AA is either just limping in or going all in because I got AA. Yes, you need to raise or re-raise to get the limpers out, if you're up against a big field you need to push out the straight and flush draws. However, at the same time, I try not to bet all of my chips unless I have to. Bet big and re-raise someone else's raise, but leave yourself an out if the flop shows a straight or flush to your opponent and you know they have it.

Justin

Originally Posted by maderj241

the two biggest mistakes I've seen made with AA is either just limping in or going all in because I got AA. Yes, you need to raise or re-raise to get the limpers out, if you're up against a big field you need to push out the straight and flush draws. However, at the same time, I try not to bet all of my chips unless I have to. Bet big and re-raise someone else's raise, but leave yourself an out if the flop shows a straight or flush to your opponent and you know they have it.

Justin

Couldn't have said it better. Don't not bet preflop with AA. I did that a little when I first started playing poker when I was still getting the feel for some of the basics, and I wondered why it seemed like people were always beating me when I had AA. I was very conservative back then. You come to realize over time you need to raise. Raise a good amount if you're playing NL, and raise what you can when playing limit. Take into consideration how the others react to the raise. If they re-raise you or bet big, call, but remember how they bet. You have the best pre-flop hand possible, so the only way I would not call is if someone was putting me all-in or close. If you hit on the flop then maybe you can trap them, but otherwise I'd just bet big. Analyze again how they're reacting. Keep doing that until you know they have you beat, or you get them to fold, or you win. Sometimes you'll have them drawing dead. It all depends on the board, how the other players are playing, and things like that. Don't slowplay pre-flop, and protect your hand.

Jon

all in our all out with aa. u either win a little or loose a lot. i try to get heads up or all in preflop with them.

There is only 2 ways to play AA hard and fast or dump em. Trying to slow play them will only give the rags a chance to fill on ya. And if there going to try to fill you might as well make them pay for the privilige.

you don't want to fold them and you don't want to slow play them because then the really loose players can limp in and catch 2 pair or trips and now you are behind in the hand make a decent size raise or reraise and you should be up against an A J or A 10 or something.

I would like to say thanks to all who posted here. I have always had the hardest time playing this hand, and usually wind up losing. Plus it gives me better reads on how others might play it.

to quote Doyle Brunson himsself "Aces will win u small pots and lose u big ones"

omg aa---i have lost sooo many hands with aa its not funny. i have tried it both ways--bet hi pre-flop and slow play. if u bet hi some idiot calls everything and ends up winning and if u slow-play a 63 beats u with a str8,,,so i just call and see what flops,,if another a comes i raise big,,,if not and someone bets big i fold em.

You gotta play them strong preflop in a big game so that the chances of getting outdrawn are less but sometimes I'll slowplay them heads up or less players in.

Depending of my table position, I would just check if I am first to bet, or if I am low stack..... but if I am last to bet, I would put a raise high enough to make small hands fold .... usually you get only pocket pairs or AK AQ KK QQ or close calling.... the rest depends of the flop, but keep in mind that the more people still in the pot, the lower your chances to win.

tigilles

If you realy need to win you then AA is the worst hand !!!


I sugest you wait for the floop then start betting !!!

Somebody chatted at me during a tournament the other day, "I always know when you have AA. You make your biggest pre-flop bets with it. And I know to get out of your way, cause you never go all-in without monsters."

PERFECT!!!!!!!

I felt the same way you did, that my pocket A's always seemed to lose. Then I starting actually tracking my play and noticed that I won with them more often then I lost with them. However I lost a lot more money with them than when I won with them. Most of the times I lost I had tried slow playing 'til the river and ending up losing a bundle. I have corrected my play by consistently raising 3-4x BB preflop. Now I've seen that I win quite a bit more often although the amount I win per hand is down the win rate is up and I've seen less suckouts! Slow playing kills.

NEVER SLOW PLAY!!! you always lose when u slow play.

no ne just folds pocket aces thats blasphemy. u should play them semi fast but not 2 fast and u definitely dont want 2 play slow.

bet a lot before the flop, then youu will win much faster

Within an hour today in the same tournament, at three different tables, players were dealt pocket Aces five times. The AA was played about every way you could think of (slow play, big pre-flop bet, all-in), from every general position (blinds, early, middle, late). Three people were busted out of the tournament with it, one player took the blinds for about 60 chips, and one player caught someone else with KK and drug a big pot. So, I watched AA basically go one-for-five at the plate today with a walk. Not too good.

I know where your coming from with the quote bellow.. but there are situations where that won't help...

The last 3 times ive had AA (3 diff progs).. i have raised a LOT pre flop.. the flop has been pants... someone bets.. i go all... they have notihng.. then get something on the turn! Its bad play on the other persons part but its happened so much...

In a $$$ ring game sitck ur money in because for money people wont call with crap for a lot. In free rolls / sng's / multi table tournys your screwed... I lost a $10 sng cos of that.. i was 1st with 5 to go and got knocked out in 2 hands.. the first one i had AA.. and someone called an all in with a flush DRAw and got it on the river...

Now.. i will check, call, call, call. That's it. Only if A comes out on flop will i try... But i now limp and play to the flop. Play them like 22. Thats the only way imo to avoid bad beat!!!!

Worse is JJ.. killer hand./

Originally Posted by chicubs1616

With AA, don't dink around preflop: RAISE or RERAISE

Too many people slowplay before the flop.

You can slowplay after the flop if you hit a set or rags flop.

If you slowplay preflop and rags flop, the blinds or other perpetual callers might have hit their hand or are drawing to hand that can beat AA.

Also, in order to win with AA you MUST be capable of folding them in certain situations. Ex. 3 Spades flop with a mutli-way pot and you have red aces or, three cards to a straight (8-9-J).

i read your posts and couldn't agree with people who said that aa should be folded. i can't play it and i'm lossing reather than winning with this hand but i also lost so many times against aa that i think this is only my fault . now i will try to agressivly bet it pre flop and i think this is good strategy. my only advice is to avoid betting a lot of many on aa when tournament starts couse u will probably will see few players betting all in on your high bet and then everything may happen

If you thought you had to fold AA then in reality you would have to fold every hand you play, KK, QQ, KQ, JJ, TT? Play AA like you would play any other decent pocket pair and you will somtimes win and somtime lose... The reason people lose big on AA is they think it is the hand of God and get carried away only to get beat by a low straight or low prial, I woul dplay AA into the flop if 456 or XXX(s) flops, leave it alone its no better than 22...

Here's a good AA story from this morning at the Noble .50/1.00 NLHE ring game. I picked up AhAd on the button and raised it to $6. Picked up two callers. Flop came Th Ks Kh. Other two guys check. I bet the pot at $24.50. First guy folds. Second guy goes all in with another $42 over the pot. I think about it for a second, wondering if he slowplayed Kings, but my gut says no, and I call. He turns over AT for K's & Tens. The turn and river come up small blanks and I take a big pot with Aces and Kings.

Now for the good part. He ridicules my call for a good ten minutes. 'How could you call an all-in with two pairs and Kings on the board?' 'Another dummy who thinks AA is unbeatable!' 'That was terrible!' I just kept my mouth shut and kept playing while he went on and on.

Caught AA again a bit later, this time under the gun, and immediately went all-in again, knowing he was in the big blind and would think I was just trying to bully him. Sure enough, the table folds around and he calls with J9 suited. I bust him out and he leaves the table for good but not before contributing over a hundred bucks to the Rammer Benevolence Fund.

Hey guys,

I was dealt As Ad in early position. I raise 4xBB and everyone folds around to the cutoff who calls. Flop comes 9s 4s 2d. I bet all in to shut it down then and there. He calls. Turn is 5s and river is 9c. He turns over 9d 10c to take the pot with a set of nines.

I was pretty much an 81% favourite from the start to an 88% favourite before the River. I think I played it well and just got unlucky.

It does seem though that AA is a hit and miss hand. You either double up or bust out. I don't think slow playing is the way to go with this hand either.

At the same table about four hands before this one guy doubled up AA vs AK going all-in pre-flop.

I'd never fold it but it can be a tough hand to play.

I would raise the preflop really high and make sure most of them fold. If I see an A on the flop I bet to to bring one of the callers to an all in. Then see how my lucks goes from there.

Originally Posted by RammerJammer

Now for the good part. He ridicules my call for a good ten minutes. 'How could you call an all-in with two pairs and Kings on the board?' 'Another dummy who thinks AA is unbeatable!' 'That was terrible!' I just kept my mouth shut and kept playing while he went on and on.

Nice story, I love it it when a tosser gets stung.... The thing is, how stupid do some of these arrogant b'stards want to make themselves look. He consitently ridicules you for calling an 'all in' with Aces and Kings yet he raised all in with tens and kings, one ten in the hole..... The guy was a fool to do such a stupid thing, he didnt even have 5th best hand. When he bluffs does he think everyone must bow down to him. Great read and I suppose it was his embarasment more than anything.

I used to lose every AA. But then I changed my strategy just a little. Kinda a bit of trickery though. Before I bet I tell everyone I have pocket aces. Then I raise it about 5 times the big blind. Normally one or 2 people call cause they don't believe me. After the flop I double my last raise. Turn and river get same bet if the people stay in. If they fold I always show the Aces. I never lie about having them. But people will always think the next time if I have them or I don't.

My Favorite time to have them is in a tournament and the big stack is stealing blinds with like 4 times the bb. I usually double them up and play from there. Got to play smart but aggressive.

It all depends on position, but if I'm on an agressive table I will push if there has been a lot of calling to the big raise with mediocre hands. I may limp early if I think I might get raised by later position but that usually backfires.

Quite a few posts here point out, correctly, that slow playing AA makes them more likely to lose.

But the point of limping with AA, especially in early position, is so that when you limp with other hands your opponents will know you might have AA, and treat your limping with more respect. By keeping opps confused, the money you lose with AA comes back multiplied on those other, more frequent, lesser hands.

If you never limp with good hands you are too easy to read!

i disagree about never slow playing aa, in cash games it can be much more profitable because u are not put on that hand, especialy if an ace falls on the board. but more importantly in big mtt's slowpaying aa gives you the ability to lay it down without having had commited a good portion of chips before the flop

I used to try and slow play them all the time preflop, just to try and get others to preflop raise so I could come over the top. I don't mess around anymore with that and usually only slow play them preflop if it is like 4 or less people but then I still don't usually do it. In my opinion people tend to lose with AA most of the time b/c they misplay the hand or they don't know when to let it go. It is tought to fold the aces but sometimes you just have to do it if you think you are beat. If you think you are beat just drop the hand, better to drop the best hand and save your money then to be wrong and lose a bunch. But like everyone else said, play em strong and raise and re-raise preflop, that should cut down your loses with AA