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How To Play Aces

December 27, 2007

When you are in the middle of an important tournament, or even playing ring games, there is nothing more exciting then getting dealt pocket Aces. Pocket Rockets as they are usually called, is absolutely the most desired hand in the game, but it can be a detriment to your play if you do not know how to play them. As the motto goes - you either win small or lose big with them, and knowing how to play them is extremely important.

When you are at a full table, pocket Aces are not an easy win. In fact, you will probably only win about 35% of the time with them. How is that possible you ask if they really are the best hand in poker? The answer is simple! You technically only have one pair. Even though they are the biggest pair you can hold, it is still only one pair, and many other hands can beat one pair.

Many people tend to slow play pocket Aces thinking that they will obviously win the hand, but if you do that, you are asking for trouble. If you do not raise your Aces you will most certainly have more people in the hand then you actually want. Think about the Big Blind - they just have to check, so no matter what they have they are staying in. They could hold a 4-2 os and flop a 3,5,6. Do you want such a horrible hand to win your pot? No, of course not! So, it is very important to raise on your pocket Aces, just to eliminate some of the mediocre hands. That way, if you do get drawn out, at the very least you made the right raise, rather than losing with your Aces only to complain what a bad beat you just took. It isn’t the other player’s fault that they didn’t get out because you didn’t raise. So, instead of trying to slow play against a full table, it is best that you raise your Aces. Now, if you are playing heads up, then by all means try to slow play them. Chances are you will win against only one person, but against 10 it usually isn’t to your benefit.

After that, pocket Aces usually play themselves in some ways. That means that the flop really decides what you should do with your Aces, and how you should bet. If you hit a third Ace then you can slow up your betting a bit to get the most money, but if you see a flush draw or straight draw it is always wise to bet and bet big. If the other player calls then you may want to rethink your large raise on the turn, but until then, go at it. If there are two other people in the pot and you see a raise, and a re-raise with the flop that just came out on the board, and you didn’t hit your third Ace, then you may even consider laying them down. It is a good poker player that can lay down pocket Aces when the timing is right. Just because you have the best hand to start with, doesn’t mean you are going to end with the best hand.

There are many people who refuse to bet big even when they have Aces. This may be a bit too conservative, but in some respects it makes sense. Aces do not always hold up, and if you see a flop that could be troublesome for you, then hold off a bit. You should try to extract the most money from other players, but be aware that if there are 4 hearts on the board and you have 2 black Aces that you can and should lay them down.

If there is one last bit of information on how to play Aces you should know, it is this. Aces can and will be cracked. Keep that in mind when you go all in on your Pocket Rockets.

It’s not only smaller pairs that you will need to lay down at times. Occasionally you will have to release your pocket Aces. If you have two black Aces and three hearts come on the flop, you are probably up against a flush if there is a bet and a raise. Many players refuse to lay down pocket Aces no matter what cards are on the board. A good player will accept defeat and toss the Pocket Rockets before it costs them more money. It’s not fun to dump a hand that only comes about every 220 hands or so but that’s what a winning player does.

Written by Tom · Filed Under Poker Strategy |  

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