Pocket Aces, Love them or Loath them

What do YOU think is the best way to play pocket Aces and why?

A. Slow Play
B. All in pre-flop
C. All in on the river
D. Fold pocket rockets

I would go for B, the less opponents in the hand, the better chances.

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Trick question…way to many variables…

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It all depends on my position at the table and my stack in relation to the other players. If I am low stacked and I have the button I would go all in for sure, but it can add to your stack if you slow play to the river if you are well up at the time. I would only fold pocket rockets if a four card flush was on and someone had gone all in.

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Best situation, sitting in the BB. 2X or 3X BB preflop raise.
No pairs on the flop another 3X.
If anyone is still left after the Turn, no pairs, straight or bingo/all ins, shove.
Have a drink and wait for the River. :blush:

I largely concur with both County and Grapevine, but think it has to be flavored with the action head of you and what kind of game you’re in. If I’m a small stack on the bubble in an MTT with multiple all-ins ahead of me, I might just fold. There really are too many variables for a hard and fast answer. Even the board four-flush could be worth a play if I have the needed A and the bet is small.

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For me it all depends on my chip stack. If I have more then 15 big blinds I’ll slow play pocket Aces to an extent. What I do next depends on the flop and my opponents.

If I have less then 10 big blinds I’m definitely shoving all-in preflop with pocket aces. Ideally I’d like to do it if I’m on the button but sometimes you just don’t have a choice to do it and you gotta go all-in regardless of your position on the table.

-Marc

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I tend to slow play them ,I feel going all in gets you no chips, everyone folds and it was a waste to have them. When you slow play them you can go all in after chips are down and you have something to gain from them. Keeping in mind just because you are dealt pocket aces doesn’t mean you have a good chance on winning with them :stuck_out_tongue:

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I agree with most of what has been said. It largely depends on the type of game (Royal, Omaha, Hi/lo, Hold’em), and whether it’s a Rebuy tourney or not, or a ring game, my stack and position, and the type of players I’m playing against. For example, I wouldn’t go all in preflop in a Royal game with pocket aces. In Omaha and hi/lo, I have to consider the other 2 cards I have and decide whether it’s worth a small preflop raise or an all in. In a rebuy tourney or a ring game where I can top-up if I lose, I would definitely consider going all in preflop with the aces. But more importantly, it depends on the other players. If there are 2 or more bingoers or bad players at the table, I know that they will call everything with just about anything, and probably river me anyway with their 2-7 off or K-2 off, so I prefer to slow play the aces and make sure the hand is mine before I shove. If however i’m with good players who know when to fold and when to call, I take my chances by raising preflop or even going all in because I know they will only call with high cards and I will have a better chance at winning the pot. So it’s a mixture of A, B and C. But I wouldn’t go for D, I mean I would definitely not fold pocket aces preflop.

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pocket bullets hmmmm i love them…i hate them …but i think i still prefer to have them, perhaps a high bet after the flop to try and scare the rest of the table…
Mick

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I definitely won’t go all in, although I may call an all in depending on the bet and my read on my opponent. And I won’t wait until the river. My strategy with Pocket A’s, Is preflop raise about 8x’s the BB to get rid of a few players. After the flop, I decide how much to bet depending on the flop. There can be lot’s of combinations there, so I won’t go into specifics. I’ve folded them many times after the flop, especially against a straight or flush draw and my opponent went big. Slow playing them usually doesn’t work too well as it leaves too many players at the table to catch what they need to beat you. Someone holding 2, 3 and pairs up, you’re done. But using this strategy has given me more wins than losses with AA. Although, I’ve been beat with catching and A on the flop for trips, so you just never know. AA can be both a blessing and curse sometimes. So bet strong preflop and go from there.

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Did you ever hear the saying, If you want to win, make you opponent think you have a good hand, If you really want to win, make them think you don’t :slight_smile:

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I have not had any luck with slow play. Therefore I make a big bet right away to get rid of players as soon as it is my turn to bet.

Ok, you just got dealt pocket aces.

Step 1- wipe the drool off your chin and settle down.

Step 2- Keep in mind many hands beat aces including 2 pair, trips, full house, straight, 4 of a kind.

Step 3- Are you first bet or raising a big bet? If you are going up against another pair your risk is higher.

Step 4- How much risk is there in an all in? are you in the big show where your decision means being knocked off the table or playing a ring game where you will just suffer humiliation?

Step 5- If you go all in and get no takers will you throw away the chance at a big pot?

I go through all those thinking steps with pocket aces or any big pocket pair and in most cases I will not go all in unless it is heads up and the opponent made a small raise.

I prefer to hold them and see the flop and opponents first bet and then I may go all in or drive up the bet or slow play to the river to be safe.

Now that is just MY strategy and opinion and other people may have a different strategy that works for them.

Feel free to share you own strategy and humiliating stories of getting beat with pocket aces.

I rarely, if ever, limp aces. You have to bet/raise enough to get heads up, you can’t let 5 or 6 people limp in against you. I’m more than happy to get all my chips in the middle if that’s what it takes.

Aces aren’t an automatic allin preflop, nothing is. 5 or 6BBs is often enough to get heads up or win right there. You could conceivably fold the flop, say to a KQJ all diamonds flop when you have 2 black aces and face an allin from a known tight/passive player in front of you.

Pair over pair is the ideal situation for aces. You will be a 4-1 favorite, and it doesn’t get better than that, at least preflop.

I’m never humiliated by getting in good, even if my opponent sucks out on me. It was his mistake, not mine, and there’s no reason for me to feel bad about his mistakes.

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Actually, it is the 2nd best scenario. Ideal is having AA against AK where their K is dominated by one of your aces. Example AdAc vs AhKd. Here you are 92.8% / 5.86% / 1.35% to win / lose / tie

ADDED: I should have been more clear as well. Of all the reasonable hands that you expect may go all-in with you preflop, this situation with AK is best. In general, anytime you have a pair and your opponent’s top card matches your pair and their bottom card is of one of the suits you hold, its great. If those cards can’t even make a straight (like A7 or something goofy), then you really are in about the best situation imaginable.

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Yes OK. i should have said it doesn’t get much better than that.

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AA is my favorite hand. People complain about them getting cracked, but if you play them aggressively (but not too aggressively), you will win way more than you lose.

I can’t answer the original question because it depends on other variables. With <25 bbs left in a tournament, all-in, but in a deep-stack cash game, raise preflop and see how the hand plays out. Slow playing AA is a terrible idea, unless you are facing a maniac who is going to keep betting if you don’t.

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Pair over pair is 2nd worst for pocket A bedside suited connector!

I THINK A, ONLY TO DBL
UP OR 3