Poker Strategy

Commonly Misplayed Hands Part III: "Aces"
I've heard it all about aces. I can't remember how many players have walked out of tournaments and said that ugly sentence, "My aces got cracked". I've even heard players say they hate to look down and see them. Personally I can't understand anyone who feels trepidation at seeing the strongest hand you can be dealt but I've also seen them so badly misplayed that I feel like ringing the ISPCA*, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Aces!

Aces are a huge huge hand. Headsup against any hand other than its twin, you are at least 78% favourite. They should make you money the vast majority of the time you are dealt them. You'd think that there is almost no way you could misplay them!

Writing about poker is a job fraught with danger. People often ask “did I play this badly?” or “how should I play this hand?” There is no such thing as "correct" in poker, but there are accepted strategies and there are certainly things a writer can say are "wrong". Calling for all of your chips preflop with 7,2o for example is wrong! I don’t want to say that playing AA a certain way is definitely wrong but I’ll give you my view on the hand.

There is a seemingly recent trend to limp with big pairs, ostensibly to trap an opponent by disguising the strength of your hand. On the surface this seems like a decent advanced play but not only is it a high risk, high reward strategy (nothing wrong with that), its often executed by players who simply do not have the skill to read the texture of a flop and realise they need to hit the big red eject button. Some players simply cannot accept that they have gambled and lost.

The standard way I would play Aces would be to try and get heads up in a raised pot with a player. Usually that means a 3-4 times the blinds raise but on some tables that might be only a 2 times the blinds raise while on other tables that might be all-in (and even then you may get 2-3 callers!). I’ll only limp with Aces when I’m in early position and the table is stacked deep enough compared to the blinds, and is aggressive. The idea then is to be raised, called in a few spots and then hugely reraised by me. The objective is either to take what’s in the pot, right there and then or to get heads up with one player.