How should you play AA ?

[trickrick]

I apologise - maybe this should go in the beginner questions...But anyhow - I am frustrated...when you receive pocket aces, what is the best way to play them? Whenever I receive them, I either go all-in and end up losing to 3 of a kind or a run/flush of sorts. When I do a small/big raise I seem to get called and then some bugger gets 3 of a kind with the low pairs...

Am I just unlucky, or is there a certain way you should play this hand ? I would have thought that taking advantage of the strong initial hand straight away with all-in should be the best way, but it aint happening for me if that's the case..

[aliensyndm]

You talking about tournament play here trickrick ?

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Obviously the rest will have the more knowledgable answer but i have started being very agressive with this hand aswell as, KK, QQ.

Lost count the amount of times i tried slow playing it only to lose to a two pair or whatever after giving them the chance.

Be interested to hear the better players views as it is certainly one that used to bugger me up, but not so much now.

[Hippy Dave]

I would say that (as with any other hand) there is no correct way to play - in fact if you always play the hand exactly the same then it could be said that you are playing it wrong as your play is too predictable.

You need to take into account the situation - cash or tourney, number of players, your stack size, their stack sizes, their styles of play, your table image.

I know that's not the answer you were probably looking for but it's how I see it.

[Run Dmc Vs Pat Nevin]

Depends on the situation, position, chip stack etc. I've started limping with aces in early position on aggressive tables. You have to be fairly sure someone is gonna put in a raise behind you so you can put them all-in though. Works pretty well late on in MTT's.

[trickrick]

Originally Posted by aliensyndm

You talking about tournament play here trickrick ?

Sorry mate - Had to disappear a sec..

I mean tournaments really...I play normally small sit 'n go tables..

I guess as Dave and Run have said - you really have to evaluate various factors surrounding the game you are playing.. It just seems to be the wrong decision whichever way I play it...Probably says as much about my poker prowess actually...

[Doc]

I think a more revealing question(s) to ask is how many people would you like to play this hand against, and what position will you have, and what kind of other hands/players you would want in the pot against you?

Something like 76s is a hand that is going to be folded most of the time, but when it hits can make you a lot of money. You ideally want to play that hand cheaply in a pot with many players, so you get paid off. A-rag suited would be the same. Something like a small pocket pair wouldn't be too different - you want to make trips.

On the other hand a big pair plays best against a small number of players, so take what action you can to trim the field.

AKo you want players out of the pot, or to hit the flop very hard (people tend to play this hand in strongly contrasting ways - e.g. Jez I know limps mainly with this hand - I'll usually raise strongly first in). AKs on the other hand can stand multway action for those times you make your flush.

If you think about your hand in those terms it makes the decision of how to play it a little clearer - when you also factor in your knowledge of the table in question.

[aliensyndm]

Yeah as usual there is no short answer really. It's worth remembering that pre-flop is when you are the most ahead with AA. Ideally you'd get all the chips/money in pre-flop every time but obviously it's not quite as simple as that. With AA you are gonna be more than 75% favourite against any other hand, that's realistically about as far ahead as you are gonna get your chips in under most circumstances. If you are managing to get all your chips in pre-flop and are getting outdrawn alot then don't think you are doing something wrong, it is just bad luck. But having said that there are differences with tournament and cash play. I mean say you are playing a cash game and four people go all in pre-flop, it comes round to you and you have AA. Four people have gone all in before you so do you call ? Of course you call, you cannot be behind. Now the thing here is with 4 other people in the pot you are not favourite to win the pot. You are likely to be around a 40% chance to win the pot(unless someone else has AA). But it's a 40% chance at 4-1 for your cash hence mathematically it's a positive expectation play by a mile hence you call in an instant. In a tournament if the blinds were at their minimum level you could make a case for folding there. Sure you are 40%ish to get 4-1 for your chips but there is 60ish% chance you will be getting knocked out.
Even if you win the pot you are not guranteed to win the tournament or even get a prize whereas in the cash game if you win the pot you get 4-1 for your cash.
You could be better off waiting for another chance getting your chips in way ahead, in a pot with less people where you are a much bigger favourite to win the pot and not risk getting knocked out the tournament.
Now if that same scenario arises where the blinds are much bigger in relation to stack size etc then it could be a different story.

In a single table tournie if I pick up AA very early on I will often go all in with it even if the blinds are at the minimum. You'll often get calls from people who think AK is a great hand or if someone has picked up a decent sized pocket pair like JJ or QQ and is unable to throw it. It's also amusing that if someone actually does call you they are likely to have a hand which is going to be even more behind than a limping hand.
Example -

AcAs v KdKh = 81.3% v 18.7%
AcAs v AhKh = 87.9% v 12.1%
AcAs v AhKs = 93.5% v 6.5%
AcAs v 7h8h = 77.0% v 23.0%

Notice the suited connectors 78 actually have the best chance against the AA. Also notice how bad AK is against AA and that's the exact hand alot of people will call it with so that's great.


Pre-flop is when you are ahead so that's when you want to get the chips/money in if you can. Don't get too attached to AA though.
When boards come down like 789 with 2 suited or all suited you are in all sorts of trouble. If someone hasn't already got you beaten they will have a huge draw to do so. Play it aggressively, when you get a board like K72 rainbow you have to bet it aggressively, that's about as good a board as you are gonna get for AA other than flopping an ace etc. People with KQ, AK etc will call your bets down with those boards and that's how you make profit on it. As Dave says though don't play it exactly the same everytime, because then it becomes too obvious what you have and people will notice this.
Sometimes I will flat call with AA or KK say. Sometimes it works out a treat as alot of preflop raising happens and you can then plonk all in, especially nice in cash games that. But should no raising happen and everyone limps don't be afraid to throw your hand in if it looks beat. A few times I have limped with KK and flopped a K......the strength of my hand is then immense as not many people will put you on KK there as normally you hear about KK preflop. But then again I've limped with KK and and ace has flopped, immediately your hand is pants and you must bin it upon any bet really. Annoying but the way it goes. Similar story with AA if you have limped and the flop has come awful like 910J all suited with none of your suit etc.

As usual position in hold 'em position always helps. If you have position and have raised and the flop comes people often check to a raiser or stick in a small bet to "find out where they are", they are as well checking but anyway. With position if the board has come scary you can always check and take the free card. When raising UTG or close to it pre-flop the nice thing about AA is you don't have to worry about a re-raise. If someone re-raised and then alot of people call you can go all in. If they fold fine, you pick up alot of calls uncontested. If someone calls you got your chips in miles ahead so it's all good. It's when you end up in a multi-way pot from bad position that it is harder to play as there will be many ways for your AA to lose if it isn't already losing on the flop.

Ok to sum up, it's pre-flop you are ahead - get the chips/money in pre-flop if you can.
Don't be afraid to bin your hand if the board is scary, AA is the best preflop hand, not necessarily the best hand after the flop/turn/river
When you think your AA is still good play it aggressively and make people pay to draw to flushes/straights or people you think have second best hands.(KQ on a K72 flop etc)

Don't get disheartened if you keep ending up all in preflop heads up and lose. You are the most ahead then and are doing something right. AA is the best hand preflop and it will stand up eventually. Most poker players have some tale of a ridiculous way that their AA was beaten. People always remember this cos AA is the best hand, when AA actually wins the pot noone pays any attention or remembers cos it's expected.

[mrmuzeman]

Some good advice there.

I will only add 1 thing, DO NOT slowplay AA after the flop thinking its still an unbeatable hand. Presuming you havent flopped another Ace (or 2 of them that is!) then your hand is very vulnerable and either needs to be played real strong or real careful. Do not slowplay it giving people free shots at the turn etc.

If youre losing preflop all in with AA REALLY dont worry. Its the thing I want to do most in poker probably - get all the chips in preflop with AA. Thats the hands best purpose.

[Beanie]

Superb Alien and Doc

Its remarkable how many times you see AA played very badly at lower limits(as mentioned if you're getting you chips in ahead trick and losing then thats just bad luck which will sort itself out in the long run).

Ideally I think you want 1 caller, either paying to see the flop or all in. Its here where position, stack sizes, table type, tight/loose tables etc comes in as to how best to engineer such a situation, which alien covers superbly.

Just to add one thing - pretty obvious but important I think nevertheless. That is that having had AA on the previous hand doesn't make you any less likely to get it on the next - and I seem to see a lot of players take the mentality that as they have been dealt AA it is then necessary to ensure they get a big payoff as they won't get many chances like it. This is where the trouble starts, as they will allow players to get in cheaply in order to try and draw them in, and more often than not end up losing a huge pot.

As an example I might say that an AA in the big blind who sees maybe just 3 flat calls on a 10 seater table, and might be reluctant to stick in a raise which might just see him picking up a few chips, but as is often the case picking up that small pot is a lot better than checking and running a very real risk of losing a large chunk of his stack.

[trickrick]

Definately a fair bit to mull over.. - Cheers lads - Quality info for the price of a post....

[Jezza]

AA in NL hold em can be the stuff of dreams or indeed (and often it might seem) it can cost you your whole stack. If you learn to play it well (and against it well) and judge each situation correctly it can be a big plus to your results.

If you have raised preflop with AA and been called you have to be able to judge where you are well. To be honest if I call a raise from someone and they have a deep stack of chips/money infront of them I would like them to have AA as my implied odds are so huge (most people cannot lay down AA very easily and as such that deep stack of money could well become mine if I flop a good hand). So in turn if you are the one holding the pocket rockets you have to be a little wary. A real bad flop would be something like KKx QQx or JJx. Basically any card in the playing zone doubled up for the board spells danger. If the action is multiway then I am certainly going to check that flop first man to speak. I am not about to put any serious money in the pot from there on in at all. I might call a small bet at the end but I am NOT about to get into a raising war with someone. The slightest hint of decent action and then I am folding. Heads up I would make a token bet at it on the flop but if the other guy calls then I am shutting down. Similarly the flop KQJ is horrible - even if noone has the straight then the chances of someone having 2 pair are high - just ditch your aces without anyone being the wiser. The flops you want are Kxx Qxx etc. A card (the king) that someone will make top pair with to give you action to your overpair which is winning. Beware of co-ordinated flops like 567s as if noone already has the flush/straight then someone certainly at least has the draw. Having two to a flush on the board is good however. You will get action from the draws and make sure to charge them pot sized bets for the privelige of seeing the next card Again tho, DONT pay them off if they make their draws.

Basically if you get serious action with your aces and there is no obvious draw on the board it is quite likely someone has flopped two pair or a set against you so you have to decide whether or not to go through with your rockets judging on the player. A very tight player giving you serious action is a definate fold in these cases. However if someone else put in some action preflop then you could well be against another lower overpair - get your chips in here for sure (you will probably be able to tell when this is the case).

I would never advocate getting into a raising war with just a pair of aces once the whole board is out, if you are unsure then you must call but JUST call - dont fall into a raising war as the times you are beat you will lose the lot.

As for the argument to if there is ever a time to fold AA preflop well I can say 99.9999999% of the times it is wrong to do this, bigstyle. It is certainly true that in a cash game you should ALWAYS be putting your money in when you are ahead - even a 50.2% chance of winning headsup you should be sticking all your money in there. This leads to of course never EVER folding AA preflop in a cash game. Indeed if you can then getting all your money in preflop is the absolute dream, against as many players as you can. Of course this is not going to happen very often but it does present itself from time to time . You might lose, but it's gambling and you would be getting pretty unlucky as you are a massive favourite over any other cards preflop. Of course your chances diminish against multiple opponents, but your rewards for winning go up and you are always the most likely to win the pot.

Lets take a look at the % chance AA has against various hands preflop

AA vs KK (or just about any other underpair, the values change ever so slightly but it is near enough the same) - 81% to 19% (a great spot)

AA vs AK (a common one to end up all in preflop, especially in tournaments) - 93% to 7% - this is a TREMENDOUS spot to be in and infact just about one of the best in the whole of NL hold em it is a dream come true if you get it.

AA vs J10s (other suited connectors will be similar although slightly different) - 78% to 22% (another good spot)

As you can see we are pretty much a gigantic favourite over any two cards preflop. There is an argument above about if it might be correct to fold AA preflop in a tournament and wait for a better spot for your chips. Now the thinking behind this is good. Plenty of high stake professionals fold hands where they are the favourite (although marginal) in tournaments all the time for this very reason. If you lose in a cash game its no bother, you can just reach back into your pocket and buy back in again but if you lose in a tournament then thats it....you are gone no second chances. An example might be if you have a flush draw and are being paid slightly more than 2/1 on it to go all in and hit. Yes you have the value and would win a few chips in the long run by calling but whats the point? You will be out the tournament 2 in 3 times by calling and can certainly wait for a better spot for your chips - so do it. Also in the early stages of a tournament with low blinds you CERTAINLY dont want to be coinflipping AK v JJ all in preflop, a pro will fold either of these hands in a big tourney in a flash in the early stages. Indeed I have to say if I was playing in the WSOP during the first round (10,000 chips and 25/50 blinds) and someone just went AI in front of me preflop and I looked down in the big blind to see KK I would fold. However AA presents an absolute massive advantage preflop. You will NOT get anywhere near such good odds for a long time if you have the chance to get it all in preflop with pocket rockets and as such it cannot be folded. You are a huge favourite and 1st hand of the WSOP Main event I would call AI with AA preflop in a F L A S H (as would any pro!) so I would have to agree with GETT1N on that one. As I would also call on the bubble with a short stack in the same situation.

The only time I can think of I would fold AA preflop is if I was playing in a satellite game. For example 3 places get put through to the main event and there are 4 people left, you are a middle stack. Everyone goes all in preflop and you look down in the big blind to see AA. I would fold here - you have nothing to gain and everything to lose, the prize does not change for 1st place over 3rd and you are going to get through probably after this hand so just muck em.

Jez

[GETT1NLOTS]

The only time I can think of I would fold AA preflop is if I was playing in a satellite game. For example 3 places get put through to the main event and there are 4 people left, you are a middle stack. Everyone goes all in preflop and you look down in the big blind to see AA. I would fold here - you have nothing to gain and everything to lose, the prize does not change for 1st place over 3rd and you are going to get through probably after this hand so just muck em.

I was about to post how I disagreed with this until I read it again. Excellent point Jez (although it's unsuprising I didn't see your point at first as I hate playing satellite tournements.

I play AA very aggressively pre flop as a rule. They say you should try and stick all your chips in when you are ahead. You can't get more ahead than having AA pre flop.

[Hippy Dave]

I said earlier in this thread that there is no right way to play aces, and while I still agree with that, I think there are a few key points to this hand.

a) Assuming the board doesn't improve your hand, you only have a pair, it may be a pair of aces but it's still only a pair. Which leads me onto

b) Don't get too attached to AA. The best players are, in my opinion, the best players because they are able to save chips in tough situations. Anyone can get paid with a monster, it's laying down "monsters" when behind that separates the good from the bad.

c) Don't be disappointed to take just the blinds preflop. Ok, so we all look down and see AA after 3 hours, but if you have to take the blinds rather than trying to get tricky and getting into a mess on the flop, so be it. It's free chips, take them.

Incidentally, the more I play poker the more I realise that 99% of decisions are made for you, by your cards and position, and your opponents betting and position. It's just that the majority of players choose to ignore these clearcut decisions.