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Winning Small Pots and Losing Big Ones
In his now famous work Super/System, Doyle Brunson has a famous quote about pocket aces in no limit holdem. Doyle states: “The fact is, with a Pair of Aces or Kings…one of two things will usually happen.Either:
(1) You’ll win a small pot, or
(2) You’ll lose a big pot.”
This combination is not a profitable one for a poker player. Why does Doyle say this and what does it mean for playing a hand like pocket aces? The answers are not found in the basic texas hold em poker rules; you’ll need to think a bit deeper.
Winning Small Pots and Losing Big Ones with Aces
Doyle’s point is that a hand like pocket aces is already a made hand, and unlikely to improve. If it does improve, the improvement will often be so obvious that everyone will fold to a bet, hence winning a small pot. If it doesn’t improve, the only ones who will hang around are players who will catch two pair, a straight or a flush to beat you.If you can’t let go of your aces, you may lose your whole stack, hence losing a big pot.
Avoiding Winning Small/Losing Big With Aces
One thing you should do is frequently raise before the flop with aces. Slowplaying aces is often a big mistake. The reason for this is that if you raise, you will probably only be called by hands that pocket aces are likely to stay ahead of, like AQ or TT. If you limp, your opponents could have anything from 89 suited to pocket 3s.When the flop comes 8 9 3, you’ll have no idea where you stand. If you are in early position, you can sometimes check with aces hoping that someone else will raise and then you can come over the top. Otherwise, you should raise with aces pre-flop most of the time.
One exception could be if you’re short stacked and think that another player may put in a raise, after which you could move all in with your aces and give yourself the best chances of doubling up. This can be good online poker tournament strategy.
Playing Aces Post-Flop
When the flop comes and you bet, if you get resistance think hard about what your opponents might have. If you can put your opponent on three of a kind, don’t be afraid to dump your hand. Remember that as good as it looks pre-flop, a pair of aces is still just one pair and can be beaten by a great many hands.When you finally make it into the World Series of Poker, I hope you remember this lesson and don’t lose any big pots!
