Pocket Aces Strategy

Looking down and seeing ‘the bullets' is one of the highlights of Texas Hold'em. Pocket aces is the #1 starting hand in Hold'em; however, this is where people make the first mistake.

Pocket aces are by no means invincible, and if they are not played with caution you stand to lose a big pot. So allow this quick guide to help you learn how to play pocket aces profitably the next time you pick those bad boys up.

Always look to make a bet or raise with pocket aces.

We have to realize that pocket aces are not the type of hand we want to play against multiple opponents. The ideal situation is to be heads up on the flop. Therefore ‘limping in' in early position is a dangerous tactic and you should avoid doing so. After all, if you do limp then you could be facing numerous opponents on the flop, at which point you have to be prepared to fold your hand to any significant amount of action unless you hit your set.

Always look to raise with pocket aces as opposed to limping in and trying to be tricky. The last thing you want to happen is to be facing multiple opponents on the flop.

A second situation that could arise from limping in is being raised by another player. When facing this raise most people will re-raise once more and this will set alarm bells ringing in the heads of your opponents, because what kind of hand are you holding if you limp then re-raise the raiser?

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9 times out of 10 the person making this move has a monster starting hand. Therefore you should more often than not raise when holding pocket aces, it lets your opponents know that you have a big hand but not how big, and it helps to define your opponents hands if they call.

Post-flop pocket aces strategy.

On the flop you again will want to be betting and raising, after all this is the only way you are going to be able to get more money into the pot. If you are heads up against one opponent you may want to check and induce a bluff if he is an aggressive type of player when in first position.

In general, you want to continue betting and raising to build the pot as much as possible with pocket aces. It is not advisable to continuously slowplay this sort of hand. You make more money by betting.

Be sure never to slowplay if the board is coordinated and your opponent is drawing to a straight or a flush; you want to make him pay and give him the wrong pot odds to draw to it.

(Note: When playing online make sure you leave a little time between betting into the pot on the flop. When people raise pre-flop and then bet a large amount into the pot immediately when it is their turn to act it is a big giveaway that they are holding the over-pair, so take a little time!).

Tips for playing pocket aces.

• Do not slowplay.
• Try not to get too attached to the hand.
• The less opponents in the hand the better.
• Remember that pocket Aces are not indestructible.

It must be stressed that aces are definitely not a hand to be slowplayed. Many amateurs fall into this bad habit because they are the #1 starting hand. But this is only before the flop. After the flop it is a different matter, if you don't hit a set just remember... all you have is one pair.

You should always be thinking, "Okay, what could my opponent have that would beat me?" and try to figure out whether he has that type of hand. If you try and slowplay your hand to the end, do you think your opponent is going to call a large bet or an all-in with ace high or a pair? Because those are the only hands you will be beating at the end. If your opponent does call, its goodbye to your stack as very few are going to call with anything less that two-pair.

Pocket aces strategy evaluation.

Aces are not a hand to be slow played. The ideal situation is to be all in on the flop against your opponents. However this is not going to be likely, especially in a cash game. The second best situation is to use the tactics mentioned above by minimizing the number of opponents and getting money into the pot by betting and even raising.

Take advantage of the rakeback deals to ensure that you add that little extra to your winnings.

But remember, with pocket Aces you only have one pair, so be prepared to let them go when facing a lot of action. The ability to lay down strong hands what makes the difference between good and great players.

Go back to the awesome Texas Hold'em Strategy.

Beginner Poker Tips

There is a very steep learning curve in Poker. At the start a little information will take you a long way, but as you improve, the new information you learn won't add as much to your game.

So if you are a beginner poker player reading this article, this is probably the most useful and money saving information you will ever read. If you absorb all of the beginner poker tips below, you may even turn from a losing player into a break-even or winning player.

These beginner poker tips won't turn you into an expert player in ten minutes, but they will set you on the right track to becoming a winning poker player.

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1] Don't play too many hands.

A very common mistake that amateur players make is not being selective enough with their starting hands. Don't fall into the common trap of thinking that ‘any hand can win'. Although this is true, some hands are more likely to win than others and will help you win more money, whilst others will help you in losing more money. So be selective about which hands you play.

Here's a handy article on starting hand selection for you.

Good starting hand selection is the foundation of every winning poker player's game. Learn it!

2] Don't bluff too much.

Another common misconception about poker is that you need to bluff to win. You may see spectacular bluffs on the WSOP shows, but these are edited to show the highlights of the tournaments and so give the wrong impression of the frequency that top players bluff. Bluffing in poker is not as essential as you think it is.

If you are a beginner online poker player, it is better to play your cards well rather than trying to bluff your opponents out of hands. It is good to try occasional bluffs here and there, but the real art of knowing when to bluff comes from knowledge and practice.

3] Think about your opponent's cards.

It is vitally important in poker to think about the strength of your opponent's hand, and not just your own. It is nice to have a big hand, but if you think that your opponent has a better hand than you, you should prepare to fold. For example a straight is a decent hand, but if there are four cards of the same suit on the board and your opponent pushes all in, do you still think you have the best hand?

Find out more about thinking on higher levels in the article on multiple level thinking in poker. It's a bit of an advanced concept, but it is very interesting nonetheless.

4] Play against players worse than you.

This may seem obvious, but you will be surprised at the number of players that go against this simple principle. If you are better than the players that you are playing against, it makes sense that you will be a winner in the long run. If you were the 10th best player in the world, it would not be profitable to sit at a table with the top 9 players in the world.

Choose your games and limits just as carefully as the cards you play with. Good table selection will help you to find those fishy poker tables in the lobby.

5] Think about your position.

Table position is a very important factor in poker, especially in Texas Holdem. The best positions to be in are when you are last to act on the hand, for example, when you are on the button. This means that you gain knowledge about what kind of hand they may have before the action gets to you. Having good position in a hand can easily turn a losing hand into a winning one.

Position plays a much bigger role in no limit Texas Hold'em than you think. It can often be more important than the cards themselves, and make the difference between winning and losing a hand.

6] Pay attention to the game.

The best way to pick up tells is to watch your opponents and how they play in each pot. Even when you are not in the hand, you should still concentrate on the game to understand how your opponents play. Hopefully you will see what moves the players make when they don't have the best hand, and what moves they make when they do have the best hand. The more information you can get from your opponents, the better the opportunity you will have to beat them.

7] Don't jump in at the high limits.

There are two reasons why you shouldn't play for too much money as a beginner. Firstly, the players at the higher limits will be better than the players at the lower limits. There is less chance that you will be able to beat them and you will spend a lot of money trying to learn the game in the process.

Secondly, you only want to play at limits you can afford. You should not play at limits where you are going to drop money that you cannot afford to lose. There is more information on this subject in the bankroll management article.

Without bankroll management, you will never be able to become a winning player, even if you have perfect strategy.

8] Don't pay too much for draws.

You will often find yourself holding half a hand that only needs one card to complete your flush or your straight. As a general rule, if you opponent is betting heavily, it is unlikely to be profitable to chase after these draws. However, if there is only a small amount of betting it may be wise to call in the hope of making your hand. If the amount your opponent bets seems too big to warrant a call to make your hand, then don't.

You can find detailed information on how much you should call for draws in the pot odds strategy guide.

9] Suited cards aren't that great.

The ultimate beginner mistake (that even some intermediate players make) is over-valuing suited cards. Flushes are not as common as you think, and if you limp in with your two small suited cards, there is the chance that you will lose all your money to a higher flush if the flush does come.

Take advantage of the rakeback deals to ensure that you add that little extra to your winnings.

Just because your cards are of the same suit, it only improves that hand by 2% compared to if your hand was not suited. This marginal improvement is too small to warrant calling pre-flop raises, so learn to fold the small suited cards. You will be saving yourself some money in the long run.

10] Know the rules.

As obvious as it seems, there is no substitute for knowing the rules of the game. You don't want to find yourself calling a player all in, thinking that your straight beats his flush and losing all of your chips. There is no way you can be a winning poker player if you don't know the fundamental rules of the game.

Furthermore, each card room and casino may have its own unique set of rules that you must abide by, so make sure you familiarize yourself with them before jumping into any game.

Go back to the awesome Texas Hold'em Strategy.

Top 10 Poker Hands

As many of you know, Phil Hellmuth is one of the most successful Texas Hold 'em players of all time. I recently read his book, Play Poker Like the Pros, and was very impressed with his Hold 'em Strategy. It is not my intent to plagiarize his book, but no poker strategy site would be complete without mentioning the playing ability and strategy of Phil Hellmuth.

If you would like a shot at playing against Phil Hellmuth online, take a moment to check out Ultimate Bet. Hellmuth and other pro's such as Annie Duke promote and play at Ultimate Bet, and have been known to sit down at low limit tables to mingle!

Therefore, I have chosen to reveal and comment on what Hellmuth calls his “Top 10.” When Hellmuth refers to his Top 10, he is talking about pocket card, starting hand requirements. One should note that this isn't a list of the only hands Hellmuth plays, but he does suggest that the poker player can make lots of money in low limit poker, by waiting on these cards and playing them aggressively.

Without further ado, Hellmuth's Top 10:

1. A-A

2. K-K

3. Q-Q

4. A-K suited

5. J-J

6. 10-10

7. 9-9

8. 8-8

9. A-Q suited

10. 7-7

Hellmuth submits that these 10 hands should be the only pocket cards played by the beginner in low limit Texas Hold 'em. This makes the game much simpler before the flop, however, as you can probably guess, the tricks of how to play these 10 hands after the flop can get complicated.

As a general rule though, bet these top 10 hands aggressively. The higher in the ranking, the more aggressively they should be played. Your strategy after the flop will be determined by what hits the board and the actions of your opponents.

Play these top 10 right in low limit Hold 'em games and you will make money. As you build your bankroll and your confidence, you can increase your starting hand requirements.

Meanwhile, I would suggest making a $16 investment in Hellmuth's book, Play Poker Like the Pros. It's not the perfect poker strategy book, and Phil even cautions that he is a no limit player, not a limit player! However, a look inside the mind of a man who has won multiple World Series of Poker bracelets is well worth the $16!