The safe play on pocket aces when there are eight-to-ten players at the table,
is a comfortable raise that may thin the betting herd, but won’t chase away
the dead money. Basically, you want to play against a maximum of three other
players so that the chances of an opponent hitting that dreaded inside straight
to beat you are minimized.
Although you will never be second-guessed at any poker table for going all-in
pre-flop with pocket aces even if you do lose, the best way to collect a big
payoff on pocket aces is to make the other players think you have a lesser hand
(slow play). Then evaluate your competition, as the board develops, in order to
determine your actual strength.
Just realize that even though you had the strongest hand pre-flop, pocket aces
are not necessarily going to be the strongest hand (nuts) after the five community
cards are dealt. So although you can win more money the longer other players stay
in the hand, don’t hesitate to make your “all-in” move the second that you sniff
out a possibility that someone else might be able to beat you.
Your best case scenario is if your slow play is so successful that another player
raises you AND you know that your aces are good. A quick call or small raise on
your part could be a sign to the other players that you think that the raise was
a bluff and would not necessarily indicate that you have particularly good cards,
hopefully leading them to follow into the pot and increase your winnings.
But with pocket aces as with any hand in poker, a win, however small, is still
better then losing on the river. The power of the pocket aces is that whoever has
them has the ability to force the issue by pushing all-in at any time. The earlier
the push is made the quicker the pressure is put on the other players at the table
to make a read and with less information, but the drawback is the possibility of
losing potential winnings should your opponents fold.
And although the debate shall always remain as to how to play the pocket aces for
as long as Texas Hold’Em is played, there is no arguing the fact that the
“pocket rockets” represent the best starting position in the game.
The safe play on pocket aces when there are eight-to-ten players at the table,
is a comfortable raise that may thin the betting herd, but won’t chase away
the dead money. Basically, you want to play against a maximum of three other
players so that the chances of an opponent hitting that dreaded inside straight
to beat you are minimized.
