[mscaces]

Well it seems like this post was very popular but for all the wrong reasons. Very little was discussed about the original question which I believe was misunderstood by most.
The question wasn’t should I fold AA, before the flop? The question was should I EVER fold AA before the flop? Some people took the question as a joke, some said you should never fold AA pre-flop. Others just posted insults. When I posted the question I understood the mathematics of playing AA. Heads up it’s a monster hand and yes even I would not question going all in heads up with this hand, even during the first round of a tournament. My question was designed to find the 1 or 2 situations where you might not play AA. The only answers that should have come up are if you are at the final table and on the bubble to make the money or to move up in earning, or as I have stated at the beginning of a tournament in a multi-way pot. Getting more specific, I am not even talking about fast paced internet tournaments where the rounds are 20 minutes or less. I am talking about slow paced tournaments with lots of entrants with 40 minute rounds. I believe both these are debatable situations and should not have been ridiculed. This board was designed for people to discuss various situations, to find ways to improve there game. It seems that most people on this board are content to follow the basic accepted rules of poker and not evolve beyond that. Many of you have stated that poker is just about math. Again if that were true why isn’t there a computer program that can play championship poker? I have played many of them and beat them all on a regular basis. It has been said that limit poker is a science and that no limit is an art. If this is true, which I believe it is the math argument can be thrown out the window. Although, I do agree that you have to have knowledge of math to be successful. If you read ANY book on tournament poker they ALL say to limit the amount of times you have to go all. Why? It’s very simple, the more times you go all in, the more chances you have of being eliminated. I am not saying don’t go all in, there will be points where you will have to go all in and you can’t be afraid of going all in. I am just saying you should be careful when going all in and pick the best spots to do so. Going all in every time you have a good hand is not poker, that’s gambling. I also guarantee this, that if you were to go all in every time you were the favorite to win over a 4 day period, which is how long the WSOP championship now lasts, you would not make the final table, because chances are on one of those all in pushes you will be out drawn and eliminated. I would rather go all in after the flop where my odds improve and the risk is less. I would rather gather my chips by going after shorter stacks then mine so I don’t have to risk my own stack. I prefer to play heads up hands instead of multi way pots. To me this is all sound tournament play. I will raise when I need to, I will sometimes raise when I don’t have the best hand….not a smart math play I agree, but If I sense weakness and feel some one will fold I will raise. I play position…sometimes any two cards on the button when there are no raises, but only play premium hands in early position. If you disagree with my play fine…you have that right. Average players are the ones that just follow the rules, great players make the rules. Once everyone thought the world was flat, imagine that! So, keep an open mind, continue to ask questions and discuss, that is the only way to improve your game. It’s the little things that will make you great, the nuances, the adjustments you make from the standard rules and math. If you are serious about poker no question should be too silly to discuss or ponder, think and you might learn something or you might just reaffirm what you already knew, but you must always consider the possibilities. Good luck to everyone on their poker games.