Held Me Play Aces Better

[gmcarroll33]

I'm at a measly 1/2 No Limit game. I have $450 but only because I've just doubled up on a flush, so I've basically bought in for $400. Anyways the very next hand after I get my Ace high flush for about $200 where I was the favorite the whole way, I pick up Aces UTG.

I raise to $25 to size my preflop raise according to the strength of my hand like your supposed to do every once in a while according to Sklansky in NLHETP. I get 3 callers. My friend has pokcet 10s, a guy with about $800 who has been sucking out on me all night long calls with 55, and another guy with about $200 calls with 66.

After all the limps the pot is $125 total. Comes 8-5-4 with 2 spades. I overbet to $150. Guy with pokcet 5s who has been bustin me all night on draws or rivering me for full houses goes all in over the top of me for my whole stack. The guy with 66 says he feels like gambling so he says he calls. I mean if I'm right just once I'm about to have a stack of money over a grand. Needless to say I don't hit [censored], and lose to a set of fives for all my money.

Obviously I can see I was way too attached to Aces here. My friend and I talked about it afterwards and determined that I crushed myself by overbetting the pot on the flop, becasue I almost totally committed myself at that point based on the stack that I had left and what I had already put in. What made it sick was the fact that I figured I was beat. At best I was hoping he had a 4 flush and was getting em all in on that, but I should have seen through that. My friend said I should have bet about 75 to see where I stand so that I could get away from it, but any draw would call it, and these people are too dumb to realize how wrong it is to call draws based on odds and stuff so I felt like I needed to end the draws right there.

But at the same time, I can't fold just fold to an all in every time I don't flop a set with my aces can I and somebody represents a set, because they can bluff a set on me more often can't they? I mean granted the guy had to have known what I had, but what if people start pushing all in representing a set every time they know I've got aces. How often do I have to fold or call their bs down to be profitable? I know a lot of this depends on their stacks and all, and it's pretty hypothetical and all, but I'd like advise as to how to play ACes better, and for some advise as to when it's good to get away from them. What would you have done differently?

[mr_npiv]

The first thing that suprises me is all the small pocket pairs calling in the first place. I don't know how well they know you, had been playing with you, but you certainly gave them the implied odds to chase their set.

I could agree with you that overbetting from first position was not the best move. I might have even checked here, to gauge strength and then raise appropriately. i doubt in a 4 way pot everyone would have checked it down to the turn.

And finally the fear of sets ! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

i know where your coming from. And I absolutely hate being bluffed too. In fact I am more likely to steam from a probable "good" laydown than a bad beat.

But what helped me was to remove the 'personal' factor. This wasnt a heads up pot. In fact there are 4 people in the pot who ALL called 12BBs.

So when someone goes all in, its not just YOU he is challenging, there are 3 other people playing that pot, and you should value his hand accordingly.

[4acesbeat4queens]

I understand the sizing of your bet occasionally from UTG, but a good player might read you as over betting, not wanting to see a flop there. I play 1/2 very occasionally at Foxwoods, and I'm surprised even some loose players were calling you with mid-pairs. That seems to be one of those raises where you can wait for a better spot to play.

Besides, up against 4 hands with a straight already possible, 2 spades to a flush, and a landmine of weak-loose players calling with mid-pairs, I would have open-checked here too. You are OOP with 3 fish in the pot with you. AA typically doesn't hold versus 3 fish from UTG. Maybe try betting 1/2 pot on the flop, you're still denying flush draws and since the bet is large, players probably wouldn't chase anyways because the bet is rather large (70 ish). That way if set boy comes over the top you can get rid of your hand and save yourself your entire stack. Other than that though, nothing really you can do. It's like Doyle says, you either win small pots with AA, or you lose big ones. Unfortunately, you lost a big one.

[Voltaire]

If you bet $25 when there's only $3 in the pot, one has to wonder why. Your stack is relatively deep for that game. Let's find out. Those small pockets thought you had AK or something like that. Nobody with AA even UTG is going to bet 12.5 times BB. What would be the point? On the flop your bet of $150 makes it clear you have a big overpair, and so when somebody moves all in (against three other players) they have you beat. Period. Tough lay down but the way you played the hand made it clear that a lay down was required. I think you unconsciously played it that way so that you could be sure what to do when you got action like that, but you failed to throw away your hand when the evidence was clear.

[Giant Burrito]

[ QUOTE ]
If you bet $25 when there's only $3 in the pot, one has to wonder why. Your stack is relatively deep for that game. Let's find out. Those small pockets thought you had AK or something like that. Nobody with AA even UTG is going to bet 12.5 times BB. What would be the point? On the flop your bet of $150 makes it clear you have a big overpair, and so when somebody moves all in (against three other players) they have you beat. Period. Tough lay down but the way you played the hand made it clear that a lay down was required. I think you unconsciously played it that way so that you could be sure what to do when you got action like that, but you failed to throw away your hand when the evidence was clear.

[/ QUOTE ]