NLTRN 30

[handparty]

Here's an interesting hand, a lesson in how not to play pocket rockets. I was the big blind in this, but thought I'd relate it from my opponent's POV.

Blinds are 10 & 20

small blind (A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]) calls (20)
big blind raises to 40
sb raises to 60
bb calls
pot is now 120

flop [K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]]
bb bets 60
sb calls
pot is now 240

turn [K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]] [J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]]
bb bets 240
sb calls
pot is now 720

river [K [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]] [K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]]
bb bets 720
sb raises to 1170 and is all in
bb calls & shows A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

I'd definitely have made a bigger reraise pre-flop, and a pot-sized bet or bigger post-flop to make it expensive for anyone drawing to a straight or a flush. Obviously aggressive play can kill your action, but I think this hand shows why that's not such a bad risk to take.

His river bet is awful, what hand did he put me on? Stinking. I shouldn't complain though. Still not sure how I'd've handled the turn in his position but river's a clear fold.

How do people normally play AA? What should he have done in this case?

[Raiseren1]

What is happening preflop? BB start out by raising? And you probably know how to play this hand. Make som real raises preflop and raise flop. I do not think you play this hand good. Betting 60 on the flop as a blocking bet is not a good play if he is just average aggressive. Because he will make a decent raise which puts you in a tough situation. And you may not get the odds to call and bust his aces. Here you were lucky that he was a passive donk.

[ChicagoRy]

If I'm limping AA in this situation to a BB that will constantly raise my limps and he does this, I will raise it at least 4x more. Sometimes I raise it 5-6x, depending on the player and how much he plays his own hand/reads my plays.

In this situation I would raise to at least 160. That makes the pot 320. Any bet he throws out on this flop I would raise a lot of chips, if he checks I would bet about 2/3 pot, if he has a king he should be raising and you get it in ahead. People raise a lot worse in these situations, despite the fact that I generally limp raise once in a match if I ever do at all. Usually one of us busts by the end of the hand if I have limp raised and do not fold preflop.

You have to play these hands a lot more aggressive, only 2 cards help you and they may not even help improve your hand, so get the money in as early as possible with big pocket pairs, that is when you're almost always ahead.


As played, if you had raised to 160 PF, raised his flop bet of half pot (another 160 into 320 pot) to about 650 or so that commits him here. Sure you lost the hand but you got it in while you were ahead instead of check-calling down the whole hand and letting him draw so cheap.

I don't see why villain's river hand is played bad, you could have a straight or something like AK. He's ahead of your calling range here IMO.

[handparty]

I was big blind in this hand, I related it from the villain's POV. So he was reraising with AA when there were many, many hands that would beat him (any K, flush or straight) and next to nothing he would beat (a Jack? Ace high?).

[ChicagoRy]

Ha, oh ok.

My views on this are directed at villain.

[handparty]

Yeah, it's the villain that needs the advice here, but to be honest I sometimes have trouble with high pocket pairs, either feeling that I've not gotten value from them, or giving the opponent enough rope to hang me with. I guess the message here is play them aggressive from the off.