AA in the BB

MrDiz · #1 02-01-2007, 11:49 PM

This hand came about 5 mins after sitting down, after being crippled in a tourney holding aces and busting out shortly afterward. (saying this cos it probably affected how I played this hand)

Looking back, I don't think any play would have worked out well for me, but I still think I played them poorly throughout (especially the turn and river). Any advice welcome.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

MP1 ($16)
MP2 ($22.45)
CO ($16.50)
Button ($37.25)
SB ($22.45)
Hero ($22.65)
UTG ($27.95)
UTG+1 ($7.50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
UTG raises to $1, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.75.

Flop: ($2.10) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $1.25, Hero raises to $3.25, UTG calls $2.

Turn: ($8.60) K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero bets $3, UTG calls $3.

River: ($14.60) 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero bets $6, UTG raises to $16, Hero calls $9.40 (All-In).

Final Pot: $46

Results in white below: 
Hero has As Ah (two pair, aces and twos).
UTG has Kh Kc (full house, kings full of twos).
Outcome: UTG wins $46.

lacrymosa · #2 02-01-2007, 11:55 PM

don't post results

reraise preflop

BBV

Hank Scorpio · #3 02-01-2007, 11:57 PM

PF: I normally raise with aces, but it's alright to to slowplay them HU OOP if you think villian is overly aggressive. With no reads on villian, I'm raising.

Flop: I would rather just call his bet. You're raise is only getting called by a good hand on a board like this, and the chances of him having a ten are low since he raised UTG.

Turn: I would bet at this point to get a little bit more money in the pot with your hand (since he might have hit that king) and also to prevent draws. And why are you betting such a small number here?

River: If you made a normal sized turn bet there would be around $23 in the pot at this point and you have $16 left. I would rather check in this situation to induce a bluff. I don't seem him calling a big bet here because I put him on a draw by the turn or a PP like JJ or QQ (explaining why he called your flop re-raise).

He had KK. Tough beat, he hit a 2 outer. Don't let the results chance your style of play.

RAHZero · #4 02-02-2007, 12:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A.
UTG raises to $1, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.75.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ewww.... reraise that PF every single time. Flat calling OOP with AA PF is terrible, and asking for trouble post-flop. As played, raise more on the flop, make it like $4.50. Turn bet is pretty weak too. As played, I don't see how we can fold this river, there's no way he can put us on AA, we have the best possible two pair hand, and we're only beaten by a random 2 (not very likely), 55, TT or KK. But reraise this PF, and the whole hand plays out differently.

SCBielski · #5 02-02-2007, 12:16 AM

I've seen so many posts in uNL lately where people completely misplay their aces preflop so I feel the need to explain it in depth:

We should start with a very fundamental concept, and that is AA is the best preflop hand you can be dealt. You should always be opening aces for a raise preflop and you should always 3-bet your aces against any opponent and any number of opponents. Playing aces in a multiway pot is too dangerous a risk, therefore you should always be looking to isolate opponents preflop to give yourself the best chance to win.
OK, so now that the basics have been covered, let's talk about 3-bets and 4-bets preflop. If you open for a raise and are 3-bet you have to choices: call or 4-bet. This is where we have to become opponent specific. Against a LAG opponent that has been known to 3-bet light a call is typically the most EV play as you know they will play the flop aggressively no matter what they hit and we can take advantage of this. On the other hand, if our opponent is TAG and has a small 3-bet range we should 4-bet as they are likely to shove over our aces with their 3-bet range. Furthermore, if we smooth call a TAG's 3-bet we will have to fear any face card that hits on the flop as this may have completed a set for our opponent. Since the odds of a face card hitting on the flop are greater than 30%, this is legitmate consideration we have to make when deciding which action to take preflop against a TAG player's 3-bet. A good TAG will also fold out hands like TT-QQ facing an all in on the flop, so we see no EV from trying to smooth call their 3-bet preflop in order to stack off on the flop. Simply put, a solid TAG's preflop 3-bet range is something like TT-AA, and possibly AK. Since we hold aces and our opponent likely holds a monster, we need to take advantage of this and force them to commit all in with hands like QQ and KK. Now, you might argue putting them to a decision for all their chips preflop is -EV, but in fact it is not. Our opponent will only commit more money to the pot postflop with the lower end of their range (TT and JJ) if they flop a set on us, but they will be willing to commit a good deal postflop with QQ or KK (assuming they don't hold AA because we do). If we simply make our opponent commit preflop with their hand, they will likely call off with QQ+, but fold out TT and JJ. This means we get max EV if they call, but we really lose nothing if they fold out.

I hope this post has been helpful for preflop play with aces. Feel free to post any comments, etc.

Hank Scorpio · #6 02-02-2007, 12:30 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A.
UTG raises to $1, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.75.

[/ QUOTE ]

As played, raise more on the flop, make it like $4.50. Turn bet is pretty weak too.

[/ QUOTE ]

I realize villian has KK here, just what you want with the PF raise, but in general what do you think a raise here accomplishes?

MrDiz · #7 02-02-2007, 12:50 AM

Thanks guys, I knew I'd played dumb, just needed a pointer for next time. Cheers