Aces Cracked
Yes pocket aces can and do lose. You will hear players in every card room in the world complaining: “My pocket aces got cracked!” But you know that players talk more about big losses than big wins, right? No one every says: “I won with my pocket aces.” Well, of course you did.
We talked about the percentages in our last post but what is probably more important is how you feel when your aces get beat. Nothing can set you on tilt like a run of big hands that all go down in blazing defeat. But you simply cannot play big pairs afraid of the chance you might lose with them. In fact, a timid approach to aces or kings will increase the odds of them losing. Particularly beginning players should raise with pocket aces; don’t get cute and try to slow play those big pairs. What you want is a limited field and you want to punish them with a bet on the flop.
Not only does betting and raising with aces mean you will drive out long-shot drawing hands but you will also be charging those players a premium to out-draw you if they choose to call. You will win more than you lose with pocket aces, so you should also win more by playing them strong.
Let us repeat: You will win more often with pocket aces than you lose with them. No really, it’s true!
-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #209
