How To Play A Big Pocket Pair Before The Flop
Getting a big pocket pair before the flop has got to be one of the more exciting aspects of poker for many players. As many players find out over time though, a big pocket pair can also do a lot of damage to your chip stack.
It’s important to see both sides of the coin regarding a pocket pair. If you’re dealt AA, you’ve just been dealt the best hand in poker, that’s true. What you also need to realize is that hands like AA generally either win you a small pot or lose you a big pot.
Case in point, say you’re dealt Aces in middle position, you make a standard raise, the button calls, and the flop comes 6h7d8h. You don’t have the Ace of hearts, but you correctly bet out with your over pair, and the button calls. The turn comes Jh, what’s your play?
You definitely need to consider the way your opponent plays, but what could he realistically have here on the flop that justifies a call? He could have the AK of hearts. He could have 9-10. He may have a set. About the only hands he could have that you’re beating right now are 99 through KK, or a bluff.
If you make a big bet on the turn, and you’re raised, you’re probably beat. Many players can’t get away from Aces in situations like this, and end up losing their entire stack as a result.
So how can you avoid having this happen to you? First of all, you’ll generally want to play your big pairs in a very strait forward manner. If you get Aces or Kings in middle position, raise. If the pot is already raised, re-raise. If there are two limpers before you in the hand, make a large raise, say 5-6 times the big blind, in order to try and get the pot into a heads up situation.
Big pairs don’t play well in multi-way pots. Most of the time when you have AA before the flop, you’ll be relying on the same hand after the river. Aside from the occasional strait, flush, or set, your aces are going to have to hold up on their own. And a pair, even a pair of aces, is just a pair.
So there are two critical points to consider. You want to get the hand heads up with a big pair by making strong raises, and you’ll need to be able to get away from the hand if you think you’re beat.
Getting Tricky With Big Pairs:
As I mentioned before, you’ll normally want to play your big pairs very aggressive before the flop. There are a couple of situations where it can pay off to be a little bit tricky though. For example, if your opponents have been raising a lot before the flop, and you’re dealt AA under the gun, limping in, hoping for a raise, and then re-raising can be a profitable play.
If an aggressive opponent raises, and you’re in the big blind, then sometimes it’s alright to just call and see a flop, in order to disguise the strength of your hand.
Most of the time you’ll want to play them very strait forward though. Raise to chase out opponents and avoid seeing a multi way pot with your big pair.