How to play Pocket Aces...in my opinion.

I want to give away some free advice that may bite me in the ass down the road but none the less it is my opinion so you can take it or leave it. By the way, this advice that I am about to share...AWESOME!!!!

Pocket Aces the best starting hand in Texas Hold'em poker, limit, no-limit, or pot limit. Of course there are people who would rather have something else, so they so, but this is the best hand. Okay, here are some things that you have to look at before you sit down. If you really like to win you will scout the tables out and try to get a feel for the games that are going on if you see a particular game you can specifically ask the floor person to put you on the list for that game, if you are playing 1-2, 2-5, or low to medium limit games just scout them all and get ready, sometimes the wait for that table can be long. Now the scouting has been done and you have an idea of how the table plays. So you sit down, hopefully, after the blinds but lets say you sit down in the under the gun (UTG) position and pick up pocket aces. First thing that happens...deep inside there is a "Spartans!" and you reply to yourself inside that is "WHOWAA!", so you are pumped but how do I play this hand, I just got in the game, what should I do? Okay, if you had scouted you might have an idea of who the maniac is and where he/she is at the table, if you have one raise normally even if they are on your left. Now, lets say that you are put in a game that you have no idea what is going on, again you raise with your aces.

So the game is going on and you have some loose players to your left and are looking for that trap hand, you pick up aces. You have not raised for quite awhile but you want to trap these loose bastards what do you do? Since I happen to be one of those loose bastards, I would either raise as normal, so the L.B. will play with you because he thinks you have aces and looks down at 9-10 off and smiles to himself and knows that if he hits he will turn you upside down and bleed you dry. Geez, did I write all that? Sorry, well you either raise and get a caller or two or you limp and let the L.B.'s get in cheap to smack you around if they do hit. Please just raise with the Aces is my point.

It is very rare that you will slow play your aces...case in point it was a time ago, not sure when '07 or '06, it was about 2am on a Friday morning and I was getting up from a broken 1-2 NL game. You play in the game that you can consistently beat, at that time it was the 1-2 NL. Well I start to leave I have my checks racked up in two racks and I walk by the only 2-5 game and watch j-7 take down a pot with over $1000. I stop and watch as the maniac next to him, a middle aged guy with a lot of energy, terrorize the table. He bluffed more than normal but you could not put him on a hand. He lost that big pot but came out and won three in a row and had over $2000 in front of him. My mouth started to salivate, the seat to the right of him opened up and I jumped in the game...of course I did not put all my glimmer into play, just about $800. Well I start talking to the guy and I am dumping A10, AJ, AQ, small pairs because of the position I was in, this guy was just pushing almost every hand...$30, $40, $50 and sometimes $100 to go! One time, please is what I was thinking. Well as I am talking to him I find out why he is pushing so hard, he is a professional black jack player and he just lost over $20,000 and wants to get some of it back. Last year he lost six figures! How can you be a pro blackjack player with that kind of loss?!? UGHHHH!!! Well about an hour into it I've picked up a few hundred by using position and just waiting, it is tough to have a maniac to your left, you WANT A MANIAC ON YOUR RIGHT SO IF YOU CAN GET A SEAT CHANGE THERE DO IT!
I pick up pocket aces under the gun and limp, he makes it $50 to go and we get two callers..."UHHH I don't think so", I think and I jam in another $350. To the sane most players you go yikes, okay you can have the $150 plus blinds, well this guy is so focused on money and not how I have been playing, he makes a move to get me off my hand, "ALL IN!"
Stanley hits the bottom of the table as the blood rushes in, I got the lunchbox, finally! I have over $800 left and I think and finally call after the other two fold. He flips up AK, actually had a hand this time...Flop comes K2A rainbow turn a 2 river a 3. Slow playing da aces at the right time. I told the gentleman good luck after playing to my button and taking my winnings to the window. Gotta love guys like that.

So there you have it, the morale of the story...Raise with aces!

Stay nice as rice and mello as jello!