Pre-flop, AA is the best hand in hold 'em. But it's not an easy hand to play-especially if you're playing deeply stacked no-limit hold 'em. Big pocket pairs (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and perhaps J-J) are some of the toughest hands to play.
Some players think these big hole cards entitle them to a big pot. This is the type of player you always hear complaining, "You're going to lose a lot of money in the long run if you keep calling pre-flop raises with 5-4 suited." In reality, the complainer is the donkey because of the huge implied odds he coughs up post-flop.
Other players, afraid of the suckout, make monstrous raises. These are the types who say, "Whenever I have K-K, I always seem to run into A-A." Here's why. When they raise to ten big blinds pre-flop, A-A is one of the few hands that's going to give them action, and the hands that go to showdown overshadow all the others, and are the hands players remember. When they raise and their opponents all fold, they get no value and simply steal the blinds.
One of my good friends jokes that every poker author has a generic article about how to play pocket jacks. I'm not going down that road. I can't; I employ way too many lines of play to be covered in the space that Poker Player is gracious enough to give me every two weeks.
But some basic principles exist that govern how I play my big pocket pairs. Though A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and J-J constitute only 4 out of every 221 hands you're dealt, the post-flop situations you'll encounter with them are similar to post-flop situations where you flop top pair/top kicker. Becoming comfortable with these principles will dissociate you from the emotional attachment that you may have when you get big pocket pairs. And most importantly, they'll help you with making better poker decisions:
• You're not supposed to win every time you're dealt a big pocket pair.
• Playing big pocket pairs heads-up gives you the highest probability of winning, but having the highest probability of winning doesn't necessarily coincide with the expected value. When you raise with big pocket pairs, you shouldn't mind if you get two or even three callers.
• If you raise pre-flop with a big pocket pair, and a player who doesn't normally three-bet goes over the top, then J-J, Q-Q, and even possibly K-K are lay-downs unless you're getting proper odds (including realistically estimated implied odds) to draw for a set. It doesn't matter what the player's VPIP or PFR is, you need to consider the player's pre-flop three-betting behavior specifically.
• Deeply stacked no-limit hold 'em isn't just a pre-flop game; it's a game that's played across four betting rounds, and your average winnings per hand with big pocket pairs will be determined by how well you play the flop, the turn, and the river.
• Regardless of whether you flop an overpair or a set with your big pocket pairs, employ the same betting patterns that you use in other situations. Deeply stacked no-limit hold 'em is a distribution based game where you want to force your opponents to play guessing games.
• Keeping the above point in mind, also make sure that you have a few different lines of play at your disposal. Lean towards aggressive lines of play to extract value against foes who call too much, and passive lines of play to extract value against opponents who bluff too much.
• Unimproved, big pocket pairs generally aren't good when facing excessive post-flop aggression. Big pocket pairs aren't your big money makers because you're going to win a big pot with them every time. They're your big money makers because, when played profitably, you'll win a good percentage of slightly above-average pots with them.
Tony Guerrera is the author of Killer Poker by the Numbers and Killer Poker Shorthanded (with John Vorhaus). Visit him online at www.killerev.com, and check out his weekly show, Killer Poker Analysis, on Rounder's Radio (www.roundersradio.com) Fridays from 5:00PM to 6:00PM Pacific Time
