06-27-06, LearnTexasHoldem:
AA KK Mixing Play Up
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Given the above, instead of following conventional wisdom and betting these hands hard preflop in order to purge the field and reduce the number of players, why shouldn't I treat these the same as any small pair and try to see the flop as cheaply as possible. That way your strength remains hidden and if you flop a set you have the chance to extract some significant value from the hand. Even if you don't flop the set, you still probably have top pair and can go forward accordingly making a reasonably strong bet to get a feel for where you are at. At worst, you have to muck on the turn, but at least you gave yourself the opportunity to really burn somebody instead of picking up an insignificant pot.
I know that this thinking is probably wrong - but why? Thanks
Ryan
Answer:
Your line of thinking isn't wrong. Remember how you win in poker: You get paid off on your good hands while avoiding paying off other players' good hands. Sometimes the best way to play a hand isn't text book. Sometimes you make more money by playing it weird. Deception is very important in holdem, especially now days as players are becoming more educated. A play I make a lot of the time in no limit holdem is to cold call a player's raise with a AA or KK. This masks the strength of my hand and puts the spotlight on the opponent, who will often try to push me out of the pot, not knowing that I have the real hand.
You can also limp in sometimes with the big pairs if you like, but I would be careful doing this in an overly loose game. In a game that is very loose, you'll most likely get called anyway, so there is no reason to slow play the hand. Remember we were limping in to hopefully make a big pot, so because the players are playing so badly anyway, we might as well play the hand normally. In a very aggressive or very tight game, I may limp in with a hand like this (as long as the limp itself wouldn't be a giveaway). When you limp in this case, you are doing it so that you get action, while in the loose game you raise because you are getting too much action -- you want to limit it some so you have better odds. In the tight game you are working on getting value, the loose game there is tons of value already.
Next, a raise preflop with AA or KK gives up some deception, but it gains some perspective into what the opponents may have when they play against you. See, basically you are saying, "I have a good hand, come get me." And when they play back at you by raising, then that means something different than if you just limped in preflop. If you just limp in preflop, the opponents don't put you on a big pair, so when they bet/raise, the info you get back is murky. This cuts both ways: you like it because you'll get more action as they have know idea what have; you don't like it because it screws up your hand reading.
Don't assume that you have to be much more deceptive if you raise and everyone folds. That's really common and doesn't mean you are seen as a rock. It can also mean that no one had anything to call you with. Before you really mix things up, it's best to get a clear message from the table that you are seen as a player they aren't willing to give action to.
Lastly, good poker play is fluid. Most of the time the text book player is correct, but you want to think on your own and do what the situation calls for, above all else.
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