01-20-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

AA vs KK

Question: Something like this always seems to happen to me. I'd been playing for an hour and gotten up to around $50.00 from my original $25 by in at a $25 NL Online Table. I've been playing OL for around 6 months and, thanks to your site, I feel like I'm playing better and starting to 'get' this game.

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I'm on the button and I've been dealt KK, a few people limp in for $.50, the guy to my right raises to $3.00. I reraise to $6.00, everyone folds, and he goes to $20.00. So I figure, "Well, the flop probably isn't going to make much of a difference for me. Either I fold or go all the way, cause if he raises the flop, I know I'll call." This guy has been playing very aggressive, and somewhat erratically, and has really been bullying pre-flop.

So I go all-in, he calls, a bunch of low cards come out, and he turns over AA.

Was this the smartest play? I know you've mentioned before that the only time you don't go all in heads-up is when you think the other guy has AA. Should I have laid it down? Or, is this just a case of "Well, That's Poker!"

Much Thanks,

Randall

Answer:

Correct, the only time you wouldn't go all-in in no limit holdem with KK preflop is if your opponent had AA. The kicker though is that you'll never know for sure if the person has AA so you are stuck. This situation happens so infrequently that you shouldn't worry. You need to be careful with QQ and below though because those smaller pairs aren't much of a favorite against overcards (for all intents and purposes it is a 50/50 if it is all-in to the river). QQ, JJ, and TT are some of the hardest hands to play in no limit holdem against a preflop raiser. They are great hands but often times you are only a small favorite if you are ahead or you are a big underdog if you are behind. In the situation mentioned above, I might have even gone all-in with QQ or JJ versus the player unless it would have cost me a lot of chips (like for example if we both had stacks triple the buy-in). You figure that if the person is raising with such marginal hands, QQ or JJ would probably have them dominated. So to finish up, you didn't do anything wrong, it was just one of those frustrating hands.

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