Limping With Aces, Part Two - Getting Away From Them

The inherent danger of limping with aces in early position is that you could end up in a multi-way pot and have to make some very difficult decisions after the flop. But one of the best feelings in poker is making the big fold and finding out on the end that it was the right play. Here's an example from last night's 25c/50c NL game.
I was in the small blind with Jc8c, UTG limped, a couple of players called, and I called as well. The flop came 9s-Jd-8s, giving me two pairs. Since there were about 5 players in the pot and the flop was very coordinated, I bet out $1.50, mainly to find out where I was at. The UTG immediately made it $5 to go, it was folded around to me, and I was faced with decision time. The UTG player only had another $10 and change behind, so if I called his raise I would basically be committing myself to the hand. I decided that he did not have Q-10 for the nut straight, as I didn't think he would have played it that fast with 3 people left to act behind him, so I put him on the flush draw, possibly with a ten, or a hand like Jack-ten which was top pair with a open-ended straight draw. I called, with the intention of moving all-in if the turn card was not scary (a spade, Q, 10, or 7). The turn was the 3d, and I pushed in. UTG sat there for a minute, typed "AA" in the chat box, and folded. I did not show my hand, but wrote "If you really had AA that was an excellent fold" and then said "two pairs". He replied "was worried about the straight" and I replied "put you on the flush draw - couldn't give you a free river card." I thought he played the hand excellently after the flop - just I had bet my strong hand to find out where I was at, he raised with his strong hand to find out where he was at. Once he got called by me and I pushed the non-threatening turn card he made an excellent read that he was beaten, but even if he had not been way behind at the time I could easily have had one of the hands I had put him on and thus would have had myriad river outs. He didn't put me on the correct hand, but he did know he was beat, and made a big-time fold.

Limping With Aces, Part One - Pick The Right Spot

I RARELY limp with Aces. I RARELY flat-call a raise with Aces. But in certain situations I am willing to do it. Here are three examples, one of which is from my play.

My wife told me about a hand of 25c/50c NL she played the other day. She had AA in late position, a couple of people had limped, and then another player made it $3 to go. She flat-called the raiser and I believe all the other players folded. I really like this play for two reasons. Since the raiser had raised a significant amount, it was unlikely that anyone else would be able to call the raise without a very big hand, so there was no reason for her to reraise to drive the other players out. Also, if she had reraised to $8-9, I think the other player would have to put her on at least KK and most probably would have to fold. The flop came A-9-7, the raiser bet out, and my wife called. The turn was a blank, he bet out again, and she called again. The river was another blank, he fired a third shell, and my wife reraised him the minimum. He called, and it turned out that he had flopped trips as well, as he held 99, and my wife scooped a very nice pot. I was actually surprised he didn't push over the top of her raise on the river, but he must have sensed that she either had AA or that she would have to fold a lesser hand to his push. Well-played hand by all parties involved - I don't know that the guy with 99 could have played it much differently since there was really only one hand that could beat him.

I was playing 25c/50c NL at a table where there had been a lot of limping and mini-reraising going on, so I decided to limp UTG with AA. I had already limped a couple of times in early position with smaller pairs and hands like QJ suited and folded to big reraises. There were a couple of smallish stacks ($15-20) at the table, and one of them mini-raised my limp to $1, another small guy called the mini-raise, and a third guy called as well. When it got back to me I reraised, making it $5 to go, hoping that at least one of the small stacks would call, and was pleasantly surprised when they both did and everyone else folded. The flop came 10-8-4 with two diamonds, and since neither of the other players had more than about the size of the pot in front of them, I pushed all-in and watched them both fold. (As an aside, these guys were really terrible - I don't know how or why you would put only $5 of your $18-20 stack in the pot at any time UNLESS you have Kings or Aces and are slowplaying, like in the next example - if you are gonna play for that % of your stack push it all in pre-flop or fold.) I think I did about as well as I could on this hand - if I raised pre-flop I might not have gotten any action, and if I had it would have been for less money. And there was no reason to slow-play the flop - if they had two diamonds or any kind of draw they would probably have called and I certainly wasn't folding to any bet so I might as well just get it in there and make them make the hard decision.

The third example happened at this same table earlier in the evening. A very small stack ($9) limped UTG, and I reraised to $2 in middle position with KK. The guy to my left called, and when it got back to the small stack he reraised it to $3.50. At this point, I felt pretty sure he had AA, but since he only had another $5.50 behind I called the raise willing to risk another $7 on the hand, also taking into account that the guy to my left probably couldn't ALSO have AA and so if I lost the main pot to the small stack I might still be able to win a good-sized side pot from him. The flop came small, 2-3-4 or 2-4-5 with two hearts, and the small stack checked. I immediately bet his remaining $5.50, and was surprised when the guy to my left, who I had covered but still had $30 or so, repopped it up to $11. The small stack obviously called, and since I was now positive he had to have AA, I put the other player on a lower pair like tens or jacks or queens, and so I pushed all-in. He called with what turned out to be 10 10 and I was able to scoop the side pot when no ten came, but lost the main pot to the small stack and his Aces. I benefited greatly from the small stack's limp, because if he had come in for a raise, I certainly would have reraised enough pre-flop to put him all in, and I seriously doubt that the guy with the 10 10 would have called that reraise. And he benefited as well - he tripled up !

KK Stacks AA AGAIN !!!

Like the two examples in my Cardplayer thread weren't enough ! Here's the scenario - 25c/50 NLHE, I'm in the big blind with KK and about $44 when a player in middle position who has just bought in for $50 makes it 2 bucks to go. The small blind calls and I obviously call as well. Flop comes K-9-7 with two spades, and I check to the raiser, who bets out 5 bucks. SB folds and I smooth call. The turn is a blank, doesn't help the flush draw or straight draw, and I once again check to the raiser, who makes it $11. At this point I figure he's got one of four hands: AA, AK, or 99 or 77 for trips, and since I'll have $25+ left after this bet I once again smooth call, feeling that an all-in move at this point would still be a bit of an overbet and might scare him off. The river is another small blank, once again I check, and the other player does not disappoint, firing $20 into the pot. I check-raise him with my last $5+ and of course he calls with his AA and discovers the grim news.

I actually had one heck of a run in the hour I played tonight:

- I slow-played AsTh on an AhTs4s flop which I got to see for free from the big blind. The small blind bet out $1.50 on the offsuit 6 turn and when the river came another Ace, he bet $4, which I raised to $9, causing him to go all-in for about $10 more with his AK offsuit.

- I reraised a bunch of limpers on the button with QQ, and stacked a guy who called my raise with 9-8 offsuit and couldn't fold on a J-9-7-x board when I put him all-in on the turn.

- And I beat AT with KK on a ten-high flop, but I had to check on the river as the flush draw and a gutshot straight draw both got there.

We're havin' gravy with our biscuits tonight !

Controlling Pot Size In Limit Hold 'Em - A Tip From Mike Caro

I received a few poker books for Xmas this year, and in one of them, Championship Hold 'Em, TJ Cloutier and Tom McEvoy pass on a good tip from Mike Caro regarding managing pot size and effective pot odds in limit hold 'em. Most of us who are playing in a limit hold 'em cash game and wake up with AA or KK in one of the blinds would raise and reraise pre-flop no matter how many people had entered the pot in front of us. However, Caro thinks this is not always the best play. Caro says that if several people are in the pot already, your raise/reraise is not going to drive any of them out, because the pot odds for a call will be so high that a call is really mandatory with any two cards. Once the flop comes, they will also be forced to call a flop bet with any piece of the board or any kind of draw, again because they are getting such a huge price. In addition, if several people are seeing a flop, there is a very good chance that at least one of the Aces or Kings is already out of the deck, leaving you with only one card to catch to make your hand a big favorite. Caro advises flat-calling pre-flop and then betting out on the flop to get a good idea of where you stand in the hand, unless the flop is very threatening to your hand, for example 3 cards of a suit you don't hold or three connecting cards like 7-8-10. With a big pair and several people in the pot you cannot expect your hand to hold up very often without improving, and if you have provided your opponents with significant pot odds to call with their draws the chances of your hand holding up are small indeed. The flip side of this is that if you do reraise pre-flop, flop a monster, and bet it, opponents who are paying any attention at all will have to put you on a monster hand and most of them should drop out. Yes, you have made more money in the sense that you built a bigger pot pre-flop, but you have lost the ability to disguise your hand and possibly make even more money by check-raising on later streets. I have always been one to flat-call raises in the blinds with JJ, QQ, and even AK, as I have always felt that the best way to make money on those hands when out of position is through the check-raise, and I think I'm gonna add KK and AA to the list.

The Further Adventures of Pocket Kings

Rather than re-type the story of my latest adventure with KK, here's a link to a thread about it I started on CardPlayer.com. You don't need an account to read it, but if you don't have a CardPlayer account you can click here to open one - it's free and comes with e-mail.

Maximizing Profit On Your Big Blind Special

Whenever you play poker for more than a few rounds of blinds you inevitably catch one or two "Big Blind Specials". That's when you get to see a flop for free from the big blind with a trash hand and flop a monster. The problem with BB specials is that most of the time they're hard to squeeze any money out of, because once you check and call on the flop , you opponent will usually slow down on the turn if you check (unless he also has a monster), forcing you to value-bet the river hoping to get a crying call and make a few extra bucks. So when I got to see a free flop of 6-A-6 with 6-5 off in the big blind today I tried a different tack. There were several people in the pot and we all checked to the button, who bet about half the pot (it was No Limit). I was next to act, and instead of flat-calling with my trips, I min-raised, doubling his bet. This drove everyone else out, and the button called. I bet about half the pot on the turn and about a third of the pot on the river, and I got the button to call me down with Ace-Ten. I'm sure that if I had not raised on the flop he would not have bet the turn, and then I would have been forced to make that tiny value-bet on the river to try to squeeze a few extra bucks out of him. The other very positive aspect to this play is that by raising immediately I found out right away whether anyone else had a 6, as that player would obviously have also called my raise (and probably with a better kicker than my 5), and I also prevented anyone who might have called the original bet with a medium pair from getting any kind of odds to catch their two-outer later in the hand.
I've also recently lost a couple of hands with medium pairs like 8's when the flop was along the lines of 6-3-3 and one of the blinds value-bet his 4-3 offsuit all the way to the river. Since so many players will bet an Ace-six or even a draw like 4-5 in this spot it's very tough to get away from that kind of flop when you have an overpair, and especially so when the bets you have to call are all small in relation to the size of the pot. I like this strategy of betting out right away as well, especially when you have kicker trouble and really can't stand much of a raise. By betting out you are controlling the size of the pot, and if by chance you do run into a full house or trips with a bigger kicker and get raised on the end, you can call for a smaller price or even throw away your hand because the pot might not be big enough and you feel your hand just can't be any good.