AA in hand what is the best strategy to proceed?

[RQS31]

Hi fellows, I want another of your opinion on this.
When we have AA in hand how to make maximum out of it? Do we go all in preflop or do we slow play it? What is the best trick to get maximum out of it?

 

[Aballinamion]

Hi fellows, I want another of your opinion on this.
When we have AA in hand how to make maximum out of it? Do we go all in preflop or do we slow play it? What is the best trick to get maximum out of it?

Thanks for your question! We play AA the same way we play the rest of our range, there’s no mystery. We shouldn’t consider AA or AK different hands, for example, James “Splitsuit” Sweeney has an entire book on how to play AK.
The title is “optimizing AK” or something, and I don’t like this book or the idea behind it: we shouldn’t play these hands differently, though they have nice odds: AA is the only nutted hand preflop and AK will have plenty of odds versus any hand, except AA.
You can go all-in preflop with AA and lose. You can raise 10 blinds preflop and still lose: we are going to lose with AA 15-20% of times so we have to be wise about it.
Because many times we are going to open AA and get folds. We are going to 3-bet and 4-bet and get folds. And when we go with AA postflop we get coolered.
Let’s assume we play AA 10 times in a sample of nearly 2000 hands: 4 times people folded preflop, 4 times we won small pots of 10 to 20 blinds and the last two times we went all in and end up losing 200 blinds: is this optimal?
Of course that in the long run we are winning, but we must play 20000 hands to see this result, not only 2000.
My advice is that you play it the same way you would play JTo, 44, or any other hand in your range.
We are neither going all in preflop nor slow playing it: neither options are good, we are going to play postflop observing the holistic scenario and behavior of the board and of the opponent, so we can decide if we are jamming, slow playing or whatever.

 

[A kiravio]

Hello, finally something I agree with in so much fuss around this hand 👍

 

[SpanRmonka]

The default play should be to raise pre. Raise your standard amount. Only limp if you're almost sure another player will fall into the trap and raise big or shove. Of course in theory we should balance this with some calls here and there. But the reality is at microstakes, I don't think its necessary.

In a very crazy cash game you can afford to raise higher than usual too. There can often be some crazy players calling or re raising.

Can't remember where I read this, but they said winning at poker is mostly about maximising value from your good hands. As AA is the best hand pre, then the best way to extract value has to be to value bet. Post flop, you may now still only have 1 pair, so can either bet for value or try to get to the showdown, or a combo of both, depending on how the flop etc looks and how the betting is going.

 

[muzenza2012]

3 bb, after the flop all in

 

[stampide]

Go all in

 

[kunkgreen]

Hi fellows, I want another of your opinion on this.
When we have AA in hand how to make maximum out of it? Do we go all in preflop or do we slow play it? What is the best trick to get maximum out of it?

Neither! (my opinion of course)
Aces are usually for winning small pots... if you go all-in pre-flop there is a high chance of only taking the blinds.

You should play tight with 3-bets / 4-bets trying to enter the game with one or a maximum of 2 players (if possible of course)... It may be that some very specific situations you can slowplay, but it's not that kind of play that we want to do without mastering the game.

 

[Eduard0Felipe]

I believe that the best thing is to always analyze the stacks across the table, reflect on who still has to speak, think hard to try to extract the maximum possible, not always reacting absurdly aggressively will give you more chips, I have noticed that I have been overplaying AA and not I'm getting as much as possible, always interesting to take many things into account.

 

[Gallarado777]

I think if it's a passive player just hit a call and he enters the hand, try to check if he hits the board he will place a bet and you will already collect chips from him if it's aggressive then immediately raise after if he's you 3bet then you call and then let him bluff at an unknown player play by standard

 

[nerobs9]

It seems to me that my mistake is that it is very difficult for me to throw away AA

 

[bardhylmemaj]

I always go all in, whether as AA, KK, QQ or JJ.
Many times I lose, a few times I win and sometimes I draw.
Here is the proof in GGPOKER. Hhahaha

 

[jonaselloco]

I play it differently depending on the position in which it is.
If I'm in UTG, UTG 2, MP I generally do a 2.5 raise like I always do, so the opponent sees that it's a normal raise.
When I'm from CO to BB, I see the table setting.
If it is in cash and someone else makes 3 or 4 bets, many times I just pay and wait.
If the all in comes polarized in 2 or 3 players, I get the same, it is the strongest hand. If I lose bad luck.
But in general it has not gone well for me going allin in the hand.
I don't know, it's like the system would prioritize the weakest.
My regards, brother

 

[airxlns]

There are so many theories about this and they all have a point. Personally I like to go all-in... Because more often than not, one player will think it's impossible for you to have AA... Also, players with larger stack than you will like to take the opportunity to end your tournament life... So, personally, I am more profitable going all-in... But sometimes, as all theories, I will get called and lose... And that is the moment when I am happy with the 80% of the time when I win.

 

[Aballinamion]

3 bb, after the flop all in

Go all in

Also, players with larger stack than you will like to take the opportunity to end your tournament life.

Thank you all for your posts and comments, they are very useful but this is a cash thread and I guess what you guys are saying about going all-in works pretty good in tournaments, but in cash game there’s another compass and timing, the melody and harmony are divergent of those who use to play tournaments.

 

[Igor G]

Hi fellows, I want another of your opinion on this.
When we have AA in hand how to make maximum out of it? Do we go all in preflop or do we slow play it? What is the best trick to get maximum out of it?

It depends on many factors. From the format and structure of the tournament, from its stage, from your stack, from your position and your opponents. If you think that there is one and the most effective solution, then you are wrong.

 

[GARCIA PABLO DANIEL]

In regular tournaments you always have to raise the bet... and in bounties sometimes you have to sloplay to catch the villain and it also goes how the situation and the chip stack are presented

 

[kitchy65]

Hi fellows, I want another of your opinion on this.
When we have AA in hand how to make maximum out of it? Do we go all in preflop or do we slow play it? What is the best trick to get maximum out of it?

You play it like any other hand...the trick is in learning to get rid of it when you know you're beat

 

[Poker Orifice]

in a cash game you're always wanting to raise, 3-Bet, 4-Bet..whatever. You'll want to get as much money into the pot as possible.

 

[Aballinamion]

in a cash game you're always wanting to raise, 3-Bet, 4-Bet..whatever. You'll want to get as much money into the pot as possible.

Yes, this strategy works fine for the micro-stakes. At medium and higher stakes we must balance all call sometimes when BU x BB, for example.
When I’m sitting in the MP, CO and BU I don’t like calling versus UTG, always 3-betting.

 

[JappsPK]

Hello! When you have a strong hand like AA, the best strategy depends on the context of the game and your opponents' playing styles. In general, it's usually better to play aggressively pre-flop by raising or re-raising to narrow the field and get more money in the pot. However, slow playing can also be a viable option in certain situations, such as when you're up against very tight players who are less likely to put in a lot of money pre-flop.

Ultimately, the key to maximizing your winnings with AA is to read your opponents and adjust your strategy accordingly. Don't be afraid to mix things up and keep your opponents guessing to maximize your profits.

Another option is being a fish like me and going all-in everytime.

 

[Station_Master]

Aggressive preflop, generally 3betting, 4 betting and 5betting. Occasionally just calling a 4bet if IP.

Post flop it depends on the board. You have to let it go sometimes. Can be a good hand to check back on unfavourable flops, e.g. 764 and then pick off bluffs or overplayed hands on turn and river. But on favourable flops generally cbetting and probably betting 2 streets

 

[makisaa]

You play aggressively, rising 3bb and if someone has already done this, you can reraise. But, if things don't go as you would like, you also must be ready to leave the hand, to save your stack.

 

[Igor Popadyk]

the question sounds like AA guarantees 100 percent winnings - that's not the case and should be played actively, but not thoughtlessly

 

[alex_dorda]

I think my mistake is that it's so hard for me to throw away AA

All poker players have this problem!))
The strongest hand on the preflop! This is all our greed

 

[johnwat2]

3 times the big blind. Slow playing is a bad idea.
Be well