World of Poker

Pocket Aces is the best hand in Texas Holdem! Statistically this is possible only once in every 220 hands, but actually it could turn up more or less frequently depending on your luck! However, a novice or a professional can make critical mistakes! With such a gift hand, your first reaction in No-Limit would be to push your clay poker chip stack in. But take a re-look at the situation.

Your intent is to get the maximum from your playing cards, online or in a ring game or world poker tour game. If you tend to push all-in with Aces, or pocket the paint pairs, you may be missing an opportunity to win. Another possibility exists at the poker tables - a weaker hand may force you to outdraw and lose a major portion, if not all, of your poker chip set.

The logic is quite simple. When you raise on the strength of Aces in early position, only the hands with paint pairs or possibly A-K or A-Q are expected to call. However, since you hold two Aces, it is unlikely that the others will have AK-AQ combination, meaning your opponents could be holding the paint pairs, or the one with a huge stack or a reckless one with any pair, suited connector or suited cards. When you hold the Aces, you certainly wish your opponents to call and re-raise you.

It is a definite re-raise in the middle to late position, where you wish your opponents to go at you. Making a smooth early raise call may result in your losing. When you have a good hand from the beginning, take initiative to drive out your opponents, else they may do you in!

To illustrate, consider player X with decent casino poker chipsin a late position. He was dealt the Aces and observed the early position, raised and five opponents called. He realized that a smooth call here would be suicidal and therefore re-raised all-in. All except two remained - the raiser and the next one who followed blind! One of these two had the expected A-K and the other had J-? ! X of course won and tripled the poker chips!

In Limit, your hand cannot be protected as in No-Limit creating the opening for you to be outdrawn by weaker hands. The No-Limit maxim is still valid - you wish opponents to call and re-raise you so that you can go at them.

Unfortunately not many people want to play poker. Most of the players will push all-in preflop and force the table out of the hand rather than trying to maximize their potential. This tactic may work well late in a tournament, but not good early when you try to increase your that new set of acquired nexgen poker chips. You really must play poker, grab those wins when you have the good hand, and be prepared for the worst when you are dealt a bad deal! Then you hope for the best, but when you have the Aces, you have best hand to start in poker.

For more interesting information about poker take a look at this page on facts on poker.