Expert Plays for No Limit Tournaments
How To Play Ace-King In A Poker Tournament
The two moves with Ace-King: Either "use it or lose it." There is so much material written about the Ace-King, it can be overwhelming. Today, some players will just blindly move all-in with Ace-King, while other players are callers and hope to hit their hand on the flop.
The simple truths about Ace-King are as follows:
- It is the strongest drawing hand in no-limit poker, meaning if you hit the Ace or the King you will have the best kicker.
- You will only flop top pair or better about 33% of the time. That means your hand will not improve on the flop about 67% of the time.
- It is a slight underdog to any pair before the flop.
- It is a big favorite to any other Ace-x hand.
- It is an opportunity to double up or a disaster that knocks you out of the event.
There is a simple way to play Ace-King. Either "use it or lose it." If you can "use it" to accumulate chips without taking the worst of it, then raise, re-raise or move all-in. If you can't "use it" with the expectation of being ahead, then "lose it." In no-limit poker, a good fold is a good thing.
Example:
You have Ace-King. It is early in the event. The blinds are $25-$50. You have $2,500. An early position player, with $2,000, raises to $150. What should you do?
The worst thing to do is to just call. Since you have a drawing hand, you don't want your opponent to see a flop.
Raise. A raise can get your opponent to fold. To put maximum pressure on your opponent you should move all-in. Moving all-in is going to cost your opponent the rest of his chips.
Of course, moving all-in often signals to your opponent that you have Ace-King. Therefore, he may decide to take a shot with a pocket pair and try to double up.
Overall, it's early, you need to accumulate chips, and Ace-King plays better when all the five board cards are revealed. Risk is good.
How to Play Ace-King When You Miss on the Flop
Here is a typical situation in a no limit poker tournament. You are dealt the best drawing starting hand, Ace-King. You raise and get one or more callers. The flop comes and it misses your hand, as there is no Ace or King on the flop.
What should you do when you have Ace King and you miss on the flop?
First, you need to realize that Ace King is a drawing hand. This means that your Ace-King hand needs to improve to be a made hand; a hand with at least one pair.
Second, you will only pair up on the flop about one-third of the time. That means you will not improve your hand two out of three times.
Third, there are times when you want to move all-in on the flop and there are times you don't. Knowing the right times to push all-in is very important in no limit tournaments. However, for the purpose of this article, you did not move all-in.
Here are some guidelines when you miss your Ace-King starting hand:
1. How many opponents are you against on the flop? If you have one or two opponents, the best play is to make a continuation bet on the flop. Against more than two opponents, be prepared to check and fold.
2. What if your opponent bets into you on the flop? If an opponent bets into you on the flop, fold unless you have the right pot odds to play a drawing hand. For example, if you flopped a straight draw you may have 10 outs or cards that can come on the turn to give you a winning hand.
3. Are you pot committed? If your pre-flop raise was so big as to make you pot committed you should move all-in on the flop, regardless of the cards on the flop. For example, if you raised to $600 and have $600 left in chips, you must move all-in on the flop.
Knowing the right way to play Ace-King on the flop is an important part of improving your poker game.
Should You SlowPlay Pocket Aces?
There are time you should consider the slowplay in a poker tournament. The most obvious hand to slowplay is pocket Aces. The Pros can slowplay a hand, can you?
Here are times you should consider slowplaying your Aces:
1. Early in the event. Your goal is NOT to just win the blinds. The blinds are too small to make a difference to the size of your chip stack. You're goal is to maximize your return with pocket Aces, while minimizing your risk.
2. When you are below average in chips. Here you want to find a way to
win a big pot to get you back into the hunt to win.
3. When you can trap a player with a big chip stack. For this play to work your opponent has raised pre-flop and you just call his bet.
The key is to manage your pre-flop action so you'll be against one or two players on the flop. And, you also need to know which players are aggressive on the flop.
Most players are not willing to take a chance when they get a premium
pair. They hope their opponent has a big hand, so they can re-raise and take down the pot.
You can also slowplay weaker starting hands as well. Of course, your risk increases as your hand weakens. For perspective, if you have pocket Queens, the flop will have an Ace or King almost 40% of the time.
Tip: If You Are Not Confident in Your Hand Reading Ability, Don't Limp with Pocket Aces or Kings
It takes time and experience to read your opponents. If you are not confident in your ability, don't limp with these hands. It will get you into trouble if a player raises you on the flop.
Instead, you should raise and re-raise with these premium hands. The fewer the number of opponents seeing the flop, the easier your decision will be on the flop.
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