04.09.08
Big Pair vs. Ace On The Flop
So what should you do when you have a big pair and the board flops an ace?
Here is the situation:
You have been dealt QQ and you are the big blind. You have six calls in front of you and you try to measure everyone’s hand by raising the pot to 3 times the big blind. Four people now remain in the hand including you. The flop comes out AJ4 and you are the first person to act. What do you do?
If you have played poker with any consistency, you have been dealt a hand like this and inevitably something like this will happen to you. Your feeling really good about your big pair but there’s that darn ace starring you in the face.
Well, not knowing any anything else about the table like betting patterns and style of play, a good strategy here would be to bet hard. What this is going to do is draw information from your opponents.
There are a couple of possibilities why someone who hang around after the big blind raised to three times the size of the pot. One could be a big pair, AA KK JJ. Another could be and ace with a big kicker, AK AQ AJ. Some people will hang around and test the waters with a smaller pair, 10-10 99 88.
When you are the first to act and you bet big, your opponents’ hands start to become a little clearer.
Let’s say that two people fold and one person calls. The strategy here is to definitely at least put your opponent on an ace and maybe start to keep an eye out for the possibility of trip jacks.
Remember poker is a game of information. On forth street, keep that thinking cap on and make sure you don’t dig yourself and early grave with a silly pre ordained all-in call. No need to give all your Poker Chips away on a hunch. If your opponent keeps calling you on all streets or re-raises you on one of them, you may want to think about folding and choosing another battle to fight.
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