Texas Holdem Poker Tips - Learn How to Play Aces in Texas Holdem and Win Big

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In texas holdem poker everyone, religious or not, prays for pocket aces. They are the strongest starting hand in holdem and come around about once every two hundred and eleven hands.

You may not get pocket aces often but playing them correctly when you do, could mean the difference between winning and losing. You want to make sure you get the maximum payoff but you also want to make sure you don’t lose your shirt.

One way to learn how to play aces properly is to learn how NOT to play aces. So let’s look at a recent hand I played where I was dealt pocket aces.

I was playing $.25 - $.50 no limit texas holdem. I was dealt Ac and Ah. There were two big preflop raises that I was more than happy to call. The flop came down Js, 3c, and Jc. I checked.

He checked and we went to the turn, which came down Qh. I placed a big bet of $5 (hey, it’s big at a $.25 - $.50 table). He called. The river card came down 8c. I checked.

It turns out he was holding pocket queens and beat my aces with a full house.

So what went wrong and how did I lose big with pocket aces? A lot of players would blame this hand on a bad beat. After all, pocket aces is the best starting hand in holdem.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I lost this hand because I played it wrong and I lost big because I couldn’t get away from the money I had already committed to the pot.

First off, on the big preflop betting, I should’ve put my opponent on a big hand. Obviously not pocket aces but something such as pocket Kings, Queens or Jacks.

However, my opponent had been playing all kinds of weak hands so I figured he was playing an aggressive bluff or a semi-good hand like pocket tens.

If I had that mindset, I would’ve played the flop differently. I either would’ve gotten out of the hand completely when two Jacks came down or I should’ve bet aggressively on the flop instead of trapping. With his pocket Queens, my aces were still good after the flop. If I had bet aggressively after the flop instead of checking, I could’ve stolen the pot.

But I waited for the turn to bet big. When the Queen came on the turn I had already lost so betting big here was just losing money. There was no way my opponent was tossing away such a powerful full house.

While pocket aces put you in a position of strength when a hand starts, you have to pay very close attention to what cards come down, how the betting is going, and who is doing the betting.

I didn’t pay close enough attention to what could beat me when two jacks came on the flop (I should’ve bet big instead of checking, or gotten away from the hand completely. Checking was a bad move) and then a queen on the turn had me drawing dead.

While my opponent had been playing weak hands, he hadn’t been betting so aggressively on those hands, which should’ve tipped me off to the fact that he was holding something this time.

So if you hold pocket aces in texas holdem, don’t go on auto-pilot. You need to pay attention to the following:

* The betting that is going on
* Who is doing the betting and how have they been playing
* What comes down on the flop
* What hits on the turn and river combined with the first two factors

Pay attention to these factors when holding pocket aces and you’ll win more money on your winning hands and lose less when the community cards don’t go your way.

Remember, pocket aces are not a lock in texas holdem poker, no matter how strong of a position that put you in to start the hand.

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