Pocket Rockets: Blast Off or Bust Out?

Most tournament poker players dream about getting dealt pocket aces and raking in huge piles of chips. How you play them after you get them can make your dreams come true – or turn them into nightmares. Jonathan, an online player, has a question about how much to bet in no-limit hold'em with aces or kings before the flop. And Steve, a satellite player, has a nightmare to share. This is Vegas, and here are their stories.

"My friend and I play a lot of low-stakes no-limit hold'em online, and we disagree about how to play big pocket pairs (especially A-A and K-K) preflop," Jonathan wrote. "Whenever I get them, I tend to bet big. My buddy tells me that I overbet and scare everyone off. His contention is that I could be making a lot more by betting less with big pairs and keeping people in the pot. However, I'm tired of getting outdrawn after the flop by players holding speculative hands. Maybe I do scare too many players off, but I'm hoping to get it heads up against someone with a smaller pair or big slick. I guess I'd rather win a small pot than take my chances on winning or losing a bundle. My buddy thinks I'm giving up too much in the long run. What's your opinion, Tom?"

I believe that Jonathan's friend is correct. Overbetting the pot with big pairs will win you a small pot, but you will be losing the chance to win a very big pot. Trying to pare the action down to just you and one other player is often correct, but you need and want some action on your big hands. To win a tournament, you need to double up along the way. Yes, I realize that by not betting big, you could get outdrawn, but that's a chance you need to take. Don't slow-play big pairs – make a standard raise – but don't overbet the pot so much that the opposition surrenders before the flop.

Now, let's listen to Steve talk about his play of pocket aces in an online limit hold'em qualifier (satellite). "I know you must get dozens of e-mails a day asking for your advice, Tom, so I'm not really expecting a response; however, I have a tournament question," he began. (He's wrong about one thing: I personally answer every e-mail question I receive!) "I was playing in a 60-player limit hold'em qualifier online, in which the top 12 finishers got buy-ins to a larger tournament. There was no difference in the payout between 12th and first place.

"With about 25 people left and the blinds at $75-$150, I was in middle position with about $2,500 in chips (we started with $1,000). I was in fourth chip position at my table when I was dealt pocket aces in the small blind. Two players called, both of whom had larger stacks than I did. I raised, wanting to force out the player in the big blind, who had the other stack larger than mine. He folded and the other two called.

"The flop came Q-9-9 with no flush draw. I led out, the first player folded, and the other one called. I didn't put him on a queen or a 9, as he was a pretty straightforward, loose player who would have raised on the flop if he had had either of those cards. I thought he had something like K-10 or even 10-8 (a straight draw). I didn't think he had a hand such as A-J or A-10, because he would have raised preflop. The turn card was a 5. I bet, and he called. The river was another 5. I bet, and he raised! Already so committed to the pot, I called, fearing that he had slow-played a 9. But guess what? He had K-5 offsuit!

"OK, I know everyone has a bad-beat story, so that's not really what this is about. My question is whether I should have even gotten involved in the pot, knowing that I'd be going against the table's chip leaders, especially that late in the tournament. I'd appreciate knowing what you think, Tom, because I recently won my first multitable online tournament, due in large part to reading your Card Player columns."

Here's how I answered Steve: "You still had half the field to go through to win a seat, so not playing the aces would have been a mistake. In fact, you played your aces correctly until the river. This is where you made an error that cost you one bet. Your goal at this point in the satellite was not to try to get full value from your hand; it was to survive to one of the 12 money spots. With a double pair on board and an opponent going all the way with you, your bet on the river had a negative expectation, meaning that you probably would not get called unless you were up against a better hand. By betting, you took the risk of getting raised, which happened, and then having to pay it off. (By the way, I think the player with the K-5 played like an idiot, but don't let him know that, because he can't get that lucky every time.)

To Jonathan and Steve and all of you, let's meet in the winner's circle one day soon – with or without pocket rockets.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy's books are available through Card Player.