A-A vs. K-K

In most no-limit hold’em games, when one player receives pocket aces and another gets dealt pocket kings, the play proceeds rapidly. Both players get their chips into the pot and watch the dealer run out the cards. Exceptions exist for very deep-stack play and certain highly predictable opponents, but nearly every time, an A-A vs. K-K confrontation results in the players’ hoping and praying while the dealer works.

Limit hold’em works differently, of course. It’s much harder to get all in, and the slower development of the hand provides room for hand reading and decision-making. Recently, I played a couple of hands that illustrate this.

Hand No. 1: This hand is simpler and in many ways more typical than the next. I hold the K K in middle position and open-raise in a $30-$60 game. I get two late callers, and a nice lady in the small blind makes it three bets. She is not at all aggressive, rarely raises preflop, and clearly prefers calling to raising in most situations. Her raise, therefore, indicates a very good hand. I make it four bets, for several reasons. First, I may have the best hand. Second, if the two players behind me have to face two more bets with the threat of yet another (five bets is a cap at Bellagio and most other Las Vegas cardrooms), they may fold, abandoning the money they have already wagered. This would usually be their correct play, but it is also almost always an unrealistic hope. Third, it gives her another chance to raise, further defining her hand.

As expected, both callers dutifully call again, and she does cap the betting. I am now all but totally convinced that she has aces, but I still have to call, hoping to hit a set. Of course, everyone else calls, as well.

We see a flop of J 10 3, and, naturally, the small blind bets. There are 22 bets in the pot, and I am roughly a 23-1 dog to hit a king on the turn. There are still problems with my call, as I may face raises with this suited and connected board, but I think it is worth a try, especially since the other players may realize what is going on by now.

This proves to be another forlorn hope, as the next player raises, the next one calls, and the lady reraises. I fold, and retire to watch the proceedings. They rapidly unfold, with the lady racking up a very nice pot with her aces, while the player on my left flashes a jack.

This was a fairly simple read and laydown, and perhaps I should have done it before I invested $30 on the flop. However, there are many players who will invent dream scenarios in which the small blind has Q-Q, A-K, or some other fantasy hand, and keep calling along.

Hand No. 2: It’s another day and another $30-$60 game. I am in the big blind with the K K. One preflop limper and a raise by the cutoff brings us to the small blind, a local pro. He is kind of tricky, fairly aggressive, and not an easy read. He is more cautious when out of position than otherwise, and steps out a bit mostly when he is in position. He three-bets, which can still cover a wide range of hands. I four-bet, the limper folds, the cutoff calls, and so does the pro. I note his failure to cap the round, and assume that I have the best hand.

The flop of 9 5 2 is as benign as they come. I bet after the pro checks, the cutoff calls, and the pro check-raises. I still believe that I have the best hand, putting him on something in the 10-10 to Q-Q range, but also allowing for A-K or the A Q. Sets are possible, but I am not thinking about that right now. I am fairly sure that he would not three-bet preflop with 9-9, and almost certain that he would not with 5-5 or 2-2. Given that, I reraise, and both players call again.

The turn is the 3. There’s nothing to fear there, and I am getting ready to bet when the pro bets first. Alarm bells start ringing! What is this?

I need to stop and reassess. What does he think I have? I have bet and raised at every single opportunity since the hand began. Every play I have made indicates that I probably have aces or kings. Yes, a few other hands are possible, but aces or kings are the most likely, and he must think so. So, what can he have that makes him want to bet into a player (me) who has indicated that he has a huge hand? Would he really do this with pocket queens? I do not think so. Suddenly, it seems that he must have pocket aces, and decided to slightly slow-play them on the preceding streets. Are any other hands possible? Maybe the A K on a stretch, or pocket kings, but these hands do not seem that logical. No, it sure feels like I now have to make aces my primary read, even though I dismissed that possibility earlier.

I am certainly done with raising, but I am not convinced enough of the pocket aces to fold. I call, and the cutoff calls along. The three of us see the river, which is the 4, making the board 9-5-2-3-4. The pro bets again. Would he ever bet a hand without an ace into two players with a wheel board staring him in the face? I can’t see how. His reads on me have to include hands with aces in them, and the cutoff could certainly have the nut heart draw.

No, that is the clincher. My lovely kings cannot be good. I muck them, and the cutoff folds, as well. The pro scoops up the very nice pot without showing his hand.

I know that you are supposed to call big pots in limit hold’em, but it is still a matter of odds and risk/reward. On the river, I am getting 15-1 for my call, with a player yet to act behind me. I did not think it was even close to that; maybe 200-1, at best. If the 4 had not come on the river, I may have been able to make a case for a call, but with that card, hope was all but gone.

Conclusion: In cases in which kings face off against aces, limit hold’em gives you time to assess the situation and make informed reads late in the hand. Keep thinking throughout the hand, adjust to new information, and trust your judgment. Remember to include consideration of what your opponent thinks you have, and how he is reacting to it. Although good laydowns do not win pots, they do enable you to keep some chips in your stack that other players may be giving away.

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold’em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].