All poker players love to get drawn a big pocket pair such as AA, KK or QQ in a game of Texas Hold’em. Indeed, these three hand combinations are, of course, the best possible starting hands to get pre flop and will give players a huge statistical advantage over their opponents.
That being said, the way in which you execute these hands is still critical to ensuring a win in the real world. Every player can and will pick up wins now and again with these hands, however, ultimately the difference between a good player and a bad player is that a good player will learn how to extract much better value from these hands over a longer time period and ultimately make more money.
Playing High Pocket Pairs Pre Flop
The first thing to remember when playing these big pocket pairs pre flop, is to never assume that your hand is unbeatable. While it is still highly likely that you will be holding the best pre flop hand, which is especially true in six handed poker games, the hand is tied to a flop which will completely alter the odds and the underdogs in the game.
Therefore, playing big pocket pairs properly pre flop and purging the limpers is vital to setting up post flop play. Every time that you get dealt such a premium pocket hand you should be betting pre flop 3-4 x BBs with an extra 1 BB for each of the limpers.
Ideally you would limit the amount of players in the hand to two as this is what helps to extract maximum value, without running into trouble with too many limpers. If you do get a re raise just flat call with your 1010, JJ but re raise with Queens, Kings and Aces.
Effectively you want to encourage people with smaller pocket pairs, medium pocket pairs, AK, etc., into the hand without being so aggressive that everyone folds or passive enough that all the limpers call. The chances of someone else having the same pair as you is very low, but it can happen.
Post Flop Play With Top Pocket Pairs
When playing a hand such as AA you should really always be betting and raising at every street, assuming that is that there are only one to three opponents in the hand. This is because you want to prevent poker players on draws or players that have numerous outs. You do not want to be giving anyone the correct odds to call for any straights, flushes or drawing hands.
On the turn and the river, with any of the big pairs, you should continue to build the pot unless you are quite certain that you are no longer in the lead. If you are unable to improve your pre flop hand and there is lots of action on the turn and the river, it is highly likely that you are no longer ahead.
A single pair on the river is not to be considered to be a guaranteed monster hand but the way that you play and carry through your continuation bets largely depends on your reading of your opponents, plus the range of hands you can put them on, and the amount of draws that are available on the board.
When playing KK or QQ, always be wary of over cards such as an ace on the table. Many players believe that you should never fold KK pre flop, as you will still have a number of outs. However, a good way to play both of these hands is to lead out a with a strong continuation bet even with an over card on the table. About half pot to 3/4 should do it and then you can see where you stand based on how your opponents respond.
At the end of the day, you are highly unlikely to win a mega pot in this situation, and you should definitely be prepared to back down to any aggression if there is a better hand is on the table. Never let curiosity or any other loose play prevent you from folding when you need to.
New Players with High Pocket Pairs Biggest and Most Common Mistakes
One of the biggest and most common mistakes that amateur poker players, and many regular players for that matter, make with the higher pocket pairs is to slow play at every given opportunity. Although it is sometimes ok to slow play such big hands on occasions, especially against loose opponents who you are confident that you can check raise or trap, the actual risk involved in doing so slowly are far too high to make it worth it. This is true for both short handed and big handed tables.
Regardless of your position, always raise the pre flop bet. Do not panic if everyone else folds. It is much better than letting limpers get into the pot and losing out to silly hands such as A2 suited. Ultimately, you should be pleased knowing that you are playing profitably in the long term and they are not.