One of the most active users on the PokerDicas Forum, GremistaEterno, created a thread about an incredible hand he had when he slowplayed with AA. I found it so interesting and full of details that I wrote this article! I hope you like it and comment!
The opening post of the thread was as follows:
There's not much to comment on, I was on the bubble, ready to double down and the players were a bit stuck at that moment, evaluate the hand:
This happened on a $120 ($112+$9) SNG in PokerStars
#3 is the button
Seat 3: SrAbaddon (1610 in chips)
Seat 5: beefa13 (2735 in chips)
Seat 6: bastique79 (1655 in chips)
beefa13: posts small blind 15
bastique79: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SrAbaddon [ :Ah :Ac ]
MrAbaddon: calls 30
beefa13: calls 15
bastique79: checks
*** FLOP *** [ :7h :4h :Jd ]
beefa13: checks
bastique79: checks
MrAbaddon: checks
*** TURN *** [ :7h :4h :Jd ] [ :5d ]
beefa13: bets 300
bastique79: calls 300
SrAbaddon: raises 1280 to 1580 and is all-in
beefa13: calls 1280
bastique79: calls 1280
*** RIVER *** [ :7h :4h :Jd :5d ] [ :Kc ]
beefa13: checks
bastique79: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
beefa13: shows [ :7s :5c ] (two pair, Sevens and Fives)
bastique79: mucks hand
SrAbaddon: shows [ :Ah :Ac ] (a pair of Aces)
beefa13 collected 4830 from pot
I may have played it wrong as a slow play pre-flop, but if I 3-BET they would fold. The rest was just bad luck… But, it happens.
In the same way, I want everyone's opinion, in order to improve more and more.
Thank you, hug and good game.
With a buy-in of $112+9, this table should only have beasts!! This is without a doubt a professional buy-in!
About the hand, first of all the tournament was doing well, but right at the beginning (blinds at 15/30), and of the six registered, there were only 3!!! And from the madness that this table must have been until before our hero fell, he still managed to increase his stack by 65.5%.
Well, let's look at the numbers. :Ah:Ac against two random hands (which was the case, because GremistaEterno limped in and the opponents in the blinds didn't raise), had 73.4% to win, against 13.3% for each opponent, that is, until the river, Hero will win this hand 7 times out of 10 (but then he will lose 3).
Flop: :7h :4h :Jd
Although the calculations still showed that he was the big favorite, changing the odds almost nothing (73% against 13.5% for each opponent) these two hearts cards would bother me a lot.
Everyone checks.
Turn: :5d
Now you've completely forgotten. The pot is at 90 and the villain in the SB bets 300 and the opponent in the BB calls!!! The chance of being against draws is huge!! Against two random cards, you would still have a 63.5% chance of winning. But now the cards are not random: we have two strong hands (who knows, maybe even monsters!!), so the analysis must be done more carefully.
What cards would professional players make a super overbet and another would call? I would say the SB has, at least, top pair with kicker in A or K, over pair, or a good draw, or even two low pairs (because no wants to be paid); the BB the range is bigger, with two pairs, trips, straight made, good flush draw or good straight draw. Nothing less than this.
Data for PokerStove (just to be able to reproduce the calculations):
- Hero: AhAc
- SB: QQ+,66,A2s+,K2s+,Q2s+,J2s+,T2s+,92s+,82s+,72s+, 62s+,52s+,42s+,32s,AJo,A6o,KJo,K6o,QJo,Q6o, JTo, J7o-J4o,T6o,96o,86o,74o+,62o+,54o
- BB: JJ+,77-44,A2s+,K2s+,Q2s+,J2s+,T2s+,92s+,82s+, 72s+,62s+,52s+,42s+,32s,AJo,A6o,KJo,K6o,QJo, Q6o,J7o-J4o,T6o,96o,86o,74o+,62o+
In this situation, our hero was still the favorite:
- Hero: 47.2%
- SB: 25.7%
- BB: 27.1%
But let's make some reflections:
- The SB made a huge over bet and the BB called, which is to say, this hand was really weird. Why get involved in this fight between the two?
- Hero has less than a 50% chance of winning against the two, who probably won't let go of this hand and maybe she'll go all in on the river,
- being a comfortable 1.6k behind, Hero could very well wait for a less risky opportunity, being so early in the tournament
- Hero could enter the ITM for free: if the two of them kill each other, he would already be in the ITM! and with blinds at 15/30, they were comfortable to play the HU.
So why get involved?
Honestly, I think I would just call and see if they hit a draw. With Kc, if someone bet I would fold showing my AA…
Now, when Hero comes back all in on top, the questions that remain are: who would pay? Does our hero have any way to escape if he finds himself in trouble?
- 1st answer: Only if one of them was very strong!!!
- 2nd answer: NO!!!!
In other words: only someone with an over pair will call this all-in!! A guy with top pair/top kicker or an over pair should fold this hand with an all-in like that, so it would only be called if he was winning by a long shot, never with a draw with just one card left to come…
But something even more incredible happens: they both call the all-in!! And they check on the river!!! Perfect!! Why? SB calls because he's big and BB calls because he's the chip leader and has something!!!
When the SB shows :7s:5c, I would say that his call was very bold, as the Hero could have a set, a big draw or two bigger pairs; and the BB could also call (as he did!).
Now the chip leader's call has been perfect!! If he got the draw right, he would be in first place, taking home the jackpot, and if he didn't get it right, he would be helping to eliminate one of the two, guaranteeing a big prize as second and going on to compete with 1.1k in the HU! GG!!
To close, AA against 75o was the favorite with 83% preflop, 80% on the flop, but only had 18% to win with the 5d on the turn… There was no problem at all in slowplaying AA on the button with only three players at the table, but checking on the flop was deadly…
Thank you very much GremistaEterno for sharing this incredible hand with us!!
Leave comments and follow the discussions of this hand on Poker Tips Forum, AA vs 75o thread.
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Petrillo, very good indeed, you wrote a great article, congratulations.
And commenting on the hand, man, it's very difficult to maintain a line with AA, every time you play, it's different. I just wanted to review one point, the pre-flop slow play really ruined my hand, and the check on the flop ruined it.
Cheers.
In my opinion, the hero's play was a bit bad and weird. The excuse for playing slow pre and post flop doesn't make sense. Well, the money belongs to the one who paid the buy-in. I've seen well-played poker with a buy-in of 1.2 dollars. I think our hero would have a better future with this style of play in five card draw.
I really liked this article. It shows how our decisions affect the final result, whether we win or lose. In this case, I also consider checking on the flop to be a fatal error, but slow playing pre-flop was also a big mistake. Every situation in life or every poker play requires specific solutions. When we analyze the play later with a cool head, the mistakes seem clear. Therefore, we should always try to do our best to achieve victory.
Hi Danilo! Of course a slowplay with AA is dangerous, but sometimes you can do it to try to win more. But big eyes make you lose your cool!!
The moment you slowplay and it doesn't work, well, you should fold AA.
high pre-flop reise, so you know that the players in the hand are high card players. But checking the reise was wrong, he thought he was ahead and I'm going to get more chips... I think he learned after that!!!!!
With AA I always do what Wagner suggested, raise big preflop. That way you remove the low hands from the table and play against the high ones, knowing that yours is the biggest.
With a pair of Aces, in my opinion, the player should always make a high raise pre-flop because there is a risk that another player will make 2 pairs or trips with a low pair. Sometimes I don't raise pre-flop so that another player will eventually make a top pair on the flop and make bets, but the risk is high.
Another very important thing in my opinion is not to have “love” for the cards, for example, if you have a pair of AS in your hand and the flop opens QQ6, you have to know that your hand is no longer the best and have the humility to fold.
It was worth more experience for you.
Hey guys,
What a bad situation, huh!!!! AA losing to 75os is very sad, but it happens, right?!! I raise to get information and not give a chance for a hand like that to see a flop. If you want to see a card against my AA, you have to call. That's it. I'm tired of taking a bad beat. Even more so in this case, when the flop came out flush, I start betting so as not to be surprised. So with AA I give it a go, but not luck for bad luck. Then if you check and on the turn the guy starts betting, it's enough to drive you crazy, but you can't push all in in these cases. At most, call and fold. lol
Thanks guys, a hug.
Wow, that was one of the most ridiculous plays I've ever seen!
Truth be told, the AA guy is still going to lose a lot of money until he understands that, in a pot of 90, there are very few hands in which a bet of 300 will be called.
I, for example, even if I were on the hearts or diamonds draw, would instantly fold the hand, especially if the ridiculous SB doesn't call the 300 behind the card.
In this case, if I have AA in the BB and I think my opponents would run away with a 3x raise, I would, as I usually do, raise 2x, making the pot 180; this way, I would probably win it with a 100 bet on the flop, or I would lose up to 700 if the crazy guy on the button300 managed to call me with the 7 and was aggressive when he hit the 5.
EXCELLENT ARTICLE. WITH LOW BLINDS, YOU CALL, IT IS EASY TO MINI CALL AND CHECK. WITH THE FLOP OPEN, AND EVERYONE CHECKED, THE PAIRS CAME ON THE TURN, THE VILLAIN RAISED TO TAKE AWAY ANY CHANCE OF ANYONE CONTINUING THE PLAY, CORRECTLY. WITH HIS ALL IN, IT WOULD BE VERY LIKELY THAT HE WOULD NOT LET GO OF THE HAND WITH 2 PAIRS, WHICH HAPPENED. IT HAPPENED TO ME IN THE BEST POKER TOURNAMENT 5K GUARANTEED FIELD 250. I LEFT WITH AA, CHECKED, THE FLOP CAME K79, THE VILLAIN RAISED, I WENT ALL IN, HE CALLED, HE HAD K9. WHAT TO DO... I LEFT THE TOURNAMENT AT LEVEL 5.
I don't see slowplay as a bad move, in fact quite the opposite if there are only 3 players. A high preflop raise wouldn't make anyone call and the player would win 45 chips in blinds. AA is a game that gives us great pretensions. The SB or BB could very well make a high raise trying to take the blinds or even with a pocket pair and the player goes home. It was simply bad luck but he played very well preflop in my opinion. The check on the flop really ruined his hand but preflop went very well.
The problem with limping in there is that you have no read on your opponents' hands, they could have anything.
AA rarely improves, you usually win with top pair. So giving opponents with any hand the chance to make two pair and take all your money is a big risk.
Let's look at an example: you limped in and the flop was 2 4 7. What could your opponents have? Anything! 2 4, 2 7, 2 5, 5 6, 4 7 are hands that would crush your AA and you would think you were ahead. If you had raised preflop you would have pretty much ruled out these possibilities from your opponents' hands.
Anyone who limps with AA then cannot complain that the villain won with 2244x.
I'm with you and I'm not opening... it all depends on your stack and your condition in the tournament... if you're on the bubble then... and facing the chip leader... it's the right play... and in that case, you can even check the flop, which is not a mistake... the funny thing is that most of the comments are to do what everyone else does... give the raise... I bet they hardly win tournaments... they just need to play poker...
The idea of the article is to be careful with slowplay, but that doesn't mean you can't use it.
Always raise or re-raise with pocket aces in your hand
I really agree that the hero took a big risk with slowplay… mainly because he didn’t raise preflop, which causes a total lack of information about his opponents’ hands… Anyway, great article, it really helps those who are starting to study poker theory like me. Thank you very much!
Analyzing pf, a 2x raise wouldn't cost the BB much considering that for him, your pf raise would sound like stealing, he would most likely call.
In the case of a rainbow flop, a low cbet to show weakness would be perfect, call on the turn, allin on the river.
This is the stance I would possibly take. Comment.
Just to add, on a flop like this with 2 hearts, 2/3 of the pot would be ideal.
Raise/allin on the turn, if you flip with a draw, be patient.
It's a reasonable option, but if you change your raise size when you're very strong, it ends up making it easier for your opponent to read you.
And the same reasoning continues: if you raise 2x on the button and I'm in the big blind with 67off, I'll probably call. On this low flop, I could have made two pair or a straight draw, and then your situation becomes complicated.
In other words, by slow-playing pre-flop, you make it harder to read, and you will lose a lot when you hit your opponent.
Slowplay is valid, but depending on the situation, I believe that in this case a pre-flop mini-raise and a post-flop CB would be able to make the other players fold, but since the intention from the beginning was slowplay, it is difficult to read the villains, and it is even more difficult to read with 2 pairs on the turn.
Good morning!!
From my own experience, I raise and re-raise pre-flop, I only slowplay with top pair if I get tinca or better on the flop, so as not to leave any room for bad luck, otherwise I check and fold.
Slow play is valid, but when you have a really strong hand in your hand, which will come post-flop. AA is very strong, but it is unlikely that anyone will call an All In post-flop if they have not hit something higher than top pair, that is if you are playing at a higher level, of course.
That's why I think limping preflop is extremely unprofitable. If the guy has a bad hand and doesn't hit, he'll fold and you won't do much either. If he hits a monster, you'll probably lose all your chips due to lack of information about his hand.
The only situation where a preflop limp is reasonable is if you think your opponents may raise and perhaps even reraise you and you may resolve your hand preflop.
Hello everyone, I'm going to describe a hand more or less like this where I lost a big POT and practically all my chips.
Cash game 1/1
Hero BB with: AA
BT raise to 8
SB (MAniac): 3bet of 34
Hero Call and SB call
FLOP: 2h Qh 8d
SB: Check
Hero Check:
BT: mini raise of 30 RS
SB: All in 150 RS
Hero: Call
BT: Fold
The SB shows trips of 2 and nothing saves me on the turn and river.
Now I'll tell you how these guys play:
SB is a maniac, he makes absurd raises and goes all in with any hand, I thought it was a good idea to check the flop, because I wanted to betray more chips from BT, which is a regular play and it worked, I just didn't count on that set.
BT likes to steal a lot on the flop after his opponent checks.
Then BT told me he had Q9o.
I was pissed of course. But where do you think I made a mistake in this hand?
Thanks guys, hug.
You didn't make a mistake, Hamilton. It was what we call a cooler. Two very big hands met. It's part of it.