How to Play Your Pocket Aces Like a Pro

[@BlackRain79Poker]

How do you play your pocket AA? Also, check out my latest video with the strategy I use to make $5000 a month playing poker: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX2ngpmAnt6Bprs

[@CARNA6E]

Hi Nathan, hugely grateful for reviewing the hand! That was a very confusing hand for me, but now I feel like I know what my thought process should be in spots like this.

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Thanks again for sending this hand to me Alexander. Glad you found my comments helpful as well!

[@roel82]

I think i would've folded after he bet on the river as a straight or flush was really a posibility, but really depending on the hands the opponent played before this hand.

[@TheMarioVelghe]

Your video's are really helpful. Explained simple and clearly. Thanks and keep em coming please.

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Thanks glad they help!

[@kamildziedzic8198]

Well played by the opponent.

[@colintoft2408]

If the board pairs does your thought process change or stay the same vs 2 opponents. If it was just vs vill18 would you play the AA face up?

[@VaultTecc]

I find the donk bet on the 2 flush pot to be a flush draw the vast majority of the time i have witnessed it, something like 80 to 90%.

[@ksportz66]

Gave thmbs up .. might end up looking stupid here but surely the small stakes shown skew any decisions?? Not doubting your thought process but at these stakes can you account for opponents simply chasing anything ? Rgds

[@marcossilva99398]

Very insightful, thsnks man.

[@Deadeye1967]

Full on nice tips, thanks Nathan.

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Thanks Deadeye glad they helped!

[@fundiver198]

Have to disagree just a little bit on this one. While it was not the greatest flop in the world for AA, we are also looking at a 3 SPR pot, its 2NL, and the Villain is fishy. So yes he have something, when he donk lead into two people, but I dont think, AA is behind to his range. I can see him lead with JJ-QQ, with TX without a flushdraw and with some draws as well. So I would just get it in on flop and roll the dice. With all respect I feel, this analysis is a little bit to results oriented. However after just calling the flop I certainly agree, that betting the turn or raising the river have no merits. It was a bad runout, but thats why we fastplay and get it in on the flop :-)

[@nonegiven]

TBH I agreed the whole way with Nathans thoughts. Its a pretty bad flop, turn and river. At the end of the day he only has a pair of AA when there is so much out there, don't forget the player so far has shown himself to be passive, so you wouldn't expect too many donk bets into two other players (including initial raiser) with a draw. And he cold called a 3 bet from the blinds. I think just jamming the flop, you are either losing value when he is on a draw, as he would more likely fold, or getting beat a lot. Maybe vs someone who has been shown to be more aggressive and you know plays draws more aggressively?

[@fundiver198]

Its a wet flop, but there was no possibility of a flopped straight or flush. So we were only behind to the usual 9 combos of sets and in this case two combos of T8s. But then there are all the draws and all the 1 pair hands, we beat. Dont you think, he would lead even just JJ and QQ, when its such a wet board, and he dont want it to get checked through and face all sort of hell cards on the turn? I think so, and if JJ-QQ are in his range as well as sets, T8s and T9, JT, QT, KT, AT of hearts, we have 49% equity. And that is without even giving him a single draw. Also we are not losing value, if he have a draw and fold to a jam, since we pick up the 90c in the pot uncontested. He would be calling 1,60 to win 2,90, and with the equity of a draw, that is actually very close to break even for him and therefore also for us. On the contrary we lose value from draws by just flatting. We could also raise to a more normal amount like 1$, but that would leave only 90c behind with 2,6$ in the middle, which is just awkward. And thats why the flop should just be a jam, if we decide to commit to the hand. Which I think, we should. Flatting the flop is not a huge mistake, and its sure better than folding, but I think jamming show a higher expected profit in the long run. Especially at these very low stakes, where a lot of players are just really bad, and they also dont care about the monetary value. Vis mindre

[@doktorgreen5439]

Yeah I am also surprised at Nathan's analysis on flop here, villian basically only has sets that beat us and can lead with a wide range (2 straight draws, fds top pair) even though he is passive these players will still make donk leads with top pair "just to see where they are at" and what not. I could think about flatting if the board had more made hands that smash the fish's preflop range and maybe just 1 straight draw.

[@nonegiven]

I agree completely that he could have bet with JJ and QQ, I've seen that quite a bit. I cant see him calling a 3 bet with T8 or T9 (maybe Im giving him too much credit though haha), all the other broadways you mentioned makes sense. I completely missed that he had top pair with his flush draw so a bet does make more sense now, even for a passive player. Are you saying that with that range of hands (JJ, QQ and the top pairs with flush draws) we are near enough a 50/50 flip?

[@fundiver198]

Yes I plugged it into an equity calculator, and it came out with 49%. I gave him 9 combos of sets, 2 combos of T8s, 12 combos of overpairs and the 5 combos of top pair with a flushdraw. Notice that I did not even include top pair with no flushdraw or draws without a pair. If he can have those hands as well, then Hero is ahead on the flop. The overpairs are a quite important element here, but he cold called a 3-bet from the blinds, so I think, its very reasonable to say, he could have JJ and QQ. Only KK-AA would be a default 4-bet in that situation especially for a somewhat passive player. And yeah... at this level maybe he think, AT is the nuts as well, who knows?

[@gavinblakeway]

Very good advice that concludes this video . Nice one

[@BlackRain79Poker]

Thanks Gavin!

[@kamildziedzic8198]

For me it is 100% fold after villain raised on a river.

[@davidmustaine997]

Fookin rockets all week getting cracked grrr grrrrrrrrr

[@losyart]

Im folding river honestly

[@Smurfen249]

I haven't been playing for some time and used to play high stake sngs long ago and recently started to build up my BR again and i come across this at NL 2, www.boomplayer.com/27652295_7E83AFECD4 is this call fucking normal at theese stakes? like wtf

[@fundiver198]

Not really, but of course 2NL is the lowest stakes online. So this is where, you will find most of the players, who are completely new to the game and for instance dont understand, that their 33 got counterfeited on the river, and that they are now playing the board.