If you are sitting at home reading this article, chances are you’re just like me – you can’t get enough of online poker. Whether you’re in it for the thrill of the game or you’re trying to make a living, playing online offers several distinct advantages over the “live” game. The online game is a faster game, which essentially means more and potentially larger pots and more risks per hour than a standard B&M (brick and mortar) game. When you see a larger volume of hands, chances are that during each session you play, you are bound to see something that leaves you speechless, shaking your head, mystified, or (shudder at the thought) having to re-buy. In this column, each week we will take a look at a different hand that fits the previously mentioned criteria. My involvement in the hand notwithstanding, I will try to remain as impartial as possible, and for the hands that I didn’t win, I will keep my bitterness to a minimum. (At least, this is my intent)

Pocket Aces are a beautiful sight to behold. Unfortunately they don’t always win much to the dismay of those who hold them. Why do Aces lose? Well, sometimes they get outdrawn, sometimes they are forced to fold to a bluff. But whatever the reason, it is impotant to remember one key detail. Pokcet Aces is the single strongest starting hand in poker. I highlight the fact that it is just that, a strong starting hand. The same goes for pocket Queens and pocket Kings as well. When you think about it, at the end of the day, like I’ve stressed in the past, it is only a pair and can lose to just about any other made hand such as a set, a flush or a straight. Heck, even two pair of 2’s and 3’s beat it. Keeping this in mind, I always am astonished when people blow massive amountso money playing them to the bitter end.

To illustrate it, I will discuss 2 hands that happened with me in separate sessions. The first occurred in a $1-$2 no limit 9 handed game. On the button I looked down at pocket 2’s. Preflop, there was a raiser in early position who raised to $6. I think this is a reasonable price to see a flop with any pocket pair. One player called as did I. Both blinds folded. The flop came down 7s-6c-2d giving me a set of twos. The original raiser bets $10, the caller calls and I raise to $20. The original bettor raises to $40 and the caller finally folds and I call. The turn comes as the Jh. The bettor bets $25, I quickly raise to $50 and without hesitation he goes all in for his remaining $250! I ponder this for a second and think to myself that a higher set beats me but this player’s actions smell of pocket Aces or Kings. I call the bet and there’s over $650 in the pot. The cards flip over and sure enough he had Aces. The river came down as a 10d meaning my set held up and giving me a really good payoff. This of course was followed by the player using his chat option as a sound-off board amusing the other players at the table. I sat silent and turned off my chat. I just didn’t need the distraction.

The following night I was in a similar situation. I was again on the button and again I was holding pocket 2’s. In middle position, someone raises to $12. There is one caller and given my little payday from the night before, I decide to call and see the flop with the intention of folding if my hand didn’t improve. The flop comes down 9h-10h-2s, again giving me another set! The original bettor bets $30, the caller calls and I quickly move all in for $180. Why all in? With the flush and straight possibilities out there, I wanted to represent my hand strength and not give the impression I was drawing. The player thinks about it and calls and the original caller hesitantly folds. The pot stands at $459. He turns over his cards and shows pocket Queens. My set holds up and I take home another nice pot. What was intresting about this particular situation is that the player was THE SAME PERSON whose Aces I cracked the night before. You would think he would have learned his expensive lesson. What made this worse than the other one was that he was vulnerable to both pocket Kings and Aces yet he called anyway. By raising the amount I did, I gave him every reason to believe I had him beat as I had a rather tight table image. Maybe he was still on tilt from the night before but I’m not complaining. I took advantage of the situation and made some decent money from it.

Why am I telling you about these hands. I am just trying to point out that although it is probably one of the more difficult decisions for a poker player, sometimes you must fold your big pairs. I can not stress this enough. As the song goes..”you gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em…”

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

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