Fold with Pocket Ace's?

I was recently in a game and was doin "ok" when I was delt pkt aces. Now, normally I will check or call until the river then bet large...(probably a bad idea to do in the first place but eh...I'm learning). Anyway, Queen, rag, rag, comes on the flop. An opponent immediately bets a decent amount for the first round of betting. Thinking that this individual has paired up with his queen, I raise...the player re-raises...I call...The turn comes up and this time the opponent bets huge (at least that is what I remember), so I go all in thinking I have this opponent beat...well, the opponent had pkt queens and caught trips on the flop. I know now that I should not have gone all in, but what does one do in a situation like that? Did I do the right thing? Pkt aces are suppossed to be the best possible hand but it seems every time I get em, I lose...is it because I don't bet huge before the flop like everyone else does to scare them off?....BTW, I friggn hate pkt jk's as much as I hate pjkt aces... Help me Anybody Kanobi, your my only hope....

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I know its a tough fold and with 1 showing on board not sure how that other player had been playin previous guess that would determine my move to fold or go all in...Pocket rockets get cracked way too much with 222 etc it becomes a lil easier to fold em after awhile.

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xena i have the same prob!! i get beat with AA more than i win with them !!! ive played them everyway i know how and it dont seam to matter i get beat with them...so your guess is as good as mine... i lay back with them alot anymore and see how its playing out befor i bet too big on them.. GL and see ya on the felt....~~~fly on~~~

like my new LOOK ???LOL

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I also have had my share of getting Pkt A's cracked. Being they are the best starting hand, I usually push all-in. The weak hands and limpers usually fold. Seems I have won more hands than by playing them out. By slow playing them, you are just asking for someone to trip up, two pair or hit something that will smoke your aces.

Of course we all know the best starting hand does not mean you will have the winning hand, but give me the pkt A's and I will take the risk.

my 2 cents... pct A's you can play many ways ... 2 different ways from me

first ... you can represent them preflop ... raise and reraise if necessary .... watch giving pot odds to call ...ie dont give them a 2:1 ... in my expectations im up against another large hand ... im basically ready to commit to the hand preflop ... take the hand down as early as possible ... if i have to race with them i will...

second is the slow play i guess ..... to me this is your standard 3 x's ... know your opponents and their style as xena was saying... going in.... being ready to fold these without the right odds anytime after flop ... just calling bets and maybe a little raise to c exactly where my hand stands ... trying to avoid the all in at all times ... ready to fold anytime i feel i no longer have the best hand... and after flop if i dont hit my A's are just top pair ... so much can beat me now ... gotta know the opponent from here on out keeping the betting low as possible ... its hard to do but you gotta fold em to the big bets and all ins now ...

When it comes right down to it, Pocket Aces is no more and no less than 1 pair. If I see no improvement on my 1 pair after the flop - I must be prepared to fold. Because the only hand that 1 pair beats is High Card. And, yes, I have been known to fold pocket aces pre-flop.

Just my 2 cents.

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I think I mostly agree with Pman on this one. But I'll add my little rantings anyway.

Except in very rare circumstances (my opinion only), NEVER limp with Aces pre-flop. Even a normal 3x raise will indicate to others at a table "Hey, I've got something of a hand", and still not give away that you have the weapons of mass destruction. Depending where you're at in the game, how the table is playing, everyone else might fold pre-flop and while you might feel disgusted that you couldn't 'get value' for that hand, remember this is poker (online poker at that). Anything can and usually will happen. Even two pair 3's and 2's will beat Aces. Better to just rake a little in now and grind it our rather than lose half or all your stack on a misstep with Aces. Makes a nice bad beat story, but won't win you many games.

Okay Moody, is there ever a time you might limp with Aces? Actually, yes, but it really applies to any reasonably strong hand. Usually it's in the latter stages of a tournament or at the final table. If I'm confident that raising pre-flop will scare someone out of a hand that I really want to engage and knock out, than it might be worth limping with a monster hand to portray weakness. Ideally, I'd love to then see him raise my perceived weakness, only to now put him all-in. With any luck, either he folds (and is now wounded) or calls and sees the disaster before him. But early on in a tournament, this is as dangerous as giving your wife a thigh-master for your anniversary.

But the real question was, should you ever fold with Aces? Obviously, yes, and while I've been guilty of over-playing them to my detriment, I've never had more success with any other hand. But there are certain situations where it might be the wise move.

After the flop has already been addressed, and as was mentioned, a number of factors would have to go into that decision. Has the board paired? How has your opponent been playing the entire game? If you're in a big pot with Mr. I Only Raise With A-K Or Better, and you see two kings on the board and he's pushed all-in, this might be time to let them go. The tricky part is when the flop comes all rags and now your opponent is all-in. Is he on a draw? Did he catch a flush or a straight? Two pair? Why would this donkey play rags like this anyway? Believe me, your answers to those questions will differ depending on whether you're in the beginning stages of a freeroll or at the final table of the OFC. And sometimes, like it or not, you just have to take your bad beat and go on and accept it.

One that hasn't been mentioned here, but has been written about other places, is when you're very close to the money. Say you're 1 or 2 away, and you're in decent shape in the dealer position. Second to act, and big stack, raises, and the person to your immediate right pushes all-in, but leaves big stack with pot odds to call virtually anything. You look down and find pocket aces. Let 'em go. No point risking the big stack taking you out as well and not making the money. Fold, make the money with a healthy stack, and attack later. In order the finish first, first you must finish.

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