Best Hand Against Aces
If you knew your opponent had rockets and you still had to play them for stacks, what would be your best option? The best hand against pocket aces is 78s, where no suit is covered by the ace. Against this particular holding, aces are “only” around 77% favorite, which is. The best hand against pocket aces is pocket aces— that being said if you’re getting it in preflop with 5x6x or 6x7x or anything like that. You need to take a step back and learn some basic strategy. The only time 56 is getting it in against aces is on a flush or straight draw on the flop, in a very specific circumstance where you are big stack on the bubble or If they have an extremely high post flop fold. A pair of aces, also known as 'pocket rockets' (and sometimes 'American Airlines') is the best starting hand for Texas Hold 'em. Be wary of how many other players enter the pot, as more players increase the likelihood of someone beating your aces. The very best hand against pocket aces is actually 8-7 suited because you get both straight and flush draws as well as the potential to backdoor trips or two pair. Still even the best hand against aces only wins 22.87% of the time. Pocket aces are a very dominant hand pre-flop but keep in mind that 80% favorite isn’t unassailable. JT's equity is the lowest, since his straight outs are blocked by the aces and even when broadway is hit the board has to run out unpaired. T9's equity isn't the best, since the board can run out KQJT, giving aces a better straight. 98's equity isn't best, since the board can still run out KQJT. Now our last 3 hands are extremely close in equity.
Did your pocket aces get cracked again? Are you wanting to know what are the odds of aces getting cracked?This is something that many of us wonder about when our aces seem to get cracked again and again and again.
So let's just jump right into it!
Is Pocket Aces a Good Hand?
The first thing you should know is that pocket aces is a very good hand, the best hand in the game in fact.
And just because you lost with it, doesn't mean you should limp preflop with it or even fold it next time.
In fact, pocket aces is over an 80% favorite versus all other pocket pairs like KK, QQ, JJ and so on.
And it will also be your biggest long term winning hand in terms of total profit.
You can actually just go check this for yourself by filtering for the profitability of all hands inside a program like PokerTracker.
What Are the Odds of Pocket Aces Getting Cracked?
These are the odds your pocket aces getting cracked:14.82%
When you are dealt pocket aces you have a 14.82% chance of losing versus a completely random hand.
So in other words, not very often but it will happen from time to time!
Is the Poker Site You Are Playing On Rigged Because Your Pocket Aces Got Cracked Again?
Not necessarily.
A lot of people jump to this quick conclusion without really thinking about the math first.
Like we just mentioned, you actually have almost a 15% chance of losing with pocket aces versus a completely random hand.
And since most people will have something a little bit better than a 'completely random hand' versus your pocket aces, they will often have an even higher chance to win against you than this.
This is why when people say that online poker is rigged or some major site like PokerStars is rigged, they often haven't actually thought it through enough.
They are instead just reacting in the moment and not using the rational part of their brain which clearly tells us that pocket aces is not some 'invincible' hand.
Your pocket aces will actually lose frequently in poker, this is simply a fact. It does not necessarily mean you are playing on a rigged poker site.
Basic Pocket Aces Odds
Here are some other basic stats you need to know when you have pocket aces:
- You will be dealt pocket aces 0.0045% of the time (1 in 221 hands)
- You will lose with pocket aces versus pocket kings approximately 18% of the time
- You will lose with pocket aces versus a broadway hand like KJ approximately 14% of the time
- You will lose with pocket aces versus a random suited hand approximately 18% of the time
- You will lose with pocket aces to ace king approximately 8% of the time
- You will lose with pocket aces to a suited connector like 98 of hearts approximately 24% of the time
So these are some pretty good odds with pocket aces versus other common hands. This is why most professional poker players actually list pocket aces as their favorite hand!
Daniel Negreanu for example has mentioned this several times before including in his advanced poker training course.
More Important Pocket Aces Odds You Need to Know
Here are some more important odds for pocket aces that I recommend you study and memorize:
- You will beat a flopped straight draw with pocket aces approximately 65% of the time
- You will beat a flopped flush draw with pocket aces approximately 61% of the time
- You will beat a flopped straight flush draw with pocket aces approximately 43% of the time
- You will beat a flopped two pair hand with pocket aces approximately 24% of the time
- You will beat a flopped trips hand (three of a kind) with pocket aces approximately 8% of the time
One of the good parts about getting dealt pocket aces is that you almost always have a chance to win.
The odds aren't always great, but there is almost no scenario where you will be drawing completely dead.
Now please don't get me wrong here.
There definitely is a time when you need to fold your pocket aces, like I discuss in this video I made recently:
But for the most part, pocket aces are a great hand to have in almost all situations in Texas Hold'em because even if somebody flops a huge hand against you, you almost always have outs still (chance to win).
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What Are the Odds of Getting Pocket Aces Twice in a Row?
So we already know that the odds of getting dealt pocket aces are only 1 in 221.
In other words, not good.
But how about the odds of getting dealt pocket aces twice in a row?
The odds of getting dealt pocket aces twice in a row is:
1 in 48,481
And then to take it one step further...
The odds of getting dealt pocket aces three times in a row is:
1 in 10,793,861
So as you can see, the odds of getting dealt pocket rockets twice in a row is exceedingly rare and the odds of getting dealt aces three times in a row is like winning the lottery.
What is the Best Strategy to Win Big With Pocket Aces?
The best pocket aces strategy is to play them hard and fast. This means raising or re-raising with them preflop and then betting big on the flop, turn and river.
From time to time you will need to fold them as I already mentioned above. This is specifically versus very tight and passive players who raise you on the turn or river.
This is something I have discussed in detail before on this blog as well in my guide to when to fold an over pair in poker.
But for the most part, the best strategy with pocket aces is very simple. Play them fast, bet often and bet big with them!
Should You Ever Slow-Play Your Pocket Aces?
What about slow playing your pocket aces? Yay or nay?
In general this is a bad idea especially at the lower stakes. And the reason why is because you miss out on a ton of value.
Most players at these limits like to call way too much and never fold any pair or draw.
This is something that was very clear to see in my recent video series where you can watch me absolutely crush the 1c/2c online cash games.
I have some of the best results of all-time in these games and I can tell you that I almost never slow play my pocket aces.
And this is because the problem with slow playing your pocket aces then is that you will often end up winning a very small pot, when you could have won a much bigger pot by simply betting more.
And over the long run, this really, really starts to add up.
It is really important to remember that when you see world class poker pros like Phil Ivey slow-playing their pocket aces, it is usually because they are playing against another world class pro.
They have to employ some trickery from time to time in order to constantly keep their opponents guessing.
But if you play in the typical small stakes online or live poker games, the best course of action is going to almost always be to avoid slow playing your pocket aces.
Just play them straight-forward every time and you will win much more.
Final Thoughts
So what are the odds of your pocket aces getting cracked?
Well, against a random hand it is almost 15% and can be as high as 25% versus suited connectors for example. This might not sound like much, but it will come through from time to time.
Because the truth is that pocket aces are really just a one pair hand that can be beat.
Best Poker Hand Against Aces
And this is why it is important not to get too emotionally invested when you get dealt this beautiful hand.
With all that said though, pocket aces are still the best hand in the game and you should play them hard and fast in almost all scenarios.
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Those Pesky Aces Got you Blue?
There’s a question for the ages, in poker terms. The short answer is “Hah!” but the longer and more careful answer is, “It depends on the game and conditions.”
Slow-playing a pair of pocket aces, particularly under the gun, is often an invitation to trouble, and as you grow in experience at the game, you will invariably run up against a player who never limps under the gun, always raising if he’s going to play – except in the rare case he has pocket aces. The idea, of course, is that he wants someone to raise from late position, so he can come back over the top with a hefty three-bet in an attempt to get lots of chips into the pot before the flop.
Once you encounter this particular breed of player and see this trait, you’ll be able to limp behind with pocket queens, toss them away if other action compels you to, and toss them away for cheap after the flop if you don’t connect for the set. The lesson: Don’t be that type of player, and make your pocket aces so obvious by your position bets.
That said, there are some general rules you can adhere to if that 1-in-229-hand occurrence comes up, and you find yourself staring down at pocket rockets. The general rule is to play them a little bit faster then you might otherwise believe. It’s easy to lose a lot of money with aces, perhaps even easier than it is to win a lot of money with them. So with that in mind:
Best Hand Against Pocket Aces
First Rule, Don’t Limp
What Hand Can Beat 4 Aces
Don’t limp with your aces if you are at a soft, passive (often lower-stakes) table that often sees four or five or six players seeing a cheap flop. Pocket aces play very poorly against a large number of competing hands, and even though they’re a prohibitive favorite against any other single hand, they can often be a large dog against a collection of other hands. Don’t forget it’s the trash that connects to the flop that stays around and plays; the trash that misses folds and disappears from the hand. Coordinated flops like 9-10-J are absolute death for pocket aces in a multi-way pot. Throw them away and lick your wounds quietly.
Don’t Always 3 Bet
Conversely, don’t always make the automatic three-bet in poker with pocket aces before the flop. When holding pocket aces, you want to limit the field, not destroy it. If there’s a healthy raise pre-flop by an aggressive player, and your image is loose, go ahead and make the three-bet raise and mix it up at will. But another ploy that works well against tighter, more cautious players is called “second-hand low”. This is when an early-position player makes a healthy opening raise – perhaps $12 or $15 in a $1/2 cash game, and you just smooth-call from middle position. This gives a late-position player or one of the blinds the opportunity to look at a half-good hand like A-K and make a three-bet squeeze raise, which should have you dancing in your seat. Don’t do this too often or become too devoted to other subtle tricks, lest you succumb to “fancy play syndrome”, but the occasional subterfuge will improve your game and profit margin.
About the Pot Odds
Use your pocket aces to deny proper pot odds to your opponents. Whether in cash games or tournaments, a situation often arises where you can size your bets in such a way as to ensure a single opponent does not have the proper odds to continue in the hand, even though he may think he does. Imagine a cash-game scenario, playing something as simple as $1/2, where you and your opponent in a hand both have $120 in chips. He opens to perhaps $10, and you, holding pocket aces here, can go ahead and put in an undersized reraise to perhaps $25 to induce the call. While he is rightly guessing that his $15 call is worth it when there’s $38 or more in the pot and your remaining $95 to potentially still be won, you have the knowledge that your aces are between 3.6:1 and 6:1 favorites heads-up before the flop against any other hand.
The likeliest hand to crack pocket aces is 10-9 suited, but the aces will still win 77% of the time. Play your aces just guarded enough against possible sets and flops that make “ace-cracker” hands work, but most of the time, following up with a sizeable post-flop bet is again the odds-on play. Often, your opponent will flop a flush or straight draw, and you must make it unprofitable for him to pursue that draw – even though many players can’t resist the temptation and will call against the odds anyway. These players are your long-term victims, even if they are paradoxically the ones most likely to crack your aces in any given hand. Such is the nature of poker. We always remember the aces we lose with, but rarely the ones we win with!
Aces and Drawing Hands, The Crackers
Beware drawing hands in deep-stack situations. A corollary to the above. No matter how pretty your pocket aces look, pocket aces don’t beat straights and flushes. You must drive drawing hands out of the hand, and the only way to do that is to protect your aces with a large bet. Pre-flop that means limiting the field; post-flop that means putting in raises of at least three-quarters of the pot on each round to make sure your opponent doesn’t have the right pot odds to chase those eight- and nine-outers.
Hitting a Set of Aces
If you’ve flopped a set of aces, there is always a potential straight draw. This might sound odd, but a set of kings is often a far safer hand to slow-play after the flop than is a set of aces. Imagine yourself with a pair of pocket aces, and envision a flop of any three non-paired cards that include an ace. No matter what the other two non-ace cards are, if you let your opponents see the turn for free, a turn card that doesn’t pair the board will always put some sort of straight in play. It might be a highly unlikely holding, such as the big blind holding 4-7 and the board through the turn showing A-5-J-8, but if you’ve let this player see all these cards for free and a 6 comes off on the river (roughly a 1-in-11 chance), you’ve only yourself to blame. You have to charge them something for the dream of making that hand.
No worthy bad beat story ever started with, “I limped with pocket aces….” Enough said.
Author:Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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