As the best starting hand in Texas hold’em, it’s hard to contain your excitement when you’re dealt aces — especially if you’ve had a long run of bad hands at the online poker tables. But holding a pair of bullets doesn’t guarantee a win.

If you want to maximize your chances of taking down the pot, you’ll have to avoid the big mistakes that many people make. In this guide, you’ll learn some key strategies for success when playing with the strongest of starting hands. 

What Are Pocket Aces and How Do You Play Them?

A pocket pair of aces is the strongest possible starting hand in Texas hold’em. However, it’s certainly not unbeatable. Your opponents could make stronger hands once you see the flop, turn, and river. 

To be precise, the probability of losing when dealt two bullets is 14.82%. So, while it’s rare, it definitely does happen.

Your preflop chances of pocket aces are very low. Expect to be dealt this particular holding just 0.0045% of the time. That’s, on average, once every 221 hands. As a result, it makes sense to try and squeeze the most out of your aces whenever you have them. 

Your cash game strategy should focus on maximizing value from this hand by playing aggressively preflop. However, don’t let yourself get carried away postflop. Here are some tips for playing this hand successfully.

Always Bet or Raise Preflop

Your preflop pocket aces strategy should be to bet or raise. With this hand, your position at the table doesn’t matter, as there’s always value in building the pot early. 

The aim should be to increase the average size of pots won with this hand. If another player has raised, you should 3-bet. When someone else has 3-bet, you should go for the 4-bet. 

Betting also shows you have a strong hand, making opponents more likely to fold. Even if you don’t take the pot down then and there, it’s still useful to thin the field. More opponents remaining in the pot means a greater chance of losing. And if you’re playing in online poker tournaments, one big pot could see you bust.

Later on in the hand, your aces might lose relative strength. If you had limped from early position, opponents would be less likely to fold, leading to multi-way pots postflop. You may then need to fold in this situation unless you hit your set. As such, preflop aggression is a must.

Play Cautiously Against Multiple Opponents

While you don’t want to slow play your hand or be too cautious, that changes when facing multiple opponents. Ace-ace might feel unbeatable preflop, but against several players, it’s nothing more than one pair once the flop appears. Unless you hit a set, there will be a lot of hands that could beat yours.

In a heads-up situation, you’ll have a lot more freedom to play with aggression. However, a multi-way pot represents a bigger challenge, as you’ll start with much less equity. The more opponents there are, the more likely it is that one of them’s going to outdraw you. 

In this scenario, it’s best to play cautiously. If necessary, fold against extreme aggression. If you’re new to the game and still mastering beginner poker strategies, it’s important to be cautious. If your opponent has a stronger hand, they could wipe out your entire stack. 

Common Mistakes To Avoid

You can definitely win some big pots with aces. However, there are a lot of common mistakes that people make when they play them. If you find your aces are being cracked often, look out for these possible leaks in your game and work to avoid them.

Increasing Raise Size Preflop

Preflop, you should be aiming to grow the pot whenever you hold pocket rockets. That said, it’s still important to keep your bet and raise sizing consistent. Increasing your raises exponentially may alert opponents and cause them to fold with hands that they’d normally play.

Being Too Passive Postflop

You do need to be more cautious in a multi-way pot, but playing too passively heads-up will cost you in the long run. If you flop a strong hand, you should fast-play to build the pot as quickly as possible. Make the most of any opportunity to bet, as checking will pass control to your opponent.

This online poker strategy also forces your opponent to reveal more information about their own hand. If they call, there’s a good chance they’ve connected with part of the board. You’ve gained no insight into their range if you check and they just check back.

Predictability

As with any hand, you’ll want to disguise your range as much as possible so that you don’t become predictable and exploitable. But since you need to maintain consistency in your bet sizing and be aggressive with aces all the time, what can you do?

Don’t be afraid to take a stab at a pot on the river with a scary board if your opponents are showing caution. You might take the pot down due to other players being worried about flushes or straights. 

If you don’t, no big deal. Showing a bold bluff now and then will keep opponents guessing. The strategy is along the same lines as turning busted draws or low pocket pairs into bluffs.

Not Taking the Board Into Consideration

Postflop, your ace–ace hand will lose its relative strength, especially when facing a scary board. A common mistake is failing to properly assess the community cards when making a decision on how to play the hand. If you didn’t hit a set, there are lots of potential draws your opponent could make. 

A wet flop — where there are two cards of the same suit, consecutively-ranked cards, or both — presents a potentially big problem. In this situation, you should be looking to check. However, you may need to fold if facing a raise, especially in a multiway pot. 

Perfecting Your Pocket Ace Poker Play

In terms of poker strategy, pocket aces seems like it should be a straightforward hand to play. You certainly have a big advantage over other players at your table. However, that often diminishes postflop, and the chance of getting cracked by an opponent is very real. 

Armed with the advice in this guide, you have a much better chance of maximizing your wins when you play poker online. If you want to put this knowledge to the test, register at Borgata Online today. Enjoy the excitement of Texas hold’em cash games and tournament poker on any device. What’s more, you can also enjoy hundreds of slots, video poker titles, and live dealer online casino games.