Pocket Aces are the strongest preflop hand in poker. When a player gets aces in the hole, the heart starts racing, the pupils dilate and the mouth dries up. Looking at the rockets makes quiet players talk and silences even the biggest of mouths. When a poker player picks up pocket aces, it is difficult to play them properly. Far too often, aces are played less than optimally; as players try to get tricky or worry that others might know they have such a monster. Next time you get aces preflop, remember the following tips:

Aces are the biggest and best starting hand in poker. When we have big hands, we want to build big pots. Thus, it makes sense that we want to end up with a big pot when we are holding the rockets. The faster the pot grows, the better off we are. This means a player holding aces should figure out how they can get their own money and at least one other person’s money entirely into the center of the table as fast as possible. If this means that raising preflop is the path of least resistance, then put in a nice raise. If limping and letting someone else do the heavy lifting will most often result in the biggest pot, then this is the right course of action.

However, this does not mean that an EverestPoker player should limp blindly when holding aces. A player should only slow play aces before the flop if they believe with great certainty that doing so will result in a bigger pot than playing them strongly will. Far too often, players limp so that they do not tip their hand’s strength, when in actuality, most players raise with a range of hands and raising will not call to the attention of the table that you have aces.

In addition to building a big pot in the quickest and easiest way possible, a player wants to gain commitment to the pot as early in the hand as they can. Not only do you want to become pot committed, but you also want to get your opponents to be stack committed as early as possible. Players gain commitment by manipulating their bet sizes. Ideally, a player holding aces has himself committed to the pot and/or his opposition no later than the flop. Once you have gained commitment to the pot or your opponent is committed to the pot, it becomes incorrect to fold. This means you cannot be bluffed and moving all in on the next street is the best course of action, regardless of the card. If a player beats you to the punch and either you or the opponent is stack committed, you must make the call.

By focusing on building big pots and gaining commitment to the pot, a poker player will find life easier and more profitable when playing pocket aces.