AA, KK Shorthanded

[Yeknom58]

15-30 short handed(5 players no chop)

I get dealt AA in the BB.
1 caller, fold, and the SB completes, I check.
Make a long story short I got my Aces cracked by the SB with a baby flush 2d8d. He flopped a 4 flush and check called flop, check called turn, check raised river. He made his flush on the turn. I dont think he would have seen the flop for a raise.

About 45 minutes later,

I get dealt KK.

one caller, I raise, everyone folds. AA-cracked, but KK-no one pays me.

So how do you guys play AA-QQ shorthanded. Limp or raise?

[get_crunk]

i never open-limp in any game, and shorthanded i rarely limp at all and i definitely come in raising with monster hands because i do so much raising with weaker hands than normal, etc...and especially in 15-30 you want to raise because many people will complete the SB no matter what they have and you dont want random hands in against you..

[Yeknom58]

I see what your saying, thats why during the game I tried both methods and both blew up in my face. I don't play short very often so I don't really know what to do in this situation. I limped with AA and got them cracked and I raised with KK and everyone folded. What is the best play long term short handed?

[cferejohn]

I think what he is saying (and what I would say too) is to raise. You should be accompanying this, of course, with liberal raising of a variety of hands.

If you take the blinds, well, it happens. Sometimes you take KK up against T3o and 25o. In that case, if you limp you're just going to take it with a flop bet anyway unless they get a lucky flop, in which case it might get all your chips. Buying the blinds isn't the worst thing in the world. If you feel like it happens every time you get a big hand, well, start raising with those marginal hands too. If they don't adjust and let you keep buying them, you win. If they do adjust and start calling you more often, your AA or KK raise will get called more often.

[Diplomat]

You are going to get a wide range of opinions on how to play big pairs short handed. Some people slow play them. Some people pump them. But whatever you do, don't be results-oriented. Would you have felt the same way about your AA limp had the flop come down A82? Or if you raised with KK and went to war against JJ?

If you are looking for a what-to-always-do-in-every-short-handed-situation-with-a-big-pair answer, you are not going to get it from me. Sometimes I raise. Sometimes I call. Sometimes I pump the flop, sometimes I don't bet or raise until the river. Whatever you do, don't become transparent to your opponents, but still get full value.

The majority of the time though, I pump my big pairs short handed, partially because I pump an extremely wide range of hands short handed. I always remind myself before playing a 2-5 handed game that an extremely agressive and somewhat loose player is lethal short handed.

Do what feels right. Make sure it's profitable, and make sure it's not predictable.

-Diplomat

[PokerPrince]

For one, I wouldn't limp with these big hands if players are already in, like you did with the AA. Raise with them in this instance. If you're raising with lots of hands coming in, which you should be, then I don't see a problem with pumping AA-KK-QQ and the like. If you tend to limp in sometimes, then by all means, throw in a limp with a powerhand once in a while.

Your opponents may also be a factor in whether to raise or limp with these hands. If you have passive opponents who don't do much raising preflop, I suggest almost always raising with the bigboys. If you have more wild opponents, especially acting after you, try and limp-reraise sometimes.

PokerPrince