2 AA hands in 4/8

[DiceyPlay]

Is it ever right to play these hands in this way?

First off the game is your typical 4/8. The players are far too loose. The blinds always defend against a raise. Some players will limp and then cold-call two bets cold pre-flop routinely.

I think what I'm doing here is applying the concept of letting poor players play bedly. This let's me save when I'm behind and exploit bad play when I'm ahead. But may be I'm just so used to getting sucked out on that I'm playing scared?

Hand 1:

I have AA in the small blind. 3 limpers to me. In worst position I elect to see the flop cheaply. Flop is 29T rainbow. I bet. All call. Turn is an 8 putting two clubs on the board. I check and a poor player in middle position bets. One call and I call. River is an offsuit 5. I bet and turn bettor calls. MHIG. I tend to think I should have raised the turn. But at the moment I was concerned about a straight and I didn't want to get re-raised. Can you say WEAK? But in this type of game maybe weak is correct?

Hand 2:

I have AA in the CO. All limp to me. I raise. Button folds, but he telegraphed a fold before I raised so I was going to have the button even had I limped. 8 to a flop of 232 rainbow. It's checked around. I checked because in this game the blinds could easily have a deuce. These guys see every flop no matter what. Turn is a 3. It's checked to the same player who bet the turn in the last hand (he's changed seats and is now in late position. It's folded to me and I figure I'm either way ahead or way behind - so I call and try to get as many callers as possible for the times I'm ahead and try to lose as little as possible for the times I'm behind. One other caller. Turn is a K. Same bettor as before bets. I call with the same reasoning. Other guy folds and MHIG. Should I play it differently and why?

-DP

[brettbrettr]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it ever right to play these hands in this way?

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

[Justin A]

Both of these hands show a very big lack of understanding of winning poker play. I mean no offense by this. You should go buy yourself a copy of Small Stakes Hold'em, and study it.

Not raising preflop in hand one is criminal. Playing aces so passively in both hands is terrible. You missed a lot of value from the best hand you can get.

[skidog222]

Youre play is waaaaaaaaaay to weak and tentative. You have pocket aces, you might get run down, but thats true with any hand, playing timidly allows people more chances to run you down.

[dantheman_05]

read ed millers book small stakes hold em. all your answers are in there.

[DiceyPlay]

I've got and read TOP, hpfap, ssh, inside poker mind, Al Schoon's psych book, poker essays 1,2,3. I have a degree in statistics. I understand ev and variance. And I'm actively thinking at the tables and playing as best I can - always making adjustments.

I guess I just suck. So it's **NEVER** ok to play aces like this? There was no deceptive quality in hand 1 against a small number of players? In hand 2 you think I should have bet the flop? No way, not at this table.

Thanks for the replies.

[brettbrettr]

Don't f**k around in multiway pots.

(The above is my standard post to people who post calls with hands like TPTK in multiway pots. In your case, you really don't want to f**k around.)

[SpaceAce]

You absolutely, positively must raise in both of the scenarios you posted and pretty much every other AA scenario you're ever going to post in a limit forum.

By the way, with Aces, whether or not you're going to get the button has absoultely nothing to do with raising in a multi-way pot. It doesn't matter if the button mucks his hand out of turn, you're raising your Aces, anyway.

SpaceAce

[LesWormMurphy]

AA needs to be played so aggressively multiway because you have enormous pot equity with a hand like that. On a flop of 232, you MUST raise! Not only to protect your hand (which really isn't that vulnerable at this point) but to chase off any drawing hands.

The only times AA should be played deceptively is if you got the reading skills of Phil Helmuth and are in the WSOP. Otherwise, nobody notes that you slowplayed your AA because you were being deceptive. They'll figure your weak and can be VERY easily bluffed out because you thought your AA was vulnerable to somebody's deuce. (Only appr. 4-5% chance that the 3rd deuce is in somebody's hand)

You've got the best hand, make them pay.

[chief444]

[ QUOTE ]
In hand 2 you think I should have bet the flop? No way, not at this table.


[/ QUOTE ]
Yes way.