Playing Big Slick / By: Lou Krieger
|
Big Slick
When it comes to big hands, all of us want to be dealt A-A or K-K. The reality
is that we'll be dealt A-K more frequently. In recent years there has been some
debate over how to play A-K. Exploring each camp's reasons will expose you to
some strategic thinking you can use to assess other poker situations in addition
to this one.
Conventional wisdom says that when you're dealt Ace-King, or Big Slick as it's
called by most hold'em players, you do one thing with it: Raise. While some
players call occasionally just to incorporate some deception into their game,
most play Big Slick as fast as a pair of aces or kings.
To many players it is a power-raising hand. Conventional wisdom holds that if
the flop doesn't hit anybody, your pre-flop raise and subsequent bets will
probably drive out all but the truest of kamikazes. Your raise may even limit
the number of players so that you have a reasonable chance of winning even if
you don't flop anything, and if that's the case you ought to raise most of the
time.
|
|
Is Conventional Wisdom Correct
But is conventional wisdom correct? No less a poker authority than Mike Caro
expressed the opinion that you're usually better off calling with Big Slick,
taking the flop, and seeing what develops.
If Caro's opinion is correct and conventional wisdom - still gospel to the vast majority of limit hold'em players - isn't, then substantial profit opportunities are available by exploiting incorrect strategies and employing correct ones.
To shed some more light on this murky subject, let's begin by examining why you might raise or call with Big Slick. Assume four or five players called the big blind and you're in one of the later positions. It may seem obvious, but it's important to recognize that when you raise in this position, you're doing so to get more money in the pot. When you're a late raiser and there are already a lot of callers, you're not going to thin out the field. Whether the blinds call is another story, but each player who called the original bet will call your raise.
|
|
By raising in this position you're representing a big hand. If the flop contains
an Ace or King, you're probably in the lead. However, if that flop contains one
of your cards and two or three sequenced or suited cards, you could very well be
in trouble. What do you do in this situation? To bet or not to bet, that is the
question. A bet ought to eliminate anyone the flop hasn't helped, but it
certainly won't chase out someone who is drawing to a better hand than yours. If
the board is three-sequenced or suited, your opponent may already have made his
hand, and he is simply waiting until the turn to check-raise.
Moreover, if you power-raised before the flop, anyone holding second or bottom
pair who called your initial raise (and now has two bets invested in his hand)
may be tied in to it. While he might have tossed his hand away for a single bet
if he hadn't previously called your raise, he may now be married to it. Thus
committed, there is always the chance he will draw out on you by making trips or
two pair on the turn or the river.
What About Limping In With Ace-King?
What if you simply limp-in before the flop with Big Slick in late position? If the flop contains an ace or king and nothing else threatening, you can bet when it gets around to you or raise if there is a bet in front of you. That will certainly chase out all those who hold lesser hands, but might otherwise have stayed to draw out on you. However, if a connected or suited flop is present, anyone with a big draw is still likely to play.
What if you're holding Big Slick in early position, or in late position when no other players are active except the blinds? Raising will certainly knock out anyone who might have considered taking the flop with a marginal holding but now has to cold-call a double bet. One or both of the blinds are likely to fold too, unless they hold a premium hand or suspect you of being on a steal. If you quietly limp in from late position with Big Slick, you've given no clues about the quality of your hand. While this doesn't get any more money into the pot and allows weaker hands to play against you, it provides plenty of deception when the flop is favorable.
|
Fair Poker Bonus Code: paris (50% up to 500 $) |
Anytime the flop contains an ace or a king, you have to assume you're in the lead, particularly if you're up against only one (or even both) of the blinds. If the flop is ragged, however, you'll simply never know where you are relative to the blinds. Since the blinds can be expected to hold anything in an unraised pot, they are just as likely to be helped by a flop containing three rags as three big cards. This is particularly true for the big blind, who is getting a free play in an unraised pot. If rags flop and one of the blinds bets, you can toss your hand away unless you suspect your opponent of bluffing.
The philosophy behind just calling with Big Slick is this: Although a powerful
holding, Ace-King is still a drawing hand. Given the fact that most of the time
you're probably not going to like the flop, it is cheaper to see the flop and
play appropriately from there. Why is the flop so critical? Simple. Before the
flop you've seen only two cards. After the flop more than 70 percent of your
hand has been defined. Moreover, because the majority of players raise with Big
Slick, by limping in you are creating deception in the minds of your opponents.
If you're in the kind of game where players routinely limp-in with hands like Ace-Five, or King-Nine and subsequently bet out if an ace or king flops, you are in position to raise them because you only called with Big Slick. Had you raised before the flop, those same players who limped in with no-kicker hands would probably not come out betting when a big card flopped - since they are likely to fear that the raiser has top pair with a better kicker.
|
Tony G Poker Bonus Code: POKERBLUFF |
Yet if everyone stopped raising before the flop with Big Slick, and simply limped in, you would lose the deception factor associated with making that play. But as long as players routinely raise with Big Slick, you can incorporate some deception into your game by limping in, taking the flop, then speeding up when the flop proves favorable.
Reasons to Raise With Big Slick
Why fire in a power raise with Big Slick, since by doing so you're announcing
that you have a big hand? Here's the conventional wisdom side of the debate. If
you raise with Big Slick and you're able to thin the field, you can generally
take control of the play on the flop. If the flop, for example, comes
Queen-Seven-Four and one of the blinds checks with a hand like Four-Five, your
bet might cause him to fold the best hand. Because you raised before the flop,
he has to put you on something. You could have raised with a pair of Tens
through Aces - as well as with Ace-King. If you had raised with a big pair, your
opponent is a real long shot to draw out on you.
When you examine the flop and are trying to determine if it helped anyone, you need to be very aware of the game's texture. If, for example, you're playing in a game where there are typically very few callers and you suddenly find yourself in a pot with six or seven way action, you can assume your Ace-King is up against some quality draws (Jack-Queen suited) or mid-sized pairs. But if you're dealt Big Slick in a game where nearly every pot has six callers, the calling hands are likely to be weaker. You can probably expect to see hands like King-Nine, Ace-Eight, or worse at the showdown. When you're in a game like this and make two pair, you are hoping that your opponents also make two pair. If the board shows Ace-King-Eight when you're holding Big Slick and your opponent has Ace-Eight, you'll get all the action you want - and you'll love it!
How Should You Play Big Slick?
Now that you've seen both sides of the argument, what should you do? Do you raise with Big Slick or simply limp-in. Do you try to take control of the hand on the flop - regardless of what might fall - or quietly call while simultaneously setting yourself up to raise your opponents if the flop is favorable to you? How should you play it?
I find some merit in each of these somewhat conflicting strategies. My own inclination is to limp-in with Big Slick if I'm in late position and three or more players have called the blinds in front of me. With four players already active, I'm going to assume the flop will help someone. If that someone is me, I'm going to raise anybody who comes out betting on the flop - unless, of course, the board is three-sequenced or three-suited. In that case, I'll just call if my ace gives me four to the nut flush and hope to raise on the turn or river. If I've got the wrong ace, I may raise anyway, to try and get heads up with the bettor and steal it on the turn. If I don't raise, I'm usually going to toss my hand away.
On the other hand, if only the blinds are active, or if I'm up against the blinds and only one caller, I'll usually raise. If the flop is favorable, I will have gotten more money in the pot. If I miss the flop, I still have an opportunity to bet out and steal the pot. In this situation, I'll usually play the same way regardless of whether my hand is suited or not.
Two diametrically opposed strategic approaches to the same situation leads to the obvious question: Which one is correct? I'm not altogether certain, but I believe that conventional wisdom is correct most of the time. Nevertheless, the choice of which strategy to employ depends in part on the texture of the game, how many aggressive players are at the table, and how much control you can exert over the your opponents when you raise.
While I see merit on both sides and my own inclination leans in the direction of the conventional wisdom, I believe many of my opponents overplay A-K. They see Big Slick as a premium hand. I see it as a premium drawing hand. Because of that, I don't put it in the must-raise category. I also believe a mixed strategy is proper - sometime calling, sometimes raising, depending on position, the number of active players when it's your turn to act, and the texture of the game.
|
|
