How to Play of Pocket Aces on the Flop, Turn and River

This poker strategy article is the second in a two part series on how to play pocket aces. If you haven't already I recommend that you read Playing Pocket Aces Pre-flop.

Ok, now we are going to learn how to play pocket aces from the flop through to showdown.

Possible Flops and Post-flop Actions with Pocket Aces

We know that the most likely situation is that we will flop an over pair. We start with the intentions of making a continuation bet regardless of the flop. The flop can dictate how much we bet on the flop, but will not change the fact that the most correct action is to put in a continuation bet. That being said, we will take the following actions based on the corresponding flops:

Pocket Aces Scenario 1

Four handed and early position $40 pot with a flop of uncoordinated rags. In this instance we flopped an over pair. We can comfortably make a bet between three-quarters to pot sized in most cases so we want to bet anywhere from $30 to $40 here. While not the most ideal money making flop for aces, loose players who have flopped top pair with a high kicker will tend to call here. Additionally, a player in position with an over pair might be enticed to raise. An opponent who has flopped a set would either smooth call or raise. This flop is good for you in that it is not threatening. The fact that you are likely to continue plays into your favor on a board of rags. It conveys the message you might be on a steal with a hand such as ace-king. Anyone who might be inclined to pay you off will more likely come along for the ride by your betting now than if you wait another street. Therefore, it is best to bet this type of board on the flop.

With a $40 preflop pot, if you get one caller, your pot size is $120. Two callers make the pot $160 -, which assures commitment, with your starting stack of $200. If you have managed to muster three players calling your flop bet, you can comfortably move all-in on the turn, as you will likely get one or more callers due to the pot size alone. With one or two callers, however, you are going to look to get yourself all-in on the turn and river collectively in the best and most efficient manner possible.

Pocket Aces Scenario 2

Three handed, early position and potential flush draw on the board, $30 in the pot. Again, we have flopped an over pair. The pot is smaller and there is a possible flush draw on the board. The flush draw will surely want to come along for the ride, and may even be inclined to raise if we bet the flop, in hopes of buying a free card. An over pair to the board will also want to raise, as he will likely fear the flush draw and want to add value for what he believes to be the best hand. A board such as this is a good board to make money on with pocket aces. Considering the preflop plan was to continue the betting, we can make a continuation bet here of pot to pot and a quarter in size. Over betting the pot in this instance will most likely entice any draws to raise us.

If we encounter a raise, we will either look to reraise moving all-in now or we will call with the intentions of shoving on the turn if the raise has not completely committed our stack when taking into consideration the pot size after the raise. The problem with the slower of the two routes, however, is that checking the turn no longer becomes an option. The possibility exists that a check could induce a bluff, which puts us in a difficult spot in the event the flush card falls. If we were in position, calling a reraise would be more appropriate, so considering we are out of position in this hand, we are best served by betting out 1.25 times the pot, with the intentions of moving all-in if we encounter a raise.

However, should we encounter a caller or multiple callers, we will look at the turn card - planning to make a sizable turn bet if the flush card does not fall. If the flush card falls on the turn, however - we still might have to bet to discourage a bluff from our showing of weakness on a scare card.

Pocket Aces Scenario 3

On the button, 4 callers $40 pot straight draw on the board with two high cards. The flop comes out King, Queen, five and rainbowed. If the players check, we look to make a bet around the size of the pot. We will get action from players who may have flopped two pair, a top pair hand, as well as anyone holding a straight draw such as jack-ten or ace jack. These hands will all likely play ball with us. Being in position and the preflop aggressor, our continuation bet will not yet mean much to the opposition.

If we face a bet prior to acting on the flop, we can comfortably raise as long as the betting player is not to our immediate right. Ideally, we would raise this flop from position when we have a caller in between the bettor and us. That being said, we plan to bet if checked to, call if the player to our right bets, or raise if the bettor has solicited a caller already.

If a player bets out, he will typically bet out three quarters to pot size. The extra caller in between is the difference between raising and calling. An extra caller assures we are pot committed by calling the flop. Additionally, anyone with a similar stack size or smaller will also be committed to the flop. Hence, the best play is to call when there is a bettor and a caller involved. If there is not yet a caller, the pot is not quite large enough to justify commitment yet. We can call with the intentions of taking control of the pot on the turn, where we will have two streets left to get the remaining chips into the center of the pot.

The overall theme with pocket aces is that we are looking to get as much money into the pot as possible. We are at an advantage when holding a hand such as pocket aces, as it is well known that tight aggressive players such as ourselves will more often than not continue on the flop. By playing pocket aces aggressively from any position, we minimize the risk of getting our aces cracked by playing them incorrectly and we maximize the value of this superior starting hand when we pick up the rockets.

Now that you have read how to play pocket aces it is time to put the lessons to use. You can do that by playing for free or real money in any of our recommended online poker rooms.