How to Play High Pairs in Poker

It is always great to see a big pocket pair like AA, KK or QQ when you look down at your hole cards in Texas Holdem. These top 3 pocket pairs are the best possible hands you can be dealt before the flop, and so you should expect to make a hefty amount of money from them throughout your poker-playing career. However, if you are not careful with these big pairs and if you do not exercise good strategy with them, these types of cards can easily lose you money when not play them correctly.

One of the biggest mistakes novice players make when playing big pairs is that they tend to slow play them at every opportunity. Whilst it may be a good idea to play very strong hands on the odd occasion in poker, it is far too early to start slow playing a hand before the flop and by doing so you will just be allowing your opponents to improve on the flop and on future streets. Therefore whenever you are dealt a big pocket pair you should almost always raise before the flop to thin out the number of opponents and build the pot to increase the amount of money that you can win.

Now although AA, KK and QQ have been lumped into the same category here, I am going to split these hands up into two, and give a few basic strategy tips whilst playing them. I will firstly go through a good strategy for AA, and then I will go through tips on how to play KK and QQ well. The KK and QQ have been grouped together due to the fact that there is the possibility that over cards can appear on the flop, whereas this is not possible whilst holding AA. So let’s move onto the strategy for each of these hands…

With a hand like AA, you always want to be looking to raise or re-raise before the flop. It is never good Texas Holdem strategy with AA to limp or simply call a raise because you are missing the opportunity to get more money into the pot with the best hand, and you are giving weaker hands the opportunity to overtake you on the flop. You shouldn’t be worried about the fact that players might fold and you win the pot uncontested at this point, as it is always better to win a small pot than lose a big one.

After the flop you should again look to keep the action flowing by betting and raising. You do not want to give anyone the correct odds to call for any straights, flushes or drawing hands at this point, so make sure you put them to a tough decision for their chips. However, there could be the possibility that one of your opponents has made a better hand than you on the flop, and so you should always be aware of the fact that you may no longer hold the best hand. But in spite of this, you will normally still be ahead and so you should continue to build the pot unless you have reason to believe otherwise.

When playing hands like KK and QQ, you should again be looking to bet and raise before the flop. It is very rare to come up against a better hand before the flop when holding either of these hands, so be happy to be betting and raising to reduce the number of players that will be joining you to see a flop. Many players say that you should never fold KK before the flop because by doing so you are losing money in the long run, and I have to say that I agree. You especially want to be limiting the number of players that you are up against with either of these hands because of the fact that opponents can easily make a better hand than you be hitting an over card like an Aces to make a bigger pair.

Now on the flop you will be in one of two situations; you will either be facing over cards or you won’t. If there are no over cards on the flop, you should continue to play the hand like you would do if you were holding aces, as both situations are quite similar. However, playing a big pocket pair when there are over cards on the board can be a little tricky. A good way to play is to bet like you feel you still have the best hand, and then evaluate where you stand after your opponent responds. It is unlikely that you will be winning a big pot any more in this situation, and if the pot does get big it is likely that you will be on the losing end. So be prepared to let the hand go if you come up against a lot of action.

On the final few streets with big pairs you should continue to build the pot unless you are quite sure that you are no longer ahead. If you haven’t improved by the turn or the river, you should remember that you still only hold 1 pair, which is by no means a monster hand. It is important to never get ‘married to the hand’ when you have a big pair, as they are by no means invincible. Always consider the possibility that your opponent could have a better hand than you if they are also playing aggressively by betting and raising too. It is not easy to lay down a big pair, but you have to learn to do so when you genuinely believe that you no longer hold the winning hand.

Reasons to Play Blackjack

Blackjack is by far the most popular table game at online casinos. The reason for this is that if blackjack is played to a correct strategy, the house edge is less than one percent. This is the lowest house edge of any table game. However, most casinos plan based on a house edge of around two per cent. This is simply because they know that most people will not play a correct strategy. Many players give the house a massive advantage by playing erratically ("I know the blackjack has to come right now!"). So, betting decisions made by the player actually affect the advantage that the house holds. In games like roulette, the house edge is 5.26%. Each spin is a completely independent event. The house edge therefore does not change, and cannot be influenced by the player.

In blackjack, events are dependent. This is because as each card is drawn, the possible outcome of future draws change, as the deck has changes. The more big cards remain in the deck, the more the player is favoured. Advantage constantly shifts back and forth between the player and the dealer. Herein lays the basis of card counting. Successful card counters know when the odds favour them, but card counting is a subject all on its own. The issue is that you do not need to be a card counter to bring the house edge down to near one percent.

A mathematical strategy is possible because the dealer and the player are constrained to a set of rules. Basic blackjack strategy has been known for years and many simulations have been run by experts to devise a strategy. With a basic strategy, the player will decide the action to take based on the exposed cards. This will involve hitting or standing on that basis.

In blackjack you want to beat the dealer and get as close as possible to 21. As the player always acts first, you want to sometimes stand on a lower hand in the hope that the dealer will draw a card that will result in a bust. Even if the dealers bust, players who have already bust always lose. Therefore, players have to learn how to play a hand correctly to insure the best outcome based on the mathematically correct strategy.

Blackjack is fun and allows for a correct mathematical strategy, and it is not hard to learn. The great thing about online blackjack is that you can play with the strategy chart right next to you, and make correct decisions on that basis.