Folding Pocket Aces??

[Sheepodog]

Hi! Has anyone ever folded pocket aces? I never thought I'd be in a situation where I'd do that, but it finally happened! I was playing the Quickdraw freerolls at Doyles last week...the blinds go up every 2 minutes...and there were around 50 players left, blinds were HUGE!!..I was on the button with a stack that wouldn't get thru the next round of blinds when I got AA. 2 players in the blinds were all in, and 2 others called, also all in. I thought about it...and folded!! As it tuns out I'd have won the hand, but the point is, by folding I guarranteed myself a huge jump in the standings, which is exactly what happened. By the time the blinds got back to me, I was at the final table. I got lucky, and eventually won, not thru skill but pure luck! was an all in slugfest because of the size of the blinds!

[Fonzi]

I see why you folded them, but there's no way I would fold pocket aces preflop.

[YellowRoses]

I'm with you Fonzi especially in the postion you were in Sheepodog.

[targetguy1]

i would of never folded aa preflop. i am in a tournament to win the thing. with that many people all in how can you not call that. but then again i do bubble a lot of tournys but i never fold aa preflop. there has to be a law against that. good thing you had luck on your side anyways and won the thing. nice win

[KeepBlinkin]

You Were Really Lucky!! Folding Pair Of Aa Preflop?? No Way!! :d

[CactusJack]

You did right sheepodog.

The only time I would fold pocket aces is when you are near a bubble or making a cash decision and your stack is shy.

Sometimes it's better to coast to a better position 3-5 deep than risk it and win nothing or little. When you fold a hand and say oh well there will be another, the same goes with a tourney, oh well there will be another and settle for the sure cash to boost your bankroll.

If you have a big stack, then yes go for it.

You keep shooting for the moon, it'll bite more than it helps.

Since so many was in the pot, your odds dropped tremendously. We have to remember a pair doesn't always win.

You see this mentality alot, especially with Ace anything. You think this type player has never had a straight or better.

I can show you many quotes from pro's that share the same thoughts on tourney finishes. Almost every poker book I picked up agrees.

[NobleTruths]

I am always amazed at the number of players who stress they would never fold AA no matter what. And I am always amazed at the responses I get when I say I have no problem folding AA preflop. Against one opponent, you are 80% favorite most of the time. Against two, it drops into the 70's. Against three, 60's to 70's. Against four, 50's to 60's.....and even as low as 36% (You have AhAc, they have KhKc, 9s8s, 5d4d, 2s2h.....sure, this is a silly group to go all-in preflop, but hey....). If you are willing to let your tourney ride on ONE hand, then go for it. I figure I am better than one hand, that I can MORE than make up for it by playing wisely on a series of hands. AA is, after all, just one pair.

Now, the mostly likely time I would fold preflop would be near the bubble against multiple opponents when I am short stacked (especially if it was clear that someone was going to be knocked out in that hand, and the bubble was guaranteed to burst). It is FAR better to make the money and get your buy-in back than to go home empty handed.

Now how about this......you are in the WSOP Main Event. Very first hand, you have AA on the button. The table has gone crazy and everyone is all-in (except SB and BB, of course....but they are crazy too, you can see it in their eyes, lol). If you call and win, you will 10X up (whatever the term for that is, lol). If you lose, you will not become a multi-millionaire. My odds calculator wont let me run 10 player, so I have no idea what the percentages could be.....but lets say you have a 35% chance of winning. Do you call and risk it, or do you fold and live to keep on building your stack in a more controlled fashion?

[Fonzi]

I call and put my tournament on the line.

Here's why...

The Main Event is a crap shoot, to get to the final table you will have to play for 2 weeks and hope that you don't get sucked out on, etc. If I have a chance to build a massive chip lead early on, I will take it in a heartbeat. If I fold I will probably have a player with a massive lead sitting at my table and pushing me off hands.

Now, if I'm on the bubble and I'm put allin, I think I fold, unless the player is super aggressive and I think he may be bluffing.

My strategy for a big tournament is basically the same as if I'm playing a freeroll. I try to build my chips early or go and do something else. I've been in the position where I play for 3 days straight and end up with nothing but a sore ass. So it's go big or go home for me. I'm not saying I play stupid poker, but again if I'm put allin early and I hold AA, I call 100% of the time.

[KeepBlinkin]

its interesting your answer fonzi... i think you are right.. must of the time there is this bully who doesnt let you play as you want to play... so getting early chips on the tournament give's you a little advantage!

[rrauwl]

Originally Posted by Sheepodog

Hi! Has anyone ever folded pocket aces? I never thought I'd be in a situation where I'd do that, but it finally happened! I was playing the Quickdraw freerolls at Doyles last week...the blinds go up every 2 minutes...and there were around 50 players left, blinds were HUGE!!..I was on the button with a stack that wouldn't get thru the next round of blinds when I got AA. 2 players in the blinds were all in, and 2 others called, also all in. I thought about it...and folded!! As it tuns out I'd have won the hand, but the point is, by folding I guarranteed myself a huge jump in the standings, which is exactly what happened. By the time the blinds got back to me, I was at the final table. I got lucky, and eventually won, not thru skill but pure luck! was an all in slugfest because of the size of the blinds!

This is actually a calculation of your expected outcome. The rule of thumb is, it's almost never worth it to fold pocket aces pre-flop. Example:

Pre flop, your AA is up against the following hands: KK, AK suited, JT suited and QT suited. Your odds of winning this pot, believe it or not, is about 60 percent! Now do some quick mental calculations of how likely you are to move up in ranks with such a huge stack, VS you playing it safe and being much more likely to bust out with just a small reward for your effort.

There are VERY few situations where folding pocket aces is clearly the right move. The prize structure has to be crazily top heavy where the bubble means a LOT of money, or crazily even across the board... and that's almost never the case.

Congrats on the results though!

Bill