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ScottVal · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:49 pm Post subject: Premium Hands & Live Cards

I'm wondering if I can get some advice on "live" cards as pertaining to premium hands.

For example, say you have a real good starting hand, like AAK. Obviously the best possible situation is when both cards are completely live (no Aces or Kings showing in other players hands).

Obviously the worst situation is when you see two Aces and three Kings in other hands! Your hand is pretty much worthless and you might as well fold, right? Maybe not, because you still have a shot at Aces up. What do you think?

But what if you see a single Ace in another player's hand? So you still have a single out to trip Aces, and your King is completely live. I'd say the hand is still playable.

What if you see an Ace and a King? Now things look marginal. What do you think?

And what about starting with trips, say AAA, but you see an Ace in another player's hand? You still have a good shot at filling up, but there's no way you can make quad Aces. Still seems like a very playable hand. May even be the best hand unimproved on Seventh Street.

But what about a small set, like 222, that's not live? Will probably need to fill up to be the best on the River. Still seems playable, though.

What do you think?

-Scott

mathman1115 · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:31 am Post subject:

Well, never fold AAA because the other A is dead... Wink

Seriously though, as with anything, it depends.

A hand like AAK, even if a couple aces or kings are dead, is quite strong because it does have straight potential, flush potential if you're two suited, and is not vulnerable to an overcard. The key is to eliminate the field early, especially if some of your cards are dead, as it can win unimproved against one and sometimes 2 opponents. Even with dead cards, the potential for Aces up is still there later in the hand, so continuing to eliminate players on successive streets is key. Moreover, seeing an A or K out there isn't all that bad because that opponent may hang around in the hand hoping to hit the cards you already have.

On the other hand, a hand like QQT needs to have live cards because it certainly will need to improve to win multiway and maybe even heads up, even if there are no higher cards showing. You are now vulnerable to 2 overcards, and even heads up that might be tough to dodge. I'm not saying QQT alone is a weak hand, i'm just saying its max value comes from both eliminating the field and having live cards to improve.

A hand like 222, or even 888 for that matter, looks big when you see it, but still should be played aggressively. Against 1 or 2 opponents, being rolled up has a great chance to win without improvement, which is exaclty what you want. If it does improve that's of course a nice bonus, but you don't want to have to rely on cards.
Many people will slowplay when they are rolled up, and its one of the biggest mistakes you can make (unless maybe your heads up on 4th). Generally, a strong flush or straight draw doesn't develop until 4th or 5th, so if you slowplay you give your opponents a reason to hang around and chase, they may stumble into a strong hand. If you get them to fold crap early, you won't have to worry about it, and at the same time hands you crush will still come a long for the ride. In addition, opponents will not expect you to play a rolled up hand so aggressively, and if you do it with a hand like JJJ or even AAA, they will put you on just the high pair and not trips.

Focus2828 · Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:21 am Post subject:

Everything i was gonna say mathman said it for me, plus sets rolled up are always profitable in the long run and you should be very aggresive, the only time to be careful is when an over pair are showing to your set, as they could have a bigger set than you peace out Laughing

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