How To Play Ace Queen
Suited or unsuited, early or
late position - Ace
Queen is a superior starting
hand best played in a tight and aggressive
fashion. One of the unique characteristics of a
high and unpaired hand such as ace queen is that
it sometimes has the ability to hold up against
few players without improving. Additionally, a
hand such as ace queen possesses the ability to
cause a better hand to fold. By playing ace
queen the tight aggressive way, you will see
your profit margins increase with this hand by
taking advantage of the starting hand’s
strengths.
Deciding How Much to Raise
Pre-flop with Ace Queen
As a tight aggressive player,
you should raise preflop when you have ace-queen
in most cases. You need to consider position and
stack sizes for both you and your likely
opposition. Venture an educated guess as to how
many players you expect to get a call from, as
it is important to think your hand through prior
to acting.
Before deciding how much to
raise, we must consider the following:
- What is the average
preflop raise at this table?
- What has my average raise
looked like during the course of this
session?
- Is there a
"live player"
at the table and if so, how do I best get
his attention in this hand?
- What kind of players are
at my table (tight, loose, passive,
aggressive)?
When playing this hand out,
let us assume we are playing 1-2 no limit Texas
Holdem, and we have the maximum buy-in of $200
in front of us. We will also assume that the
table is made up of a variety of playing styles
as well as skill levels. Additionally, the
average raise for this table is between $6-10,
and our average raise is anywhere from $6 to
$12.
Consider the Possible Flops
and Post-flop Actions with Ace Queen
Statistically, the most likely
situation after the flop is that we flop over
cards. The odds of making a pair or better for
us are roughly 3.5 to 1. The odds of flopping a
pair or better (ace or queen) is approximately
one in six. This means that most flops will
result in our having overcards to the board.
Because this is most likely case, we want to
plan for this and adjust our plan as the flop
and circumstances dictate. Considering we are
tight aggressive poker players, we will be
expected to make a continuation bet if we are
the preflop raiser. While the flop may dictate
how much we bet, it will not change the fact
that more often than not, we will be the flop
after raising preflop.
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That being said, we will take
the following actions based on the following
scenarios:
Scenario 1: Small with
Ace-Queen unsuited one Raiser, one caller
Middle position raises to $8
and the button calls. Middle position is a tight
and semi-aggressive player who can lay down a
hand. The button is a loose player who takes
many flops and gets more active as the hand
progresses. We could call here, but are out of
position to both the raiser and the button.
Additionally, the button is a loose cannon and
we would love the opportunity to go heads up
with him. The raiser may likely fold if he we
raise and he does not have a superior holding.
It is possible he raised to open the pot. We
decide to re-raise, making it $20. The raiser
folds and the button calls.
The pot contains $48, our
stack is $184. The flop comes 6-7-10 with a club
draw on the board. This flop did not help us,
but we do have two overcards and a back door nut
club flush draw. Checking will induce a bet from
the button. Betting may constitute a raise from
the button, given this board. We decide to
check. The button bets $25, which is roughly
half the pot. We are not yet ready to raise and
commit to our hand, given the board. We decide
to call and intend to make a move starting on
the turn.
The pot now contains nearly
$100, while our stack contains $159. The turn
card is a 9 of clubs. The good news is that we
now have an ace high flush draw with one card to
come. If we check, the button will bet. He could
be bluffing, or he could have a piece of that
flop. Checking will tell us nothing about his
hand. If we bet here, we will put the bigger
decision on him, while making it easier in the
event he raises. We decide to bet half the pot
with the plan of shoving all-in on the river
regardless of the card. Additionally, should he
move all-in now, we are already committed and
must call, in hopes that either our ace high is
good or that we hit our flush on the river.
The bet of $50 meets a raise
of all-in. Again, we have committed to the pot
against this loose player. As a result, we make
the call. The river presents a blank. However,
we take down the pot, as the button was making a
move with ace - jack. Our queen kicker takes
down the massive pot, holding up unimproved.
Scenario 2 Cutoff with Ace
Queen Suited
Three limpers enter the pot
and we are in the cutoff position with Ace -
Queen of hearts. We decide to raise to $12, to
both thin the field and possibly to pick up some
blinds. We end up with a lone player. With a $30
pot, the board comes King - Seven - Nine
rainbowed. We totally missed. While we may have
missed, the middle position player, a tight and
somewhat aggressive player may also have missed,
given his check. We bet $25. The opponent folds.
As you can see, ace queen has
the ability to extract value by causing hands to
fold, and plays well without improving. By
playing ace queen in a tight aggressive manner,
you stand the best chance of playing optimally
and turning a profit during your online poker
session.
Practicing
and playing your new found poker strategy is key
to improving your poker game. You can do that by playing
and practicing for free or
real money in any of our recommended online
poker rooms.
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