You have AA

Hey CU! Glad to see you took me up on my invitation and I hope to see you in the weekly tourneys. Welcome aboard!!

Thanks for the compliment knighty, I am sure to see you in some tournys in the future.

Doyle Brunson once said "ppA's will either win many small pots or lose really big ones". Well something close to that effect. Anyway, slow playing ppA's is all about the style of the players at the table. Personally I want heads-up on a player so I will bet it aggressively preflop to run out the suited connectors, small pp's, etc. Hopefully a ppJ's, ppQ's, pp10's, ppK's are out there and they will call or even raise you. Don't go all-in yet unless they press it to that point.
Take a look at the flop, nothing scary push it. If they fold so what you have your money.
There other factors but thats the simple version of my play with ppA's.

Kash

I FINALLY got it through my thick skull to quit slow playing AA. What did it take to teach me? Actually, it took my slow playing of JJ (it appeared to be slow playing to the others at the table) to grind it in.

I called a routine bet from a guy, the latter being in early position, with me being in mid-position. Note that he didn't raise, he just bet. With pocket Js, I wanted to see what the flop looked like. Lo and behold, the flop came J-7-8. 'Mr. Routine Bet' went ALL-IN. Needless to say, I was taken back a bit for a second (but only a second) and put him on a matching set or one of the lowers cards. One thing was certain, I was going to play!

With us being the only two left in the pot, the cards were revealed and he had AA. He uttered something along the lines of ^&*%$ and went out looking for another tourney.

BTW....that was the very first hand of that match.

To play AA it helps to know what kind of action you are going to get at the table. If raising is going on I limp in early and raise a raise (usually raise double their raise). On a tight table or a limp in table I like to raise 4x the blinds and on a loose table raise a lot more.

From what other people have said before, the key is to get a lot of other hands out and if the flop is nice the pot should be enough to push in...otherwise be ready to fold on a big bet. Other players will probably put you on AA or AK and only bet big if they know they have you beat so watch out for a bit bet from opponents.

Excellent points! I think I like your reply the best. Gauge your table first. That is if you can get a chance to warm your seat up before you get creamed.

__________________
If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone.

In reply to your Aces question: once past the thrill/misery of holding A's I would answer (again depending) this way: I want my opponent (and not more than one if possible) to be just short of being pot committed (give him the out of folding). Since you stipulated the beginning of a tourney and UTG my raise (and I will raise) would be a size approx. half of my largest opponent's chip total. If I get a call, consideration of the flop is paramount. If I do not get a call - fine. And the reason for this flippant answer is actually quite simple in its complexity - NO tournament is won in the first two hours. There will be situations to come that will offer better value for my chips.
Again, nothing is written in stone. Maybe a cheap call, maybe a small raise, maybe a fold (a touch of humour).

I like what a couple of others have said, I usually will raise by about 1/3 or 1/2 of my stack - if this is early enough that everyone has virtually the same amount. The post specified that "you have 1,500 cj=hips in the first 20 minutes". So I would probably bet about 400-750. If you only call and several players limp in, you are subject to having two low cards pair and beat you or catch a flush or straight draw. If you raise too much, you can either get (1) no callers and only win the blinds or (2) get called and no matter what the other player(s) call with, you are certainly no lock to win and could be quickly crippled. If you raise enough to make all but maybe 1 or 2 other good hands fold, at least when the flop comes you have some idea where you stand. You really would prefer only one caller.

Of course, the best scenario is when someone else raises a bunch before you and you are holding A-A. Then I will usually go all-in. Of course what can happen in (2) above can still happen, but I am really hoping the other person will fold.

OK here's a good example of why many people think slowplaying A-A is a mistake. I just got Ko'ed yet again from a tourney so this is fresh in my mind, boy lately I just cannot get any cards early in tourneys but that's another story...

Here's the situation, it's early enough in the tourney to approximate the original post of having 1,500 in chips in the first 20 minutes:

I am in the little blind with about 1,100 in chips. I am dealt A-K. Ironically, it's the third A-K I've had already...and on the other two an A or K never came out. One player calls, in seat 4 I think (I am using myself as seat 1). The player in seat 7 (2 off the button) makes it 60. Seat 8 calls and I call (I love calling for this amount with what I am holding and what my stack is). Big blind folds. Seat 4 calls.

The flop comes out K-J-8 rainbow. Great for me, I have top pair, top kicker. Finally I have caught top pair, top kicker on the flop while holding A-K! For some reason though I check. Maybe it's cause with two face cards out I am hoping someone else will bet, and then I can either call, still disguising my hand, while planning to raise later, or I might raise right then and there.

Seat 4 also checks to seat 7, the original raiser. He has about 1,800 in chips and bets 210. Whoa. But then the player in seat 8, with about 1,200 in chips, raises it to 560. I might have called seat 7, but now I am definitely folding (a few months ago I might have stubbornly and stupidly called, btw). Right now I am putting both of them on either K-K, J-J, K-J, 8-8 or at the very least K-8 or J-8, all of which beat me of course. The player in seat 4 folds, and the player in seat 7 reraises to somewhere in the 800's. Seat 8 goes all in. Seat 7 calls, leaving him with about 600 or so.

Remember the flop was K-J-8.

Seat 7 has A-A.

Seat 8 has K-J.

Nothing else comes out on the turn or river and seat 8 takes home a healthy pot while Seat 7 with his A-A is now crippled.

After taking the time to replay this hand, here are the NUMEROUS mistakes I think Seat 7 made, I would like to know what you guys think...

1) With the blinds 15/30 he only made it 60, a one bet raise. There are still four players to act after him, plus one player already bet 30 and will definitely at least call. I'm guessing the bb might call 50% of the time. Anyway, Seat 7 ends up with three callers, something you definitely don't want to see holding A-A, right?

2) Then facing three other players (granted two of which have already checked) he bet almost the size of the pot (210 with a pot of 270) after a flop that probably helped at least one of the three callers. Two face cards out with three other players, he can easily be going up against 2 pair (which in fact he was). What I might have done (and I would appreciate feedback on this) is bet about 100, maybe everyone will then fold. Still not a big pot but at least you have won it. If one or more players call I know I might be in trouble. But I might be up against a chaser and still can win. If anyone raises then I should probably muck the hand - another thing a few months ago I would not even think of doing with A-A.

3) When Seat 8 reraised to 560, right then and there Seat 7 should have folded unless he was suspecting a bluff. Nothing prior to this hand indicated Seat 8 was that type of player. The game had been VERY tight, I don't think there had been even one 100 chip or larger bet. Instead, Seat 7 reraised to somewhere in the 800's. That was dumb cause Seat 8 is definitely not folding now at this point, a call by him only leaves him with a few hundred, he's definitely going all in now.

Let's go back to what might have happened if Seat 7 had made it about 200 or so to call before the flop. Seat 8 should fold, though who knows, he might call with K-J, unlikely though. I should fold, but at this point I will probably call, having no luck so far with A-K and so far not having won a hand. Seat 4, who bet 30, will probably fold, I have no idea what he was holding. Assume everyone folds, OK he picks up 75 chips, not much at all but not a loss.

But if I call 200, then on a flop of K-J-8 with me holding A-K, heads-up I almost certainly will throw a bet at Seat 7, just what he wants. Not only am I a dog, I am in terrible shape, only a K will help me now. Perfect situation for Seat 7. But I don't know that. If I bet he should just call (right?). If I check and he bets say, another 200, I am at least calling, probably raising and he's got me trapped big time. He can reraise right there or let me twist in the wind for more chips.

Seat 7's biggest mistake before the flop was not betting his A-A hard enough.

Seat 7's biggest mistake after the flop was not laying down a good hand, which is one of the marks of a good player - I have read that among other places, right here in this forum!

What do you guys think?