Saturday, February 28, 2009

This is the Big Slick

By Dave Houston

When we talk about the big slick, we mean one thing, Play it aggressively! It is undeniably powerful hand that has an Ace and a King. Regardless, of its immense strength, we could still see players that actually lose their full stack with these two cards. It's that bogus opinions that a hand is unbeatable, causing players to lose all their chips, just to see the pot being taken away before their eyes by an inferior hand.

This is where the game becomes a play of luck, is this truly what you want? I'm absolutely certain that you wouldn't want that feeling of uncertainty while you play. What I do is, I strive as hard as I can to eliminate luck out of my way as I play poker, as much as I can. Remember that you are the captain of your ship, if you will it to be that way then you decide if you win or lose the game. Simple as that!

The first question that comes to your mind is "So how do I play Big Slick?" the answer again is straightforward: avoid recklessness and yet retain that aggressive aura in your game. Here is an example of how these things are handled properly.

While playing in a $1-2 no limit game, a couple of years while I stayed east, I wanted try out some tricks that I've thought of. Peter, third person to take steps before the flop, whom made a raise of $10 to play. I was dealt with a monster and was immediately right of the bottom. While the action is on me and my AK of diamonds, two of my other opponents call the bet. In contrast with other players, I was certain to locate where I'm at in the hand; which is a good thing. So What I did was challenged Peter to see how strong he actually is. I re-raise it by $40 to play.

Why re-raise? The reason for re-raising is that it will give you a feel as to where you stand next to your opponents. This gives you an idea of what your opponents are really holding. Meaning, it gives you a more precise read on the other players! Let say your opponent calls, then it only means that you most likely have the best hand at the table. Assuming that one of them is sitting on a very strong hand, they would almost certainly go back with an even larger raise or say, an all-in. It is extremely important to re-raise, the rationale for this is that you would find out where you're at in a hand. Another reason is to have power over the course of betting.

Having the one to raise the preflop means my opponents are rather expected to confirm me on the flop. Strong players resolve to follow up a pre-flop raise through a post-flop raise. This gives me a big advantage, even if it takes not hitting an Ace or King on the flop. The only player to call my pre-flop was Peter who re-raise for $40. But it doesn't matter what hits as I've gotten myself in a good position to win this game after the flop.

Peter is pretty much clueless of what I'm holding, A-K. As expected Peter checks, this is where the aggressive style comes to play! I can now stand for the wired pair with a $50 bet. As I rake in a nice pot with my Ace high, Peter is left with mucks in his hand.

Remember, to get out of the hand if needed, you have to re-raise prior to the flop. As this is a way to have the chance again to get out. If Peter had come back over the top of me by a big bet or an all-in, then for sure, it would have been me that was left with mucks in my hand.

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