Monday, March 2, 2009

Make use of the Big Slick

By Simon Altour

The big slick is actually a hand that contains an Ace and a King. It is beyond doubt that it is a good hand and should be played in an aggressive way. Although for the most part; I see players lose all their full stack with these two cards. It's this false belief that the hand is actually invincible causing players to waste all their chips, only to see the pot being taken down with pocket 5's.

Now the mumbo jumbo starts! This is where the game becomes a play of chance. Try making an effort to put those luck out of your way as it would only distract you while you play. You are the captain of your ship! Keep that in mind, your decision should only imply that should win the game! Or perhaps you would rather want to lose the game. It's really up to you!

An issue that comes to your mind is "So how do I play Big Slick?" the answer once again is simple: avoid recklessness and keep hold of that aggressive feel in your game. Here is a good example of to handle these things correctly.

I was immediately right of the button in a $1-2 no limit game when I was dealt the monster! Peter, one of my opponents, the third person to act before the flop and made a raise of $10 to play. Two of my other opponents call the bet while the action is on me and my AK of diamonds. By this time this is where I was sure to locate where I'm at in the hand, in contrast with other players. So I challenged Peter to see how strong he actually is. I re-raise it by $40 to play.

If you are wondering what the point of the re-raise is; it is because that re-raising gives you an idea of your standing. It gives you an idea of what your opponents are truly holding, a rather accurate read about your opponents. Supposing that one of your opponents made call, what this implies is that you have an excellent hand compared to all of your opponents. Another one is to have the power over the course of betting. It is very necessary to re-raise, because you would find out where you're at in a hand.

Having the one to raise the preflop means my opponents are rather expected to check me on the flop. Strong players resolve to follow up a pre-flop raise through a post-flop raise. This gives me a huge 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.

Now that Peter is pretty much not hint of what awaits him, an A-K by the way, I can start playing a real aggressive approach to my play. As was expected of Peter, he checks. This gave a chance to stand for the wired pair with a $50 bet. And so I raked in a good pot with my Ace high that had caused Peter to be left with mucks on his hand.

The point to the re-raise prior to the flop is basically to get you out of hand. This is if you really need to, that's why it's really important to do so. I would have gotten mucked the hand if only Peter had come back with a bigger bet or an all-in. Always consider re-raising the flop, as you can see it really did it for me.

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