Poker News

George Epstein

You heard me right. . . There may be times you really want to lose the pot. How is that possible?

Pocket Aces “Cracked”: Some casinos have introduced a bonus in hold’em games: If you start with pocket aces, A-A, and they are beaten - “cracked” - the casino will give you a”reward.” For example, it could be a rack of $1 chips (or $100 in cash) - more or less depending on the casino and the game limits. There are restrictions: It must happen during certain specified (posted) hours and you must show the hand at the end. (Don’t make the mistake I saw at the Normandie Casino when someone mucked pocket aces after an opponent showed a small set on the river.)

If you play much poker, there will be times when you look down at your hole cards and peek at A-A, pocket aces. (It will happen only one hand out of 221 hands on the average. That’s less than 0.5 percent.) A-A is the best starting hand you could hope for. No one can have a higher hand pre-flop. It’s the ultimate “made” hand, often winning the pot even without improving. With A-A, unless you are purposely trying to keep opponents in the pot, usually you should raise and play it aggressively.

The bonus rules vary somewhat from one casino to another. The bonus amount may depend on the game limits. Let’s say you are in a $4 - $8 hold’em game and the bonus is $100. You have A-A and the time is within the specified period for the bonus. Do you think you could win more than $100 if your A-A holds up or improves? The pot must have over $100 after you subtract the amount you had put into it; your winnings are the net amount. In$4 - $8 and lower-limit games (which are the most popular in casinos), it is unusual to have that much in the pot at the showdown - unless there is a lot of raising and loose play. In a $4 - $8 game, there would have to be the equivalent of 13 big bets, not including yours. It could happen if five or more players went all the way, or if there were a lot of raises. Unless you think that such a huge pot is likely, consider playing to lose with your pocket aces. . . What’s the texture of the table? An “aggressive table” may not be appropriate to play for the bonus. A “passive table” would be ideal. If there is more than one raise preflop and more than four opponents calling, play to win the pot. Otherwise, “earning” the bonus may be the way to go. . .

How to Play It: Having decided to play to “earn” the bonus, what’s the best way? Certainly, the more opponents staying in to see the flop, the more likely one of them will catch the cards to beat your A-A. By all means, do not raise to force out opponents - to reduce the size of the playing field, RSPF. And, certainly, don’t sweeten the pot if you aren’t going to win it. . . Just check; call all bets - and don’t raise. If the pot is small, that means your investment also was small. You’ll have that much more $$$ when you get your $100 bonus if/when your pocket aces are cracked!

However, if another ace falls on the board, then change gears and try to build the pot you are most likely to win.

Advice: Before you sit down to play, check on the casino’s policy and rules on a bonus for pocket-aces-cracked. . . . So readers, what’s YOUR opinion?

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