Poker pro Tommy Angelo's reasons for folding pocket aces pre-flop
...And whether you should follow suit!
BECAUSE IT’S THERE! There’s a great American poker player and poker writer called Tommy Angelo and when I heard him banging on about the beauty of folding pocket aces pre-flop I thought he’d finally cracked and would spend the rest of his days playing “Snap” in a Palm Springs sanatorium. It wouldn’t have been a total surprise as I well recall his wife buying him writing lessons at Stanford University when he was going through a particularly bad spell as a professional player. “Maybe you could get rich writing a book about being broke?” she suggested in that common sense way women have of looking at the life of a gambling spouse. My concern for Tommy magnified four fold when he finally explained why he thought it would be a good idea to fold pocket aces pre-flop, by general agreement, the best opening hand in poker? “Because it’s there!” He exclaimed like a latter day conqueror of Everest.
BUT TOMMY’S NO FOOL Angelo recounted bitterly that every time he had attempted to do this dastardly deed the poker warrior within him had failed to allow the folding of the pocket rockets to take place. Failing on no less than five occasions to pre-flop-fold aces Tommy had in each case gone on to lose the hand by the turn or the river. These experiences of course served to compound his obsession. Tommy has estimated that in the one million hands of poker he has played he has received pocket rockets approximately four thousand times and they have let him down one thousand times. Whilst I feel his pain for the one thousand losses I believe the three thousand wins rather confirms the value of ALWAYS playing pocket aces at least as far as the flop. On the flipside, to be the first guy in poker history to fold pocket rockets pre-flop in a major televised tournament is beginning to appeal. It could be a short cut to fame and maybe that big time invite to a private cash game with Doyle at the Bellagio? I’m going to do it! It’s the only way I’ll ever get heads up with Brunson.
TWO TOURNAMENT TIPS 1) In the later stages of an important tournament always try to assess which of your opponents is simply looking to finish “in the money” and which of them is really in there to try to win it outright. Attack the players who are just looking for an “in the money” finish and avoid like the plague the guy who thinks he can win. 2) Even if you have managed to build a powerful stack don’t confront a bully at the table just because you have the funds to do so. That’s an emotional response. You can’t afford it. Only confront if you have a good hunch it’s the right time to do so and you are holding the necessary weapons to win.
