Ever folded pocket aces after the flop? It’s possible, especially if your flop is straight or something like a K, K and J. But still such a card at your hand could prove to be a crucial difference at the showdown. So can you really do it? Your post-flop betting really tells about your game.

Dennis Philips did it. Not once in the 2008 World Series of Poker, in which he finished third, but twice. Not only that, but he won a $200 double shootout satellite at Harrah’s Casino in his native St. Louis, and bargained that into a $4.3 Million payoff for his third place finish in the main event. That is but one incident to quote of someone doing that.
Aces are usually favorites to be held pre-flop, but it’s very dramatic how the turn card can make you change your mind about your hand. If you get to keep pocket aces with a flop of say, K, K and J, and your opponents beats your hand, it is because of only one possible reason. The hand of your opponent is simply better than yours. You just have to learn to part yourselves with those aces.

Nothing will really go wrong if you stick to the basics and the objective of the game of poker, and stop trying things in a grand but superficial manner. Slow and steady wins the race, at least ensures your survival out there at the poker table. You have to realize that the game is larger than winning a hand, or a particular bet. It is true that sometimes a not so bad hand urges you to pursue a heavy pot, especially when you have followed the raises a little too far. It’s always better to withdraw when you really should.

One of the greatest mistakes you can make while playing poker is to unduly commit yourself to a hand. It can prove devastating to your game in the long run, especially in the tournaments.  And if you get to play the World Series, you will have to spend the most of hours that you are awake playing poker for ass long as a week against top quality competitors, and if you start to engage yourself to hands that appear good but really are not, you should pack your bags soon enough.

It’s always important to learn from your mistakes… in your life, and also in poker. And there is hardly a poker player who has never experienced what we are talking about here. Yes everyone is tempted at some point. But many of the good poker players realize the importance of not sticking unduly to one hand, but move wisely. In fact many of the players make more folds than plays. There is nothing really wrong about that if it keeps you in the game. Besides, there is a lot that you can do between hands when you have folded. You could recall all your moves and analyze what you have been doing in the game. You could assess the categories of the players around the table in your mind and try to formulate your strategies for them and how to beat them if you are heads up against any one of them. Make notes of the play, and if you cannot think of anything better, socialize with the players if you like.
There is no doubt it feels great when you develop a straight hand out of your flop. But don’t rely on it every time. Say you get two suited cards on the flop, and great you got another on the turn, you get excited, you raise the bet. But wait, your opponent calls.

You still love what you’re holding, you say to yourself that your opponent may be bluffing and the next time your opponent is making a raise when you realize that your opponent may be holding something more monstrous than you imagined and your excitement ended in a lost pot. It doesn’t hurt to make a fold that makes you feel bad than to make a quixotic call that makes you feel worse. Try making such moves in a tournament and you’ll be knocked out before you know it. So know when to pull out.