Playing AA preflop after someone raises

This is just for ring games (tourneys are different animal).

'rilla had a similar thread, but I discovered some stuff myself after doing some thinking.

This also applies somewhat to KK, though it is a different hand and plays a bit differently than AA.

The question I ask in this thread is:
Is it better to smooth call the pre-flop raiser with AA (in the hopes of concealing the fact you have bullets and getting a lot of his money post-flop), or to reraise pre-flop? And if you do reraise pre-flop, how much?

I was never sure how to answer this question, and found myself constantly going bank and forth, bank and forth as to what the correct line was.

I now believe I have the answer (or at least I think im a lot closer to the answer).

First of all, we make the assumption that we are at low enough stakes that you can play semi-predictable and opps won't notice too much (i.e. 600 NL and below, I'm unsure if this still works at 1000 NL and above).

6-Max

I believe it is ALWAYS correct to reraise with AA in 6-max, regardless of how many callers to the pre-flop raise there was, how big the raise is, or whether or not you have position on the pre-flop raiser. This is because the pre-flop reraise gets little respect in 6-max. This is partly because since its shorthanded, people think: with only a small number of people being dealt hands, what are the odds he's been dealt aces? This is also partly because people reraise with a lot more than just aces in 6-max, so treating every reraise like the opp had aces would be foolish.

The following hand (played at 200 NL!) illustrates..

***** Hand History for Game 2371800103 *****
$200 NL Texas Hold'em - Saturday, July 16, 03:36:31 EDT 2005
Table Table 49622 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 2: elky6x6 ( $65.33 )
Seat 3: boleth01 ( $61.50 )
Seat 4: revman888 ( $346.65 )
Seat 5: Herrigel ( $200 )
Seat 6: cmcanimal ( $108.90 )
Seat 1: EvilEcstasy_ ( $123 )
EvilEcstasy_ posts small blind [$1].
elky6x6 posts big blind [$2].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to EvilEcstasy_ [ As Ah ]
boleth01 folds.
revman888 folds.
Herrigel raises [$7].
cmcanimal folds.
EvilEcstasy_ raises [$19].
elky6x6 folds.
Herrigel calls [$13].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 4c, Kh, 5s ]
EvilEcstasy_ bets [$25].
Herrigel calls [$25].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7d ]
EvilEcstasy_ is all-In [$78]
Herrigel calls [$78].
** Dealing River ** [ Ad ]
EvilEcstasy_ shows [ As, Ah ] three of a kind, aces.
Herrigel shows [ Qc, Kd ] a pair of kings.
EvilEcstasy_ wins $246 from the main pot with three of a kind, aces.

As you can see, this guy failed to consider the possiblity of AA or AK, and had no problems moving all his chips in the middle with KQ with a K on the board (when I moved all-in, he called instantly!). This is despite the fact I reraised him a healthy portion pre-flop (3x his raise), meaning he clearly had no respect for my reraise pre-flop.

Now that we've gotten this down, the question then begins, how much do you reraise?

I think the answer depends on whether or not you have position on the pre-flop raiser, and how many other callers there are to the raise.

I think a 2x reraise is good with position, since he doesnt have nearly as strong implied odds when he calls, and a 3x reraise is good out of position, as he has much better implied odds. This assumes no other callers to the raise.

If there are other callers, you should disregard position, and raise 2x plus 1x for every extra caller. So if there are two other callers raise to 4x. The exception to this is if you are shortstacked (i.e. 50x BB or below), in which case you can cap it at 3.5x or so.

Now suppose YOU raise with AA in 6-max and someone else reraises you! I believe the correct move here is to reraise back or if your stack is short enough move all-in! Again, he probably has AK, KK, or QQ and since these are often all-in preflop hands in 6-max, you should certainly get all his chips in the middle pre-flop by making your move on him. This is of course exactly what you want, as it kills all the implied odds he gets from seeing a flop.

10-Max

First of all, in 10-Max you should ALWAYS reraise a min-raise pre-flop. (Most people have no problems with this)
So all further discussion assumes a 3+xBB pre-flop raise.

In 10-Max ring play, the pre-flop reraise gets a lot more respect, espically at higher levels (100, 200, and 400 NL). If there are no other callers to the raise, and the raiser has position on you, then you should reraise 3x his raise. He might fold, but its worth it in my opinion because of the implied odds he gets if you smooth call and he hits big. Because he has position, he is almost certain to get paid off whenever he cracks your aces.

Now, if you have position on him, and there are no other callers, you might consider smooth calling.

The question comes down to this: What sort of position is he raising from, how does he play pre-flop, and how much is he raising? The main thing you want to scope out here is whether or not he holds TT-KK, AK, AQ, KQ, AJ (basically high overs), or whether he holds some crap hand or a low pocket pair or suited connectors. TT-KK, AK, AQ, AJ, and KQ are prime targets for a smooth-call with AA, since they will often pair up and still be outgunned. The key is that your opponent is VERY attached to his hand when he gets a piece of the flop (which is likely to happen!), so you can take his stack without letting him know you have aces.

However, it would be a bad idea to smooth-call suited connectors, some random hand, or low pocket pairs, since the opp is not very attached to his hand and is mainly looking to score big on the flop or get out if he misses. These hands you want to reraise by 2.5x.

Of course, knowing which hand you are facing is beyond the scope of this thread and depends on numerous factors, but assuming you can accurately find that information out (and most of the time its not too hard), you should be OK.
You should ALWAYS reraise if there are other callers to the raise, and you want to reraise by 2x plus 1x for every caller there is to the raise. This is regardless of position.


Now suppose YOU raise and someone else reraises (assume no other callers to the reraise. If there are other callers, move all-in!). This is where it gets tricky.. If you lack position on the reraiser, you want to reraise him back by 2x. This basically forces him to call with his kings or queens, as he is somewhat commited and is not facing that steep of a reraise.

If you have position on him, then you want to smooth call. This is because he will start by making a big bet on the flop. At this point, regardless of the board, move all-in! He is pot committed and basically has to call regardless of what he holds.

The reason you DON'T want to reraise him back if you have position as this allows him to lay down his KK, QQ, or AK (!) to your aces. This is not what you want to have happen, and believe me it does happen (espicially at 400 and 600 NL). I have watched people lay down kings to my aces after they reraise me and I reraise them back all-in. Don't let them get away with this!