Pocket Rockets
Pocket rockets is the nickname for a pair of aces as hole cards, the best starting hand in Hold'em. The aces look like rockets to the players.
The simple explanation
With a pair of aces, you start ahead of every other hand. It wins about 85 percent of the time against a random hand, and about 80 percent against kings. Aces can still lose, so be careful with a lot of chips if the board is dangerous.
A closer look
The question with aces is how to get the most money. Against many opponents, aces do worse, so you should raise to thin the field. After the flop, bet for value and protect against draws, but do not give your hand away. Don't slow play often, since opponents with weaker hands may still pay. Many players lose their big pots with aces by paying off when the board is dangerous.
A practical example
You look down at A♠ A♥ on the small blind and say, 'Pocket rockets.'
Full explanation
Pocket rockets is the nickname for a pair of aces as hole cards, the best starting hand in Hold’em. The aces look like rockets to the players.
Pocket rockets is a pair of aces.
It is the best starting hand.
It wins about 85 percent against a random hand.
It can still lose, so play with care.
Pocket rockets
No-limit Hold’em · Blinds 1/2 chips · No rake
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
Read the example transcript
Player A has the button (BTN) and posts the 1-chip small blind (SB). Player B posts the 2-chip big blind (BB).
- Preflop · Pot: 3 chips
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of spades (As)AAce of hearts (Ah) · Stack 199 · In this round 1
- Player B BB KKing of clubs (Kc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 8 chips
Player A raises to 6 with a pair of aces as hole cards. Players call this hand pocket rockets.
- Player A BTN / SB AAce of spades (As)AAce of hearts (Ah) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB KKing of clubs (Kc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
Cards are shown for learning; totals are displayed before pot collection.