During the course of a long game of poker, there is nothing more pleasing on the eyes than a pocket pair of aces…

Many see this most elusive of hands pre-flop and believe that it is their ‘golden ticket’ to a winning hand (after all, there is a less than 0.5% chance of drawing pocket aces) – this is an attitude that can be perilous, as nothing is guaranteed in poker.

Pocket aces don't guarantee a great hand...

It is surprising to observe how this rare hand is played at low stakes poker tables; in fact, things rarely undergo much of an improvement at the mid to higher stakes tables. The sad fact is that not a great deal of players know how to make the best of a pocket pair of aces.

Although winning a hand in poker is great, it is not the main objective of the game – the main objective is make your hand as profitable as possible. This is where the true strength of pocket aces shines through. It is important to make sure there are chips going into the pot, as pocket aces allow a player to ‘take the pot down’ at a moment of their choosing.

Although pocket aces are  great hand, there are plenty better and if a flop comes out unfavourably (i.e. with a high chance of a flush, straight, three of a kind, etc) pocket aces afford a player the luxury of pushing the pot up so a potentially better hand will never be played.

In order to became a better poker player, it is important not to rest on your laurels (or the laurels of your hand) and always play smart.