Learn To Watch Out For The Danger Hands

Things you will learn:

• What danger hands are
• How to avoid getting into trouble

Sometimes, poker hands which seem strong at first can explode in your face.

What do we mean by ‘danger hands’? Danger hands are poker hands that you shouldn’t play, but do because they look seductive, fun or profitable. Until they get you into trouble!

Here’s a list of some of the most misplayed hands in Texas Hold’em.

Good old pocket aces. 'American Airlines' can seem as appealing as a flight to the Bahamas, but beware – this hand can take the Hawaiian shirt from your back. The value of pocket aces is huge early on, but it drops soon afterwards – because the flop might give someone two pair or three-of-a-kind, and may even present a straight or flush draw for the turn or river to complete.

In contrast, the bets in No-Limit or Pot-Limit games are smallest at the start and escalate rapidly from there. So other players are often getting the 'implied odds' they need to call pre-flop and try to make a better hand or draw before setting about taking your money.

For this reason, aces need to be played strong early to deny others the implied odds and to leave you with a good idea of what any callers might have made on the flop. So if you raise with a good portion of your chips and the flop comes K♥ 5♦ 2♥, after which you and your one opponent go to war, you can be fairly confident of being ahead.

If you just called - looking for a check-raising opportunity that didn't come - and several players get involved, you could be facing any number of hands that are now ahead or could be by the river.

The 'Hooks' are so called for more than one reason, as they can reel you into losing a fortune and are generally regarded as one of the most difficult hands to play in Hold’em. If you raise with them and are called, the chances are that the flop will contain one or more overcards. And even if it doesn't, there is always the danger of then losing a fortune to aces, kings, or queens. If someone re-raises you, it's likely that they hold either a bigger pair or overcards, such as AK or AQ, so you are either a small favourite or a big underdog.

In poker, this is a situation you are constantly trying to avoid, so jacks more than any pair are like chameleons. For example, if you know someone often plays small pairs or weak aces, they can be a great hand to come over the top with. However, if there has already been a raise and a re-raise to you, in most games you would sooner light a fire with them than get involved.

They are playable early in big-bet tournaments or cash games where the money is deep. But once you get to the flop, you should follow the advice of Tom McEvoy and TJ Cloutier: 'No set, no bet.'

The weak ace is exactly what it sounds like in most situations, despite some players and commentators' predilections to get excited about it. If you raise and are re-raised, you are forced to fold, and if you get to the flop to see an ace you may have 'kicker trouble'. Similarly, hitting the low kicker is rarely enough to continue in the hand, and you will frequently miss altogether.

In short, then, it's one of the main danger hands in Hold’em and unless you're an expert, you play it at your peril. Remember, a hand with a hole in it is frequently worse than no hand at all (with no hand you lose no money). Playing the weak ace after the flop can often feel like the equivalent of walking around with one leg broken.

Depending on the level of game you play in - and your opponents' care of choice over kickers - it will need to be calibrated differently though. For example, against loose, weak opponents who play any ace, A-10 or A-J could easily be enough to ensure success, whereas a player such as Doyle Brunson describes even A-Q as being a trouble hand in many situations.

Although face cards may look pretty and appealing, they can often get you into trouble and leave you feeling sick afterwards. That's why John Duthie described getting excited about them as 'suffering from a disease'. The reason is that although they are high cards they are always losing to any ace pre-flop, and can frequently be in a tight spot if the ace's kicker 'duplicates' one of them (such as K-Q vs A-Q), especially if played all-in. They are moderate, defensive hands if you need to act in a hurry, and they are playable in late position or if suited. However, just don't fall for the impression that a nice paint job means you'll find sound engineering underneath.

Suited connectors, such as 9♥ 8♥ or 6♠ 7♠, can be useful hands as long as they're played carefully and cheaply. That's because no-one will ever suspect a straight on a flop of 6-7-10, or a monster draw on one of A♠ 5♥ 6♥. However, they also suffer from the slim possibility of putting you in a complete lock against a higher straight or flush and guaranteeing you lose all your chips.

This danger is most apparent either very early during in deep cash games, otherwise the odds will be usually be in your favour - but when it happens it's nothing less than a complete disaster!

Making the lower flush is a danger you will struggle to avoid when you're playing this type of hand. But, with straight draws, you need to remember what other hands you could be running into. For example, 8♠ 9♠ looks great with a flop of 10-J-Q, until someone turns up AK.

Similarly, as soon as higher cards start competing your draw, they are also likely either to be making a better one for someone else or hitting them directly and making you a favourite to be bet out of the hand.