Big Slick has the reputation for being a
MONSTER hand... a hand that most players
LOVE to get dealt.

And with good reason.

After all, it's got a TON of potential.

Think about it:

If you have Big Slick and a king or ace
hit the board, you've automatically got
top pair. And not only that, but you've
also automatically got the highest
kicker possible.

And...

Big Slick is connected, which means it
has the POTENTIAL to become the highest
STRAIGHT on the board.

Then again, if you're an experienced
poker player, then you KNOW that Big
Slick is often HIGHLY OVERRATED by most
amateurs and beginners.

Because if you REALLY think about it,
Big Slick by itself is NOT a good hand.

By itself, it's an ace high with a king.

Period.

It can be beat by just about ANYTHING...
from a flush to a 3-of-a-kind to a pair
of deuces.

What Big Slick has is the POTENTIAL to
be a great hand... but that doesn't mean
it IS a great hand.

And this distinction is VERY important
in order to learn how to play your AK
properly.

If you play Big Slick the RIGHT way, you
can with it at least 75% of the time. If
you play it the WRONG way, you'll end up
losing all your chips and whining about
your bad beat...

The decision is yours.

So let's approach our strategy for Big
Slick with LATE positioning... which is
the equivalent to GOOD positioning, as
you know.

Since the hand can get run down easily,
your strategy is to GET RID of as many
players as possible BEFORE THE FLOP.

In other words, SCARE AWAY everyone who
doesn't have a pair or face cards...

If you let too many players stay in,
someone with rags is bound to catch
great cards on the flop and steal your
chip stack.

But if you go up against players with
face cards, then YOU have the advantage
and the odds are in YOUR favor.

This is accomplished, of course, with a
pre-flop raise, which will also give you
control over the table... as you'll see
in a minute.

Let's use a real-life hand I played to
demonstrate... this is from last night,
actually.

I was in a $1-2 no-limit game and got
AK on the button. Drew was first to act
and made it $7 to play.

The action went around the table and
every single one of the next five
players called.

Now the action was to me.

How would you handle this situation?

Call, raise, or fold?

The correct answer is RAISE.

"Make it another $50", I say.

And here's why...

Let's say I call. That means there's
SEVEN guys in the hand. Amateurs might
say, "Oh, that means there's more money
in the pot."

NO.

WRONG.

What seven players means is that I am
virtually GUARANTEED to have my AK run
down... because EVEN IF I catch a king
or ace, there's a good chance someone
else will hit a flush, straight, trips,
or two pair.

And besides... CALLING doesn't give me
any idea where I stand in the hand, and
it doesn't allow me to know what to put
my opponents on.

So I make the pre-flop re-raise.

The other players fold, and Drew calls.

That means I know he has a real hand...
he wasn't just bullying the table.

It also means he probably doesn't have
cowboys or rockets, because if he did he
would've come back over the top of me...
maybe with an all-in.

So now I've got a read on my opponent,
and I've forced out all the other guys,
which means I don't have to worry about
someone getting "lucky" on the flop.

AND, I've achieved something else here:

I've taken control of the table.

Instead of Drew coming out firing after
the flop, he'll probably check to me...
to see what I do.

This gives me control. If I miss on the
flop, I can do one of two things:

1. I can see a free card.

Or...

2. If I'm confident with my read on Drew
I can try to buy him out by representing
a big hand.

And sure enough... the flop hits:

9,4,2

What an UGLY flop, right?

Actually, I kind of like this flop.

Because I'm pretty sure Drew doesn't
have any of these cards on the board.

He could be holding pocket 9's, but I
can't put him on 4's or 2's, because of
my strong re-raise before the flop.

I'm putting him on two over cards or a
pair. It actually wouldn't surprise me
if he has Big Slick, just like me.

Anyway, now it's time to find out,
because Drew taps his fist against the
table and checks to me.

Just like I expected.

I COULD see a free card here, but I'd
rather play this aggressively and find
out EXACTLY where I'm at.

If Drew calls a strong bet from me, then
he's probably slow-playing trips... If
that's the case, I'll back off after the
turn card and minimize my losses.

I throw out a $100 black chip with my
ace high.

Drew looks at his down cards for a few
moments and then decides to muck his
pocket 8's for the world to see.

"Yea... I had kings", I say as I turn my
cards face down for NOBODY to see.

Drew replies, "Yup, that's what I put
you on" and he nods his head.

Little does he know, his 8's had me
beat, and I just stole a nice pot...

That's how you play Big Slick the RIGHT
way in late position... You've got to:

1. Scare away as many players as you can
before the flop.

2. Take control of the board and action.

3. Find out where you're at in the hand.

Even if Drew (or anyone else) came back
over the top of me after my pre-flop
raise, I'd be okay... Because then I
could put my opponent on aces or kings,
muck my Big Slick, and live to see
another hand without catching a "bad
beat."

So play AK aggressively when you've got
good positioning, and back up your pre-
flop raise with a post-flop raise, even
if you've hit nothing on the board.

Of course, you can't play Big Slick like
this in every position... this is simply
how you play it with good positioning.

I'm working on another newsletter that
will show you how to play AK in early
position... I promise I'll send it soon.

In the meantime, don't forget to check
out my Texas Hold 'Em strategy course
(if you haven't gotten it already).

It's filled with cutting-edge poker
strategies and secrets that YOU can use
to control the tables, drag in more
pots, and win more money...

My course and techniques have been
getting RAVE REVIEWS from card players
around the world.

I've started posting these success
stories and comments to my website...

To read them, and to find out more about
my "Texas Hold 'Em Secrets" book, just
click this link now and scroll down:

http://www.Texas-Holdem-Secrets.com/cmd.php?af=255767

I'll write to you again soon.


Your Friend,

Roy Rounder


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