Pocket aces, how good are they really? Well they are considered one of the bullets of the Texas Hold Em’ world, and there is a reason. Pre-flop it is the best hand and if you play the hand right out of the gates, raising, you can defiantly get rid of several opponents at a table and go into a flop with the best possible situation. But then you can always slow play them, in the attempt to induce a bluff that can suggest to other players you have a weak hand and draw them along to try to pick up more money. The fact of the matter is a bullet is when you have two great cards in your hand, and that can spell huge chip gains for any player.

Now the case is what is considered a bullet? Well certainly as we have already talked about pocket aces which are definitely a bullet, the best. Although pocket kings, queens, jacks, and I consider pocket 10s to all be bullets obviously in descending order of their potency. However then there are hands like AK, KQ, QJ and J10 which are also considered to be bullets as well, and can be just as powerful. These bullets are even better when they are suited, part of the same type of cards, for example an ace and king both of hearts is that much better than an ace of diamonds and king of clubs because it gives you the greater chance of a flush hand.

Obviously if you only play bullets, you will be considered a very tight player and that can distort you table image but at the same time for a beginning player they remain the best sets of cards to play at all times. For more experienced players the bullets can be played in any position but are also the kind of cards you might want to hold out for if your in an early position to help keep you solid regardless of what later raises or what not may hit the table. Since you want to only want to play the best cards when you sit in an early position, the bullet list is the a great self-restriction to use for deciding if you should play compare it to the bullets listed above. This will insure you have a good hand with which to go into the flop with.

One thing many players find it hard to do when they hit a pocket pair like KK, or one of the other bullets, is determining when to slow play and induce a bluff or come out of the flop or even pre-flop with guns blazing. What you see most often on TV and will after a while is that slow playing often times will win the most especially in cash games when the blinds can often not be enticing enough to pull players in and fight for it, but at the same time depending on the style and feel of the table and your own table image it may be more beneficial for you to raise high right off the start. In terms of tournament play though the quick play later in the tournament can help a lot and you can still catch those other players and force them to chase. Although this again, is very dependent on the blind size and feel of the table, but when blinds get larger and the pot heavier you will have a better chance of successful pulling off raises and re-raises with a solid bullet hand.

In conclusion bullets are a great tool to confidently enter a pot and look towards the flop with optimism. Just remember that you need to watch yourself, maintain composure, use your table image, watch your chip count, and play them to make the most you can out of your opponent, whether you need to play slow or fast. Don’t rush and don’t be greedy!