A lot of players will say not to raise when you have an Ace-Queen before the flop in Texas Holdem limit if the move will not kick other players out of play. This move however displays a lack of understanding of the card values and a sort of tightness that may not be too profitable.
Playing Ace-Queen Pre-Flop
You will see A-Q among the best of hands preflop of all the possible hands that you can get. If you are playing poker against players who will play 4-4 or offsuit 8-7, then make sure you get them into two rounds of betting. Make sure you attract them to put in more money when you make the flop, liket a Q2J or AK6. These kinds of players will want to see the next cards especially when several players call on their cards.
In poker, different cards make different amounts of money. It does not necessarily follow that the best hands will be best in terms of profitability.
Remember that if you have an offsuit Ace-Queen, you have to put in the money early to kill the chances of the other speculative hands that may make stronger finishing hands and want money in post flop. Yes high suited top cards are the gold of the game but off suit can be treated as silver which can also bring in some money.
Understanding Baluga Theorem
The Baluga Theorem is a useful theorem that states, “You should strongly re-evaluate the strength of one-pair hands in the face of a raise on the turn.”
Let us say you got an A of heart, King of diamonds. You will be the first one to act so you went to call a raise of 4BB. The flop comes out A heart, 9 spades, 3 diamonds. That sounds good so you topped it up to 8BBs.
The turn reveals A heart, 9 spades, 3 diamonds, and 7 spades. The 7 spades looks harmless but it also brings into the equation the potential for a flush or a straight. You pushed for a ¾ of pot bet but your opponent raises. What should you do?
The situation is very tricky. You have a top pair but what does the other player got? Most of the time it will be best to fold our hand. Ask yourself why would the other player raise after a turn if he has anything that is less than a top pair?
Most likely he has some strong cards. A turn raise is a display of strength. This looks like a very awkward situation but folding will really be the best move for most of the time.
Calling will most likely be a losing game. If you call on the turn then the river is revealed, your opponent will most likely call and you will end up closing your eyes and hope for the best. That will not be a very good strategy.