Ace Queen – A Trouble Hand or Myth?

Ace Queen

You hear the phrase “trouble hand” banded around a lot in poker circles. It basically means a hand that looks nice but actually costs you money. Ace Queen is one of the hands in Texas Hold’em that is said to be a trouble hand. Whilst I’ve expressed it being an overrated hand in the past, it’s by no means a trouble hand to strong players. In this article, I will explain why it’s a trouble hand for some, but not others.

Ace Queen Trouble for Beginners

One of the problems beginners have is going too far with hands. This is especially true for medium strength or 2^nd tier “strong hands”. I’d group Ace Queen with that group. Hands like mid pocket pairs and king queen are in this category too. They can be trouble because they will raise or re-raise post-flop when they should be exercising pot control or value betting when they are more assured they have the best hand. Often, it’s a trouble hand due to the fact they are not considering context. They see a big ace, perceive it as a monster hand and will bet and raise if they hit top pair.

If you are a beginner or even intermediate player and find yourself losing a lot with Ace Queen, you need to rethink your strategy. Ace Queen is a strong hand and should be a winning hand for you. Let’s take a look at why this hand is a big winner for professionals and recreational winners too

Ace Queen for Professionals

Any professionals reading this can take a look at their poker tracking software and pull up the stats on Ace Queen. They are almost certainly profitable in every spot in poker. The reason is simple, they can adapt and change their strategy based on the factors involved. If it’s a LAG opening, they can profitably 3 bet and maximise earnings. If it’s a nitty player, they will cold call or even fold, depending on the positions involved. This is a key concept to understand and can be applied to any poker hand really. If you look at any poker hand in detail; opponents, stack sizes, table image, positions and bet sizing, you see things differently. Poker is not just about choosing the top 20 hands to play and playing it the same every time.

Final Thoughts

Depending at what level you’re at, Ace Queen can either be a great hand or a trouble hand. Any hand can be a trouble hand if you misplay them. If you invest time in your game and want to improve, Ace Queen won’t be a trouble hand for you. I hope this article makes you think and question your strategy moving forward.

Finally, if you are using poker software detailing your earnings with each hand, pull up your stats on Ace Queen and see how you’re doing. If you are losing in any position, please contact us to see if we can help you. Alternatively, if you don’t have tracking software, check out our poker resources page for our recommendations on software to use.