Article updated on January 31, 2025
In the famous poker movie Rounders, Teddy KGB busts Mike’s bankroll with ‘Aces full’, but what does this mean, and how do you make it?
Today, we’ll take a look, focusing specifically on one of the strongest made hands in poker - Aces Full of Kings...
Let’s get the ball rolling by describing what this hand is.
What is Aces Full of Kings?
Before we look at the term in-depth, we need to know what a full house is since Aces Full of Kings describes a specific type of full house.
If you need a quick reminder, a full house is a hand that includes 3-of-a-kind cards of one poker hand ranking, like 777 or 888) supported by another pair (two cards of one rank, such as 99 or QQ).
You would need three Aces and two Kings to make Aces Full of Kings, specifically.
Since a complete poker hand has five cards, any full house is very strong and usually wins the pot. But if two players have a full house, the person with the highest three-of-a-kind wins.
So, KKK44, or Kings Full of Fours, beats QQQ44, or Queens Full of Fours.
You announce a full house properly by declaring your three-of-a-kind as being 'full of' your pair. Like Teddy KGB, however, most players often announce 'Xs full' since the pair's value is usually irrelevant.
Where Does the Term Originate?
Unlike a lot of poker lingo, which often has mysterious unknown origins, the reason people announce full-houses as ‘Aces Full of Kings’ is probably a bit less glamorous.
You’re welcome to come up with your own exotic theories. However, the term most likely comes from the desire to declare the strength of the hand as efficiently as possible.
What’s So Special about Aces Full of Kings?
Though all full houses are strong, Aces Full of Kings is particularly special because it is the highest ranked. You can only lose if you run into quads or better, which doesn’t happen very often in Texas Hold’em.
It’s so hard to lose with Aces Full of Kings that many live casinos use it as the threshold for a bad beat jackpot.
How to Make Aces Full of Kings
There are three ways to make the full house, Aces Full of Kings, with both of your hole cards:
1: Having AA on a board like AKK23
2: With KK on AAA37.
2: Holding AK on AAK83.
You can also make it with one hole card, as you would with a single Ace on AAKKx or a King on AAAKx (The x denotes a random irrelevant card).
What’s the Best Way to Make Aces Full of Kings?
While it is always a powerhouse, not all forms of Aces Full of Kings are equal.
Interestingly, the best way to make it is with AK because your hole cards make it impossible for your opponent to have quad kings or aces.
Making Aces Full of Kings with just one card is the worst way to do so, simply because your opponent has more ways to make the full house themselves, too - After all, they just need to hold a single Ace on a poker board like AAKKx, or King on AAAKx.
Because making a full house on a double-paired board is much easier, your opponent will likely play more cautiously. It would be difficult to make money from their weaker hands.
You can also find yourself in some sticky spots if your opponents commit a lot of money to the pot. They will probably only do so holding Aces Full of Kings, too, or they may be about to spank you with quads.
Aces Full of Kings Strategy Tips
It’s a common misconception that you should slow-play when flopping a hand as strong as a full house, checking or betting small to avoid scaring your opponent away.
- This strategy can be a good idea when your potential victim is unlikely to have much, but it’s not always the best approach with Aces Full of Kings.
- The correlation is due to the kinds of cards your opponents will likely play, and how they will interact with the board.
When you first start playing poker, the value of big cards is one of the first things you’ll learn. Big cards perform better than small ones post-flop because they make strong pairs. So, players tend to play these types of poker combos more often.
As a result, your opponents will often connect well with an A♠️A♦️K♠️xx board. Hands like KQ, KJ and QJ will all want to call bets, as will sticky players with pocket pairs or flush draws.
Many low-stakes players get giddy over single aces, meaning they will play way more Ax hands than they should. So, it’s likely for your opponent to hold an Ax hand here. When they do, these guys will need little encouragement to play a big pot, especially if they make a weaker full house by the river.
It can be very profitable to aggressively play when you have a high full house like Aces Full of Kings, especially if some stubborn maniacs are on your table – glued to a poker cheat sheet!
Fast-playing prevents most sane opponents from losing money with weak hands, hands that are drawing dead against your full house. This observation is fair, but these hands are unlikely to commit very much money anyway.
In the long term, the times you win a massive pot from someone who loses their whole stack with a strong but second-best hand should outweigh any downside.
It’s worth noting that this doesn’t apply to lower full houses. The same big-card bias that helps players connect with an AAK board makes an opponent unlikely to hit a board like 3♥️8♠️8♦️ flop very hard. Playing a little slower with pocket threes here is probably a better idea.
Aces Full of Kings Quiz
Now you’ve learned all about Aces Full of Kings, here are a few questions to see how much you remember:
- What rank of hand is Aces Full of Kings?
- Should you always slow-play when you flop a full house?
- True or false? Most low-stakes players play too many single aces.
- True or false? You will always win the pot when you have Aces Full of Kings?
- True or false? A qualifying poker hand has 7 cards?
- Why might it be a good idea to fast-play high full houses?
- Why is Aces Full of Kings special?
- True or false? You can make Aces Full of Kings with just one card?
- Is Aces Full of Kings made with three Kings and two Aces or three Aces and two Kings?
- How many ways can you make Aces Full of Kings with two cards.
SCROLL DOWN for answers.
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Aces Full of Kings Quiz Answers:
1: A full house
2: No.
3: True
4: False
5: No. There are five cards in a qualifying hand of poker.
6: When the board is good for the hands your opponent likes to play.
7: It is the highest full house.
8: True
9: Three Aces and two Kings.
10: Three ways.; with AA, AK and KK.
Originally published on February 24, 2020
