Married to AK ?

[GainerRakeback]

Everyone gets excited when they bend the cards back (or they pop up online) and you see AK, especially suited. 'Wow, I got a great hand' most say to themselves. The purpose of this thread is to give beginners some tips on playing AK, just based on my experiences.

When I see AK, I figure I'm gonna win a small pot or lose medium pot (though there are always exceptions). Why? It's not a good hand, it's a good starting hand. You go through the ritual of raising like 3xBB. If players fold, you win only the blinds. But may be you get 1-2 callers. If you hit the A or K with other high cards (flop like A J 9), I usually bet since frequently there's some flush or straight draw out there, or may be someone's sitting on a pocket pair and you don't want to give a free card to beat you; make them pay for it. At this point if no one else has the Ace, then they all fold. Win small pot. Occasionally someone hits the flop or chases the draw and they call. You see the turn card. If you're first to act you make the continuation bet, may be 3/4 to a pot size bet. Can't check, shows weakness. If they've missed, they fold. Still smallish pot. Nothing wrong with that of course. If they call again, or raise, then you gotta start thinking. If they call or raise, your one pair may not be good anymore. Depending on turn card, could they have hit the draw or set or made two pair? If the turn is a Q, may be they played AQ, AJ or QJ. Whether you call with your pair of aces, fold or raise, depends on a lot of factors. But if you got nothing after the turn:

Now I've seen players keep betting AK through the river with complete air while the other players keep up with them. What's the AK guy thinking? That the other player got zip? 2 of 3 players miss flop, but 1 of 3 hit something. If the flop is Q, 10, 7, and someone is calling you, they prolly hit the flop. There are numerous hands a player could have called a raise with, especially online players (like A10, AQ, KQ, J10, 67 suited). However, you make the continuation bet, but if you still got nothing after the turn card, it's time to slow down. This is where some players get crazy. I've seen all-ins here with AK (Ace high), or they make a hugh bet again. Why? It's okay to check, or give up AK to a bet or raise at this point and lose the medium pot, if all you have is Ace high. If you call, now you become the chaser hoping to catch a 3 outter, and even then it may not be good, losing a big pot.

Don't be married to AK, and don't treat it like AA. It's only a good starting hand; if you miss by the turn with other players still in the hand, think to yourself: "Okay self, what hands can I beat here." Prolly only a complete bluff. If there are still multiple players in the pot, you might be in last place. Don't risk a lot of tourney chips or cash with only ace high. At this point, there's no shame in filing for a divorce from AK.

[crazee55]

I hate to get AK !

I have seen so many people get knocked out of a tourney because they call all in with AK and never hit, but yet I have seen some win too. I for one will not bet on my AK very much UNLESS, I have a low chip stack and in the SB or BB because I know I am more likely to get beat, its happened toooo many times!

[WiseGuy007]

I made a mistake yesterday in cash game (1/2 NL) when I had AK suited. I totally whiffed the flop, however, I had position. I was heads up with a person of similar stack and he bet a half-pot bet to which I called. I'm fine with this as the pot is still small....3BB in per each of us pre-flop + the sb and bb. However, my mistake came when I also whiffed the turn and called a pot-sized bet.....Here was my mistake, as I should have had no trouble throwing these cards into the muck...I blanked the river and my opponent again bet the pot to which I folded....The problem here is I threw away cash by chasing the A or K. Even if I hit on turn or river...am I still good...I like this post..AK and AK suited are excellent STARTING hands but learn to release them quickly when you totally whiff, especially by the turn.

[Garden]

How's this AK story. I have an AK to start the hand, by the river I have a straight 5 high so i go all in. Two others at the table end up with a straight 6 high!!

[BUILDMO]

An AK starting hand can really be something.
Just like the hot chick you see at the stop light.
An AK push can get the blinds, but you will see in the long run, without an Ace flop, your time spent wishing to see the Ace surface is like seeing the hot babe in the car next to you naked.

Ace on the river? Only if your chip stack can stand the pressure.

Not married to AK, but like the looks of it.

[carwa]

AK stands for Ace King.
AK stands also for Anna Kournikova

They both look stunning, absolutely beautiful!!

In the end they both lose most of the time.

[pondragon]

AK stands for Ace King.
AK stands also for Anna Kournikova

They both look stunning, absolutely beautiful!!

In the end they both lose most of the time.

Lol, Ace-King does not lose 'most of the time'.
People don't play it only because it's attractive, but because it's a powerhouse against any other ace (people go nuts when they see an ace in their hand) or and king. It's the best preflop hand (discouting pairs). You have an edge over any non-paired hand preflop. That doesn't mean I'm going to call an all in or push with AK everytime, but I will play it.

I think better advice for AK is to rarely flat call with AK. You really want to be playing your AK fast or mucking it. AK is not a hand you want to slowplay.

[Alex3733]

I think better advice for AK is to rarely flat call with AK. You really want to be playing your AK fast or mucking it. AK is not a hand you want to slowplay.

I totally agree. I really don't like AK much! I usually raise preflop and push.

[Brooklynbum]

AK is just like any other hand in Hold em. It's what you do with them that determines how good the cards are.

Getting AK is pretty sweet in most cases.

In tourneys you're only a big dog to AA or KK. Anything else and it's a race or you are dominating the other player.

In cash. It's a little different. But it's the same concept. If you play A/K like you would play AA or even KK you'd be surprised how pots you can win. I wouldn't be calling a decent bet with A/K if I didn't hit the flop but I would certainly raise with them on the flop even if I miss.

That goes the same with any two cards, if you play them like they're worth something then you can win.

I think AA or KK is a far worse hand to have than A/K. You can easily dump A/K to a big raise, with AA or KK on a tiny board? Not so easy.

[Clearwheezy]

i actually just got stomped with my ak

[RiverstarsVictim]

IMO AK's strength is pre-flop so you should be looking to re-raise pre-flop. If you're up against AA or KK unlucky (it's player dependant if you can find a fold or not), QQ or possibly JJ is a race and anything else ought to be folding. Unfortunately it's not always possible to get that re-raise in though.

[Clearwheezy]

I'm glad you said it's a good PREFLOP hand. I wish the people who I played against and sucked an ace out on the river knew that.