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zappa2525 · Guest

when im playing there is allways someone who goes all in i have ak pockets some high so low.but it seems like everytime i call im way out in front but they allways pull it out.what should i do? Mad

DC11GE · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:13 am Post subject:

Not call. I only call All-in if I'm big stacked over the guy, have AA or KK

GripHoldOn · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:40 am Post subject: Re: the all in

UNDAFEATED1 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:32 pm Post subject:

For some reason when I call an all in with ace king before the flop, I also seem to be ahead but the find a way to come back and beat me. For example, I had ace king before flop. The other guy went all in with ace 10. I decided to push all my chip. He showed Ace 10 and got another 10 on the flop and i didnt get an A. So when I have ace king I dont like to call an all in before the flop. 8)

AllInDrawinDead · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:31 pm Post subject:

The thing about AK is that you are either a slight underdog against a pair or you have the other player completely dominated when they turn over Ax. Very rarely are you up against AA or KK. Tough hand to get away from. It's not made hand but a gambling hand.

caribstv · Pair Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 39 Location: New Jersey

totally aggree with everyone.. not a hand to call an all-in maybe in a tourny and you're low on chips and another short stack makes a move...
This is a hand that's touch and go... if you'r e late position, you can shoot it up mainly to steal but don't not trying to get in to a confrontation with.

mathman1115 · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:42 pm Post subject:

AK is the worst best hand you can possibly have. I usually like to just call raises with this (unless an obvious loose player raised). At lower limits, players don't usually raise with hands like A10, AJ, and AQ, but will raise with hi PP, so i like to see a flop with AK. I never like to go all in with AK or call and all in with AK. AK is like 2/7 until it hits a flop.
have the discipline to get away from it, that is the biggest problem with this hand. If someone has a pp or flopped a pair, you are down to 6 outs (ignoring str8/flush draws), and some of those outs may be discarded as your opponent could have low pair with an A.

chudmeister · Three of a Kind Joined: 14 Feb 2006 Posts: 80

I play A/K completely different in a cash game than in tournament play.

Its easy to lay down A/K to aggressive reraisers in a cash game. But in tourny play, i like to be the aggressive one with A/K. I hate calling off my chips pre-flop with A/K without having a really good read on my opponet(s). Especially since there's only 2 hands that really dominate A/K pre-flop. Dont keep yourself guessing if your hand is good or not, make your opponet second guess the value of their hand instead.

iRockhoes · Pair Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 36

First, read the article by Rafe on AK that he wrote a couple weeks ago. It provides a good description of basic concepts one should be aware of when they pick up AK.

I haven't played tournaments for a while, so my answer will be in terms of cash games. In no limit cash games, I think of AK as a sort of "get out of jail free" card. Since AK is not really dominated by anything but AA or KK, which are unlikely holdings for players when you take your A and K out of the deck, it is pretty hard to screw up to big preflop, as its almost always a coin flip or better. AK really lets you play poker. Alot of people watch TV and see AK vs 77 and think damn i need to call and get in a race asap! This is flawed as the first thing you learn in poker is that AK loses to 22 in the long run. But how about this scenario:

You pick up AK, your opponent bets out preflop to the size of the pot. You could call and hope to spike top pair or better on the flop, but what if you reraise him? He raises to $70, you raise to $210. Almost all the time the people behind you will fold and now hes faced with a difficult decision with his 77. He'll prob. fold, but lets say he calls (if he goes all in, well then hes prob got a hand and you can safely fold). Now the flop comes down as QJ4. Not the best flop for you, youve got two overs and a gut shot, but he almost HAS to check to you with 2 overs. You make a continuation bet about 2/3 the pot looking like you fear nothing. How can you call with 77 on that board? it takes a great read and a very brave player. If he check raises you, you can be fairly certain he hit his set or has you beat in some sort depending on the skill of the player.

By reraising preflop against his pair, you are no longer playing just AK, but instead you are playing All the high cards in the deck. Whos to say you dont have 1010 or better as you'll make the same play with these hands. The beauty of the hand is that its very easy to fold if you get played back at, while giving you so many opportunities to win. Dont use this play everytime, as observant players will pick up on it and punish you preflop, but every now and then throw it in, you'll be picking up large uncontested pots when you should be losing them in the long run.

ambitious207 · Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:30 pm Post subject:

Definetly solid advice. Irock is a solid player in the 25-50 game, and any info he is willing to give should definetly be taken seriously.

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