When to fold AK preflop?

lately im losing lot of money (at micro tables or low sngs)

but anyway, the point is that lately im losing with this hand, and others like AQ or KK, when i call an all in bet made by other player pre-flop
some times those all ins are made with pps, others with A rag, and others just because both cards are suited, so i guess the cause of my losses here are usually bad luck

anyway i want to hear what experienced people think about it
i never fold AK before the flop, but by now its not profitable for me

I'd say that if there is someone going "all-in" Pre-flop before you and you have AK, AQ, KQ, etc ....basically, anything less than KK or AA, you had better "very strongly" consider folding. After-all, with these hands, you don't even have a pair yet.

Of course, there are other factors such as the "stack size" of you and the opponent, how the opponent has been playing, and your POSITION.

Remember, if you "think" your opponent is bluffing, they usually are not....GL, Wally

bullishwwd pretty much covered everything your asking about.

key thing to remember is that AK, AQ, KQ..suited or not are not MADE HANDS ..so calling anybodys all in preflop u are behind anybody that has any sort of pair.

I'd echo the comments above and add that I've found that hands like AQ and AJ are even more dangerous to call such raises with.

AK against any PP is broadly a coin flip so I wouldn't get too married to AK against any kind of push. Granted if you're losing to Ace Rag consistently then you are being unlucky.

AK is a great, versatile hand, it does well against basically everything except kings and aces. So unless it seems very probable that your opponent(s) have one of those two hands, calling is good.

there is a big different between cash game and SnG, its all deppend on the pot size and etc. at the cash game, however on SnG it deppend on which stage you are. For me folding AK is not a big deal, not while ago I folded AA on SnG.

You didn't mention a couple of other things. Is it raised to you, you call, and then it is reraised. Also, position of the original raiser. If it has been 3 bet to you then it is a pretty automatic fold unless you think you can get +EV. Pot odds will dictate a lot too. If you are getting 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 pot odds but you think it is a coin flip then you should call. There are many factors that will dictate calling or folding. It is just a matter of what your style of play is.

im talking about a player going all in preflop, and im not having any money or chips involved yet

in the games im playing (micro stakes and low buyin sngs or mtts), when a players with a normal stack goes all in, they usually have a pp, A rag, suited connectors or even anycards suited
so calling with ak would be a coin flip some times, but most would have good odds

i appreciate what you commented here, but i disagree some things like folding to a 3 bet

The reason I suggested folding to a 3 bet is your AK may be up against AA or KK leaving you few outs preflop. From your last post if it is only a single player that has shoved and he has been playing mid pr or A rag I would call in late position, if you call UTG+1 or so, someone may come over the top with AA or KK. In my earlier post I was just stating how I would play it due to the game I play. Everyone has a different style. I play position poker and early or late position dictates my action.

AK is a very strong hand but as soon as you go all in the way the hand develops is out of your control. A lot depends on your opponents and the read you have on them. I prefer to play AK and AQ for that matter in a controlled way to maximise the return.

6-max or FR? It does make a huge difference. 6-max is an auto call/shove. FR if it's UTG, I might not call but i don't play FR anyway. Everyone who plays suggests playing AK like the weak tight player they are can come to my table. If a guy goes all in in front of me, do you think he is a good player? If he's shortsacked, do you think he's always doing it with AA? Just call. If he has a monster your pretty unlucky, and why are we scared of flipping in cash games? Seriously.

Oh and to Tom1559, we wamt to be all in because we can see all 5 cards. Playing it in a 'controlled' way is much harder.

Agree.

if you have a hand like AK preflop and people before or after you keep re-raise then you best bet is to fold them, due to that they are showing strong hands . They may have pocket aces, kings or even a mid pair. Remember that when you playing with someone with a pair ( any pair ) your AK is still 2nd best even with pocket 2. If people are going all in it's best to just throw the hand away. But is your the raiser and people are re-raise it depends on how much is the raise and amount as well...use your pot odds to help you answer your question

I just lost all in with AK of spades at sg in the middle stage. I had 15 blinds But I lost to someone who raised a lot before the flop for 10 minutes. I thought i had the best hand but the donkey showed me AA . Just bad luck i guess It happens in poker. Ussualy if someone is playing tight before going all in ... means he has a mosnter. But in my case was just bad luck. Yesterday with AK I banged 5 players who raised with Ace and nothing.

But the theory is ... if u have AKs raise 3xblind if is a 9 sits table and see what happens after you . If someone goes all look at his stack first. Short stacks will go all in with ace something suited, small pairs ... etc. Than u watch at your stack and see if u can take the risk. Only AA and KK have an clear advantage . Small pairs .. even QQ, JJ, TT have maximum 55 to 45 percent of winning to AKs. So if i have a good stack i'll call in this case. But if that one has a considerable stack .. i will not take the risk. Just fold and w8 for another opportunity. This works only when u are heads up with the all in guy. If there are already 2 players all in u just fold. Your chances of winning goes down under 40 percent.
This is how u play when u have a medium or high stack. If u are short stack under 10 blinds u should consider going all in with AKs from any position. At least if everybody falls u get the blinds and antes. If someone calls with AQ,AJ,AT, or any pair lower than AA or KK , it is a flip coin and u might get lucky and save yourself.

At the button ... well... this is the spot where i do not have experience cose i am still a beginner. and I would like someone to explain how u play AK from the button when someone in early position already raised 3xblind and everybody untill the button folded. U call or reraise ? If the flop is K,J,9 or 2,76 how do i play? I need to know how do i play if i have a medium stack around 30 blinds. I can go broke or i can be bluffed. Not much space to move. I know he raised and suppoze he have something . I know i can calculate my odds, But i do not know how i avoid being bluffed.

I agree on what your are saying but to sum it all up.. Small ball people

When this happens to me, I like to remind myself that even a blind squirrel finds the nuts now and again.

RF

@swingro
If both stacks are deep I would just call from the button, you have position throughout the hand so there's no need to push pre-flop. If I'm short of course it's an auto-shove.

Middle to late position of a SNG, you really have no excuse for folding AK preflop. The blinds alone a worth stealing and any limps/raises before you are giving you +EV to 3bet. A little bit of thought process is required if you are looking at a 4/4 player or 4way pot or something (and insta-fold). Edit: No problem with calling all in preflop either unless the afore mentioned conditions are filled.

Early stages of a tournament, I am usually prepared to let AK go if the villain stack size is going to cripple me, there will be better opportunities later.

Cash games, I am letting this go almost instantly unless it is a proven maniac and/or (preferably and) a real short stack.

i meant about calling or not, supposing that a player shoves and its folded to me
so i guess in early stages i would have to fold many hands like AK, but deep in the tournament not very often

Lets not forget also late in the tourney on the bubble sometimes you need to fold A K.

for example: 4 people left in a 9 man. you are second with 4800 in chips on the small blind. Button is big stack with 6900. the other 2 players have 1100 and 700 respectively. blinds are 200/400 25 ante.

big stack shoves its an auto fold here. Even if you think the big stack is just throwing his big stack around there are only a few hands (A- or K-) that you feel comfortable with. every thing else will have you squirming.

Also let me clarify that I dont play just to cash I do play for first so even in this scenario I am not folding QQ+ maybe even JJ depending on how aggressive the big stack is being. I will risk bubbling but I like to be at least a 70/30

Well, you are just 70 to 30 if you dominat the hand with Ax and you are just 50 to 50 if you are up against a smaller pair.
Espacialy in low limit games people call/go all in with bad hands.
So you will get more bad beats than in higher limits....
And remember that AK is just As high!

Getting AK all in pre-flop depends on two things.

1: Fold equity. How much do you have?

2: What % of your stack you've already commited (i.e. do you have pot odds to continue).

If you're playing a tournament then ICM will come into it too.

Also against good opponents range balancing matters too, but good opponents are few and far between.

In the micro cash games where almost no one will 3bet and fold, calling can be better than 4betting, but otherwise raising/playing for stacks is generally best.