ace king

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jamesralph

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hello,
recently i started playing online cash games at paddypower. im new to online poker but have been playing live poker (6 seat, sit n go's).
i've been doing well and steadly adding to my bankroll. My main problem at the moment is ace king simply because i've been used to trying to get my chips in middle when theres been a raise before me. i just want to know if ye think its a good idea to smooth call or if my old approach of taking the risk is right.
 
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DunningKruger

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It's difficult to create any real rule of thumb for playing AK (or any other hand for that matter) since preflop situations not to mention the players you play against will vary greatly. The stakes you play would be relevant also. In general you'll want to be 3betting the hand more often than you flat call.
 
Aces2w1n

Aces2w1n

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Yes if you re-raise it's at great indicator where your at.
Often you see people reraise with KK or AA but the odd occassion will flat call.
Or you will just have that crazed maniac who will want to get miracle cards and hunt u down. Fishing is the term
 
imboosted

imboosted

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you really have to know your opponents. sometimes it is better to flat than to 4bet. most people i know i will 3 bet and usually fold to a 5bet
 
bezobrazny

bezobrazny

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I can't agree more with Duning Kruger. It mainly depends what limits you are playing and sometimes is better just to make 3 bet but sometimes is better to go all in. With 'big slick' in my hands I am always very scared when I make 3 bet before the flop and my opponent just call, you cant know is he on some smaller pair waiting to get set or on some worse ace + card, that's why depends what limits you play and how many blinds you have in your stake.
 
Aces2w1n

Aces2w1n

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I like people respecting my bets with my ak... i'd rather just end it before preflop :) but even happier when it hits on the flop.
rather fustrating hand at times and it often seems to determine downswings
 
Aces2w1n

Aces2w1n

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Bezo wanna save time... give me your money now? :)
 
Aces2w1n

Aces2w1n

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Play strong with them... fire on the flop even when you've missed.
Occassionally a double barrell will work as well even if you've missed.

Ofc you do this play when you have control of the hand/table

**move i did earlier this week. I had AK fired the continuation bet on the flop, the other guy reraises me, knowing that he is putting me on AK, i take him out of the equation and drop the hammer ***BOOM*** he folds. great when it works but if you get it wrong you look like a d**k :)
 
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IntenseHeat

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I've said many times before I'm not a big fan of getting all my chips in before the flop with anything less than A-A. Even that is not guaranteed to hold up. No hand is. Think about how many times you've seen Q-Q run into K-K, or K-K run into A-A. Now think about A-K. As good a starting hand as it is, it is still just A high with a K kicker. If I were to shove with 2-2 (never happen) you would be behind praying to catch a card.

The other day I was playing when a player 3-bet all-in with A-K, got called and lost to 10-10. Someone at the table commented that there was no other single hand that they had seen more chips lost with than A-K. I responded that it was because of the way people play it. "Exactly," he replied "they always feel like they need to all-in with it."

I think you should be raising with it, or 3-betting if the pot is raised in front of you to try to limit the number the players in the pot, and to take the pot down pre-flop if possible. But you have to remember that it's essentially Ace high and that it's not guaranteed to win and decide if you want to risk your whole stack on it. When it becomes apparent that your opponent is not folding, I think it's better to resign yourself to seeing a flop as opposed to shoving. You might be able to induce a fold with a c-bet after the flop. You also leave yourself the opportunity to get away from it if the board is unfavorable and you realize that your Ace high might not be good.
 
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Cafeman

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I tend to raise with AK pre flop, but I sometimes just call. I might even fold it pre flop. I suppose I'm trying to say, it depends.
 
ScottieDuncan

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AK is a tough hand to know what to do with. You have to know your opponents in order to know how to react. Also, how much $ do your opponents have vs what you have.
Actually, it depends on these factors and maybe others also.
 
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DunningKruger

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I've said many times before I'm not a big fan of getting all my chips in before the flop with anything less than A-A. Even that is not guaranteed to hold up. No hand is.

As long as we keep in mind that eventually we'll need to start thinking about balancing our jamming ranges and that if we only ever get in AA preflop for instance then players are just going to lol and muck their QQ or w/e when we 4bet once every several hundred hands. In the micros this is less of an issue as you could probably fold nonstop for an hour, open shove aces, and still get calls from hands like JJ and AK regardless. Heh.
 
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sir_lagalot

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i seem to have been running into loads of trouble with Big slick, and AQ and AJ as of late. I play with fish who tag along regardless of a preflop raise with weak holdings. C-bets dont help either, they come along for the ride anyhow eventually hitting some low pair and betting me out the pot. So I suppose it pretty much depends on the people you're playing with. I try to throw off reads by raising 70% of the time. I was dealt AK two times today, raised 3-4x big blind preflop from the button and once UTG , hit nothing on the flop, C-bet about 1/2 the pot and the guy who took the pot from the me in the first hand did so with 95o and the second time with 36o. :p
 
Aces2w1n

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What was his chipstack bigger than yours? I know at the casino theres a lot of LAGS especially with biggish stacks and will call with any two cards. Hell last night i saw ppl raising with 82 offsuit

Best thing to do is make them pay for their draws... half the pot??? maybe you need to bet the pot or at least 3/4 of the pot... PPL calling you preflop, perhaps with hands like this you need to bet even bigger to exploit their hands and put your opponents into making tough decisions rather than putting yourself in them.
 
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sir_lagalot

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its this home game and since they can top up whenever they please the guys at my table are mostly incredibly loose players. Yesterday I had AKs, 8 handed table. I raised and since I knew i'd get callers with absolute crap I raised 5xBB , I get two callers, Flop comes 2d-5c-ks.. I had position, was checked to me so I bet half the pot, the guy calls me all in..shows 2-5 !!! I raised with Aces preflop and this other guy goes all in, I call he shows pocket 2's and ofcourse hits a set on the flop. This has been going on for months :p .
 
Aces2w1n

Aces2w1n

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When i play a home game i play the same as i would 1c2c..... Sit N go but which means don't bluff until a couple ppl left and always bet, doesn't have to be much but as long as everyones calling your getting great odds for hitting 2 pair with.

Also if your only betting with premium depending on your mates at home, they could be fishing you.

Reraise them preflop and learn to trap them :) ... If you play Sit N go's even pushing all in sometimes is the trick, we have a rebuy system so it's a great way to chip up.

Suited connectors are normally the cream at my home games. Since you get a lot of multi way pots lagalot
 
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Machidon7

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hello,
recently i started playing online cash games at paddypower. im new to online poker but have been playing live poker (6 seat, sit n go's).
i've been doing well and steadly adding to my bankroll. My main problem at the moment is ace king simply because i've been used to trying to get my chips in middle when theres been a raise before me. i just want to know if ye think its a good idea to smooth call or if my old approach of taking the risk is right.
usually i don't like to call a raise with AK (i like to be the aggressor and raise with it ... ),but in some cases i might just flat call (ex :against a tight early position opponent ...)
 
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