How to play AK preflop facing a 3bet?

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Tricky123bet

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Facing a 3bet when OOP can be a tough spot, even when holding AK. Either you just call and miss the flop 2/3 of the time, or you 4bet, get called, and still miss the flop 2/3 of the time. After 4betting the AK you might try to fire a cbet when you miss, only to get called, and be out of position on the turn, in a miserable spot (unless you improved).

So when you get 3bet and you have AK; how often should you call, and how often should you 4bet? Does it depend on the opponent? It's how to play it at the microstakes I'm interested in.
 
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xBonkar

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AKs is top 3% of hands. 4-bet should be profitable in the long run even OOP
 
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LFC_yllnwa

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Very often after an all in preflop with AK nothing comes up.. stopped to put 4bet and exhibit.. Try to make call and see the flop.. don't rush, play slowly. Good luck;)
 
PokerNuts01

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Very often after an all in preflop with AK nothing comes up.. stopped to put 4bet and exhibit.. Try to make call and see the flop.. don't rush, play slowly. Good luck;)
Very often?? Your chance is huge against all hands except AA/KK..
 
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LFC_yllnwa

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Very often?? Your chance is huge against all hands except AA/KK..

Are you serious? I was talking about the fact that on the table after all does not come in, neither king nor ACE, and stand against a couple who respectively win, sometimes you get the call against QT, 78, 9T Suited and one of the cards come on the table... :(
 
milka1605

milka1605

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I would call and look at the flop. Further on the circumstances. In some cases I raise and make Allin. It depends on the importance of the tournament.
 
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Ametist17

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AK it is necessary to play aggressively! The position at a table, is also important
 
Svyat66556

Svyat66556

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Do not hurry to play outset the game, study opponents, then make your own conclusions, as you get better to play before you bet 3бб, make a call or make riras, eating the opponent will go ollin probably has a pocket pair, a chance to win with AK 33%
 
sSAINTSs

sSAINTSs

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Facing a 3bet when OOP can be a tough spot, even when holding AK. Either you just call and miss the flop 2/3 of the time, or you 4bet, get called, and still miss the flop 2/3 of the time. After 4betting the AK you might try to fire a cbet when you miss, only to get called, and be out of position on the turn, in a miserable spot (unless you improved).

So when you get 3bet and you have AK; how often should you call, and how often should you 4bet? Does it depend on the opponent? It's how to play it at the micro stakes I'm interested in.

I would just call and wait for the flop to make my design.
 
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theresets

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I'm aware AK is a good hand but that statement is not true. You're flipping against every pair.
 
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mikey481968

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i can fold ak when rased to me in live tournaments even on line not a big deal
 
DudePoker

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You'd be hard pressed not to see me shoving AK, but my game pretty much revolves around fold equity. I don't play live at all, so my psychology might be different there.
 
Pauliefromgoodfellas

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you want to have a AK or 2 in your flatting range if you're playing high stakes but in low staked 4 betting will be profitable. Depending on the player you might want to flat oop. Remember that the lower the stack to pot ratio (spr) is the less of an advantage position is.
 
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Dlbcanuck

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Flop

Knowing the other players at the table would helpful since if someone been tight all day and they raised they might have something. But if the person is playing loose I'd call and see the flop.
 
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Tricky123bet

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I'm aware AK is a good hand but that statement is not true. You're flipping against every pair.

Yes, if you get to see all 5 cards you are flipping against pairs below KK. But the problem is that the chance of catching an A or K on the flop is only 1/3. And since you are almost always going to face a cbet from the preflop 3bettor after you missed, you aren't going to have the right odds anymore to see the turn and river cards.
 
Entrik

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With such a card you need to play aggressively!
 
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kay1919kay

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My only question is are they suited if so,, thats when I 4-bet however if not I will just call.
 
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kay1919kay

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lol same here :) when I do get them the suit that comes up is normally opposite :)
 
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McDrix

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Calling, seeing the flop and hope to connect. AK is a nice hand specially suited but it still needs some help. 4 betting will be the result of analyzing the other player.
 
rodrigo1972

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I always call depending of my potition because the range of the rival is JQ+ or 55+ that is what I think
 
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bumerangue

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At microstakes, after a 3-bet, in early/middle stage I 4-bet if have at least about 20 BBs and shove it if 15 or less, so far its showing some results, but it still depends on a lot of factors.
 
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Che

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In order to win we got to beat all other two cards combos under KKings and all other AKings as well. Here is how is done.

AK suited or unsuited is the strongest no-pair hand in No Limit Hold’em. It holds very good equity against all hands if we can see all five cards. If we hold 22 to QQ is 46%, up against KK is 30%, up against AA we have 8% and against anything else we have a huge advantage. Therefore, AK can be played really strong as it performs well against every hand except AA/KK and we hold a blocker to even that and cut all AA or KK combos in half.

A great majority of live No Limit Hold'em players (California and Las Vegas) even winning players play AK far too weakly. Most of them think the AK is a drawing hand, therefore they only call raises to hit the flop or fold after the flop if they missed. Playing AK this way guaranty the lowest earn possible for the hand. The lack of reciprocal edge by playing AK softly alone demonstrates why we should no play AK softly. If we play AK in a defensive manner rather than offensive then our hand playing is basically really weak which breads an entirely weak overall game plan.

Let’s do a few examples to show you what I mean by that:
Regular 2-5 game, 100bb effective, hero is a unknown to the villain but the hero does know that the villain is tourist pleasure player basically playing his own two cards. Non aggressive demeanor at the table and maybe I can call him just a soccer dad, if you will.
Hero opens 3bb to $15 UTG and the villain two seats to our left 3-bets us all-in 40bb to $200. What we do here? ..., Well, what’s his range? - I would say that his rage in the normal run-of-the-mill 2-5 game would be probably QQ+, mostly with just maybe few AK sprinkle in. We’re pounded by this range, we are out of position and this hand reeks of reverse implied odds. Therefore, I fold. This is probably considered sacrilegious by many to fold an AK preflop there is, but I can assure you that if you are not folding an AK some preflop you are leaking quite a bit.

Now, let’s take a look at another one:
2-5 game, 100bb effective. Hero is basically unknown at the table and however has seen a younger seemingly aggressive villain over play 99, TT, JJ. KQ, KJ, AJ, AT preflop by 3-bet them often. The hero opens to $20 in late middle position and the villain quick 3-bets to $75.
What is the hero do? .., Well, what is his rage? - I would say, here on average his range would be 99+, AK for sure and possible AQs, AJs maybe even AQo. Having said that I will 4bet to an amount that the villain is unable to flat and reevaluate after the flop. I’m gonna put him to a push fold decision. This amount I would imagine would be around $200. Placing this amount of pressure on the TT, JJ and QQ will many times produce folds as is plainly obvious to the villain that he has zero fold equity if he shoves. Many times this type of villain elects not to stack-up for TT, JJ and even QQ which is a huge plus for us.

We must always think about what the villain most likely has or he most likely would do with it. This is how we decide on our bet size with which we attempt to get any specific job.
 
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omgdontcall

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Things to consider: effective stack sizes, opponents history/3-bet ranges, in a tournament setting ICM considerations
 
Jhon Lozano

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Sadly AK, although a strong hand, can lose against a low pair; The best thing you can do is wait for the flop, and play progressive depending on the flop, remember that patience should be your ally. :rolleyes:
 
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