Playing AK pre-flop

I've recently watched quite a lot of videos on poker school online made by team pokerstar pro's and i've realised that all of them put their whole stack in pre-flop when they have AK. Is this a good play?

I think a hand with AK a very strong hand, but pre-flop, i think it depends very much on the game situation, it is only a freeroll tournament, cash game you're playing, what position is on the table, the amount of chips, the time of the tournament, finally there are several factors to consider, before all in pre flop with AK ..

Think you play cash games right R1ace? Generally I am happy to get it in with AK preflop in 100BB cash games. The only hand you are pretty much drawing dead against is AA. Sometimes you have to fold it though, for example if you 3bet it and a nit 4bets or shoves.

Lots to consider here. I play mainly STTs and, aside from the times I am against a familiar opponent whom I have a good read on, I am generally unwilling to stack-off early in the tourney with AK, toward the later stages, definately willing to shove/call a shove with AK.

Aside from the typical tight early/loose late strategy that is common, I simply feel that I have an advantage over much of the table in these STTs and am unwilling to be calling a shove early where I am likely to be flipping. I feel I'll find better spots later-on. as the table gets shorter and everyone's 'M' declines, then you need to be willing to take those opportunities that, maybe early-on, you'd shy away from.

yes micromachine, I play cash games. Until now i've pretty much always folded to 4-bets but I saw a couple of vids and it made me think. So you mean if the opponent has 100 or less bb then its ok to shove?

Big_Rudy - The only times i play tournaments is usually freerolls or when i'm bored i buy into a .25 cent mtt. I also play a bit tighter in the early stages and fold AQ or AK when there is a raise before as a lot of other players raise at early stages. Later on I loosen up and play such hands.

R1ace said:

yes micromachine, I play cash games. Until now i've pretty much always folded to 4-bets but I saw a couple of vids and it made me think. So you mean if the opponent has 100 or less bb then its ok to shove?

Click to expand...

Depends on villain and table dynamics.

Against some villains (fishy ones and very aggressive ones) it may be good to 5bet shove AK but at the lower levels (10nl and below) 4betting is quite rare and usually means QQ, KK, AA, so it would probably be safer to just fold. It's better if you are the one 4betting or 4bet shoving.

ok thanks

This is a love/hate hand for me! I usually bet very large with AK. The way my AK luck has been running lately, someone will call with a J 10 and by the river pull their straight or flush. So I immediately try to narrow the field down. It's not the most profitable move but it's definetly the safest move.

Alot matters here: The position and the stack sizes of your opponents and yourself. The basic rule from game theory is that you can get AK ai preflop if you have 50bbs or less. Anymore than that, and youll need more information about the player, sometimes its the right thing to do and sometimes not.