Can we limp A-K?

In most cases we have to raise, reraise or even go all-in with A-K, but I will share with you an interesting shot that I played before two days:
I open A-K UTG, the players in the table are aggressive, if I raise UTG they will know that I have a big hand and probably they will just call. So, I decide to limp, I call, another player calls, and as I predicted one of the players made a big raise, another player call the raise, I go all-in and the original raiser call me, he had K-Q, and I double-up easily.
Never play the same way, you have to be creative and to take your decisions depending of the course of the game.

I discussed this with my poker buddies and we concluded its (almost) always better to blow the pot pre flop with strong hands. You dont specify the stack depth, but you will out of initiative post flop and rather than being proactive (where most of your edge comes) you are being reactive to the action which massively toughens your decisions, especially in multi way pots, which AK is not great at.

Good Luck!

I do limp AK and AA but then it depends on how my opponents play. If they bluff often I would limp check at the river maybe the turn too if I'm sure that some would go all in a desperate attempt to intimidate other plays that's when I call and win a massive pot. if your opponents play safe, then just 3bet preflop and keep on raising

badia232323 said:

In most cases we have to raise, reraise or even go all-in with A-K, but I will share with you an interesting shot that I played before two days:
I open A-K UTG, the players in the table are aggressive, if I raise UTG they will know that I have a big hand and probably they will just call. So, I decide to limp, I call, another player calls, and as I predicted one of the players made a big raise, another player call the raise, I go all-in and the original raiser call me, he had K-Q, and I double-up easily.
Never play the same way, you have to be creative and to take your decisions depending of the course of the game.

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You're so funny dude. "predicted" lol newborn Limpnostradamus...
You know, there is no need to teach us kids your lessons of your great victories. Shine of your wsop bracelet was so bright, that I had to dimm my monitor and reduce brightness to zero.

Article section of the forum explains better points of view.

I play AK mostly to see a flop. I dont usually go all in with the hand because it is usually dominated. If it is suited, I feel a bit better about it. But yes, you have to adjust to the table.

I always prefer bet with this hand Ak is a good hand but only preflop. then better try to restrict the number of players before the flop. It also depends on the table and the profile of the players but it is always the best way to play Ak.

Depends on the table. If you know you'll get action from any bet I'd still want to raise if you know someone is going to bet. Also suited does make I difference in situations.

I’d actually be way more “afraid” of you having a big hand if you limp UTG than if you raise (unless you’re limping frequently enough to make me not suspect anything, which would be a leak in it of itself imo). Sure, either play indicates some likely amount of strength given your position, but considering your hand, you should want more chips in the center when you’re likely to have the best of it, hence the raise.

I'd be raising there UTG. Nice play though.

I raise 3x with
I think that these cards I can raise.

Depending on chip stack, I have no problem with limping with AK and waiting for someone else to raise, if you're playing in a tournament. But in a cash game, I think raising is a must because you have more options. If someone re-raises, you can either call or re-raise. If you just limp, then you're opening up a wide variety of hands to call you.

Sometimes in late tournament or whene we are to deep i usually raise x3 with Ak depending what position i am, but in general AK is not really good to limp with, The only times i could limp with AK is if have to trap! For example everyone folded to the small blind and in deep i the tourney and enduce a raise from the big blind.

i change how i play ak off and ak suited depending on the situation, stack size, opponents, etc. certainly i've limped in early as well as limped in in position because of the situation and what i know about the players.

BEWARE OF THE LIMPER!

The limp is maybe nor scary in itself if you do it often, but the limp followed by a 3-bet screams: I have a very strong hand.

Very hard to balance your range with that move and everyone that have no odds to call can easily fold.

The only time is it profitable is if you have an overaggressive fish (or more) that raise almost always when someone limps, and the stacks are short or they still call with worse.

Most thinking players either limp after or fold then they get 3-bet (with-out a good hand).

You must incorporate a limp/3-bet bluffing range if you not want to be totally transparent. And since that is hard to do profitable from EP it is often better to raise your whole range.

pentazepam said:

You must incorporate a limp/3-bet bluffing range if you not want to be totally transparent. And since that is hard to do profitable from EP it is often better to raise your whole range.

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Good points in this post, well thought out! [emoji4]

In my opinion limping with AK achieves nothing, and is a waste of a good hand that doesn't come by very often. It encourages multiple players to see the flop, and it doesn't gather any information about the strength of their hands. If AK doesn't improve after the flop, you are better folding to a raise and multiple opponents.

If you want multipot with an unpaired hand - do limp

You can do this but you have to be certain you are going to get raised at some point preflop to get the isolation by re raising on the back end.

Isolation is what keeps this hand strong when you and your opponent misses. The more opponents the less chance they also miss the flop.

Id rather limp with hands that do better in multi way pots

When AK goes multi way you can end up with a hand that looks stronger than it is and you have to be prepared to fold a hand that could have benefited greatly from isolation. You open yourself up to getting blindsided by two pair Ax and low sets as well.

I think it will depend a lot on the opponents you have on the table ... however in my case I always play a strong hand like AK aggressively ... I don't like doing "LIMP" or doing a "Slow Play"

Lots of times you lose even with a strong hand like A K,so i wouldn't recommend going all in unless your stack is really low and the blinds are gonna kick you out )

Can we limp A K

Yes, I totally agree with you that you can’t play the same way. In contrast to the positions and style of players, when you need to raise A K, when you call or limp, and somewhere you even do allin. It all depends on the situation ...

I am not good at accurate data, but limp minus action at a distance.

AK

Good morning everyone.
There are situations that limp may be a good move, but it depends on several factors:
From the stack of your stack.
It depends on the position.
It depends on how the table is.
It depends on the information you have about the villain.
It depends on your understanding of the limp strategy.
I am not a fan of limp, but there are situations that I clean, especially small vs big, sometimes I do that with AA, sometimes I do with suteds.

I have no problem with limping with AK

It is good to mix up your play, to be unpredictable and tough to read.