All in with the AK

Jon Poker

Jon Poker

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Just wanted to start a little thread on this situation. I really like Daniel Negreanu's perspective on this hand when he says

"AK is a hand you go all in with - but not a hand to call an all in with".

Id be lying if i said i didnt agree with this in some respects. Number one you certainly want to be the aggressor going into an All In pot with someone of a similar stack size compared to yours, this puts them in a tough spot even if they do hold AK.

Secondly i think if you and the villan are involved in a pot with around 45-50 BB each and he 4/5 bet shoves on you....i think you could possibly fold your AK here against a TAG player.

Now obviously i think if you have your opponent covered 2.5x or more its an easy call with the AK or if you are just one of the shorter stacks at the table its not going to get too much better for you with 15BB or less - put it in there with the AK.

Anyways, what do you all think? How do you tend to play AK when it comes to all in situations in SnG's or MTTs?
 
jho

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AK is one of the few hands I'm willing to risk my tournament on.

I do agree with that statement mostly, but the factors present at the table always plays a factor.
 
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freestocks

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I am comfortable shoving all in with AK.
 
vavilen_

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AK's hand is good because you can refuse to play it on many flops, which can not be said about AA-QQ hand
 
Jblocher1

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The reason AK is so strong is because it blocks half the combinations of AA and KK and it's 48% at worst against all other hands. Very rare that I fold AK vs any jam that's <100BB. There would need to be some unique circumstances like major ICM pay bumps or an absurd nit 4/5 betting me
 
pirateglenn

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The truth about AK

I dont disagree with any of the comments above this post but want to add a little perspective to this as well..

Try this experiment at home over one month..

Deal yourself 22 versus AK from a deck of cards and keep doing this everyday with subsequent pocket pairs 33 up until you hit AA.

Calculate how many times your pocket pair wins and loses against AK on a board of 5 cards..

Yes i know we have the odds calculator to show us that for example 22 offsuit is a 52.5% favourite against AK offsuit 46.8% but obviously that discounts many other variables such as number of players in pot, suited cards and of course counterfeit cards (already folded aces, kings and 2s) - the point i am making is that by trying this ( believe me its interesting as i have been carrying this same exercise out for over 12 months now) to determine any correlation - to see if there is an average ballpark figure..for the record my stats show 56% for pocket pairs versus 43% for AK..

AK is most definitely a hand worth shoving on if your tourney life depends on it but dont be outraged when you see players shove lower pairs heads up when their life depends on it..its not that bad a play heads up...obviously the other player needs to have AK to make this an argument though!

Congrats on a good post and i will play anyone with my 22 versus your AK over 100 hands :)

Pirateglenn:2d4::2h4: v :ah4::kd4:
 
milka1605

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I do not always throw in allin. Everything depends on the size of the stack, the importance of the tournament and the proximity to the prizes. The smaller the stack, the more often it is necessary to use аllin.
 
TeUnit

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If you go allin with it at least you have fold equity and you can get hands like 88 or 99 to fold. In freerolls or situations where you think you can be called by worse it can also make more sense. But, if you think you have a skill advantage and cant be called by worse it probably doesnt make any sense to get it all in pre deep stacked.
 
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jfitzg414

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I think ALL IN on AK is based on position and if I have some history at the the table. Thoughts here you have 6 outs more if you are suited but still all in and risk your seat on 6 outs. If I am off the time and see guarded players I may do it but it would be hard for me to push all. I prefer a 5 bump
 
TulasMoreno

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I don't go all in every time with AK, i give priority to the position when I have AK, and most of the times I fold it when a bigger stack goes all in while I got those cards.
 
J

jfitzg414

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So I forgot I do weigh stack especially when is freeroll or low investment. Seems today's algorithms look to take out less stack players to clean the field any one see that
 
Jon Poker

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Im thrilled to have so many ppl chime in over just a few hours :)

I agree with most all of you, certainly a strong enough hand to call someones all in as long as you have them covered. But i think unless you are super short (20bb or less) its not a great hand to call an all in of a player who has you covered when your stack is really not in terrible shape - say 30bb or more.

Anyhow, im rambling. Thanks for the comments so far - keep em coming
 
lsbenn

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I hate AK!!!! I either lose with it or it beats me. Just saying.
 
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Obviously the situation is the biggest factor but in most situations I am okay with pushing when I have AK. Unfortunately I tend to call with AK more often than I should.
 
radartodd69

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I do alright with AK when I shove pre flop. If I let a flop come out, it always seems like the villains make a set or something of the like. Every once in awhile you get into a situation where villain has KK or even AA. That's rare though.
 
slurredreaction

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If I am chip leader at the table, I call all in all day. If i'm fighting for my life at the table, I might think twice. I prefer to be all in preflop with AK.
 
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I for one don't think AK is worthy of an all in until I hit the river and am sure that I have the nuts. I know people that shove all in with A anything. And yes they loose a lot! I don't see the glory in an A unless you catch something to go with it. I fold more A's than I can count. The people I play live tourneys with think I'm crazy for calling their all in with 3 5(my favorite hand) until I bust their AA, AK, ect. I don't like to call more than 3 or 4 BB with A ?, for if I don't catch pocket 2's have me.:D:D
 
FIERROS

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I agree if you have AK and you're the aggressor and you go all in first I guess thats fine, I've done it myself, sometimes you win or lose but at the end of the day, AK are just high cards.
 
frajola211

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agree that the AK is a good hand but we have to take into account the factor of the position on the table and the opponent is tigh or not
 
bc2017

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Sometimes I would be prepared to shove with it but if you are calling an all in, remember that AK is approximately a coin flip to win against any pair (actually the pair is usually marginally ahead). Your decision if it is worth the risk - depends on the table.
 
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Preflop I will just about always call allins with AK, as I am not quite good enough to fold AK yet. I struggle to differentiate if someones strongest raises are a range of JJ+ and AQ+ that AK does well against or if they have KK+ that is crushing AK.
 
SPANKYSN

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Shoving with AK depends on many factors already described in posts above. Personally, position is my main consideration. I sometimes put in a small raise/reraise from early position to build the pot. I don't want my AK to hit on the flop and collect only the blinds. AK is stronger pre-flop, so I don't like to call with more than one player when I miss the flop.
 
pancho_1954

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I would play all in, but depending on the situation and my opponents, AK is a good hand but we can not overestimate it, there are many factors to take into account to make a decision on how to play it
 
mariale_1990

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depending on the readings I have of the players, even though AK is a strong hand it is not a guarantee, of course, I would play it all in but it depends on the situation and my intuition, I would also play it very carefully
 
BobbyMorton

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I have no problem going all in with AK.
 
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