playing AK/AQ out of position

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maloxu82

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Guys how do you often play AQ/AK out of position ??

My last two freerolls I got kicked with these two hands.

first tournament - full ring table I was utg +1 and raised 5bb with AK , some guy reraised me to all in and I called.I was observing that guy and I think he was LAG , also I got only 12bb left so I was short stacked. Unfortunately he got KK and I lost but I don't think it was horrible play.

second tournament - once again from utg +1 raised 4bb and two guys which were pretty loose before went all in. Big mistake I was a little bit below avg stack and I called. Guys were holding 88 and 55 vs my AQs. I didn't improve and lost.

Share your thoughts and tactics how you play them !
 
C

ceedonsson

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If you are shortstacked opening hands like AK AQ makes no sense specially versus loose oposition. You don't have a made hand, you have no stack behind to bluff if you miss. The best option is to go all in in spots like that.

For the other hand, never commit your tournament life with AK,AQ in early to early/mid phase specially not versus multiple players. You can put pressure with hands like that against villains that are really lose but even versus them there is no need to put your tournament life at risk. There are far better spots specially in freeroll or low buyin tournaments where your oposition is weaker then in an average MTT.

Also opening to 4BB or 5BB makes no sense, and the more deeper you are the worse it is to open big like that.

You seem like someone who needs to learn alot :D
 
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NKGB13

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I Kinda agree to @Ceedonsson, AQ is not a VERY strong hand to call All ins specially out of position, and your AK play was ok, since you were shortstacked.

Man, if you bet 40% of your stack you're commited to the pot, and will most of the times need to put everything in. So chose wiselly the hands you're willing to do so.
 
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rule72

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1st Tourney: I usually use Harrington's M and if there's no ante M is 8 and if you have ante's M is even lower thus you have a push or fold only decision. Shoving gives you max fold equity against a lot of better hands. In this particular case KK's are not folding no matter what you do, but you still have a shot of doubling up if the A comes. If KK just happened to slow play by calling pot is 11.5 bb and you only have 7 bb behind not enough to get a drawing hand to fold after the flop.

2nd tourney: Not enough info, what were villain stack sizes and how many big blinds (or preferably M) did you have. Early in the tourney calling for my tournament life I probably fold to the all-in with a drawing hand.

Average stack size is what I look at to determine if I should become more aggressive in strategy sometimes, but it usually does not affect the decision on a given hand.
 
JayBonez

JayBonez

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an ace worth a look. Just watch for high raises. Hope you can get in cheap. Depending on the tourney or game you may just play suited.
 
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Dan Lucas

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Firstly, AK and AQ are very different hands. AK is 1st tier and AQ is 2nd tier because it can be dominated by 4 different hands, Whereas AK is only dominated by AA. Playing them out of position is totally dependent on your chip stack and any information you have on other players. With a short stack, you probably shove, not raise 4 or 5bb. AQ is dangerous because you can only hope you dominate or are in a race. With AK, it is generally a race, with no guarantee you win hand. So as you can see, AQ is much more dangerous from early position than AK.
 
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mrbond8844

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The board dictates the winner, they are high cards indeed but don't mean nothing if one isn't produced on the board, unless everyone else misses too, but my record with AKs are not good, I've kept track for the last 2 months because this was brought up before and I'm 3-11 with AKs
 
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Niksic007

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AK is a premium hand no matter how you look at it. When you are dealt this hand out of position, however, you will need to adjust for the disadvantage you are playing with against your opponents. Even pocket kings or pocket aces can be very tricky to play when you are out of position, and AK is no different. Being able to give up is the primary skill that you will need to learn if you want to achieve ultimate success with AK out of position. Yes, as odd as it may seem, your success in winning will rely heavily on your ability to fold. How is that for some irony? Folding isn’t the only thing you are going to be doing though. Maximizing value with AK is kind of like painting a work of art. You will need to tread lightly in some areas and force the issue in others. Yes, being out of position is not easy, but it is not the end of the world.
As much of a disadvantage as position might be, it definitely has its benefits as well. These positive attributes are particularly useful with AK. When you brick the flop and are left holding ace high, your position will allow you to push your opponents out of the way. AK out of position will be tougher to play when it misses because your opponents will be less likely to believe the story you are telling. If you raise pre-flop or re-raise pre-flop, there is no reason why someone shouldn’t be giving you credit for a big hand when you bet on the flop. If you are afraid to play aggressively and take some risks, though, you are going to have an even more difficult time playing AK. With that said, you are going to have a tough time making money with any hand if you are afraid to use some aggression.
 
recerveau

recerveau

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Like two situations you did the right thing.
They were played by coin flip.
Depending on the villains you have to talk even when you're short, you better go all-in!
 
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