AK in cash games

[zwbb]

we go all-in to get our opponent's weaker hands that he could otherwise check without paying us. Always mentally check if there really are combinations with decent showdown value in our range of hands that we can get from. Or combinations of strong draw hands that should never be given free cards.

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

Lets put it this way, you're playing $1/2 NL Holdem live and you have $300 on the table and so do most of your opponents.

You raise to $6 and someone reraises to $18. If you go ALL IN and get called and lose the rest of the $280+ on a drawing hand like AK and think its a good idea, then I would say people who play like this are the first ones to complain they're on a "bad streak" and have problems having consistent winning sessions.

A play like that makes zero sense to me. Better to call and see where you are on the flop and take down a nice sized pot if you hit something on the flop with it only being $1/2 or $1/3 BBs or whatever the blinds are to see 9 hands an orbit.

Same thing if someone shoves for 200-$300 and you have to act, just fold it.

Calling your whole $200 or 300 stack make zero sense to me. And if you're playing live you'll probably get callers even if you hit it on the flop anyway.

 

[dreamer13]

With this card,many consider themselves the leaders of the distribution and many go all-in,l think this is not right,l am careful with this card until l make a combination.

 

[pirateglenn]

I play a lot of live cash games at Casino and i can tell you from experience that AK is by far the most jammed hand i see, it is equitable in cash games as far more players online will jam a small pocket than in a live game (in my experience in playing live for over 20 years).
The pre flop jam with AK in live cash is largely to do with the fact that there are so many set mining hands and players holding AK are scared to see a flop especially if they are running bad and are pot committed.
For me when playing live, if i am running well and up against someone of whom i know is likely to call with a wide range and there is a spot to jam AK in - im down with that and more often than not, i am ahead - i think the skill here is picking the right spot (position) and also the right player.

 

[Atararo14]

AK is considered a premium hand, it's profitable over the long turn.

To play it correctly, you just have to follow the raising techniques indicated in the cardschat lessons.

 

[sincos]

AK is a beautiful hand, but I hate it. AK is a big deceiver

 

[valetgll]

If I don't have a pair preflop, I won't throw AK all-in. Especially if the opponent reraises.

 

[1nsomn1a]

I think that re-raises and all-ins with the AK hand are no longer related to the strength of the hand, since when not falling into the flop, these hands are quite vulnerable, they are more related to the fact that we block premium hands and can portray them on the preflop.

 

[dreamer13]

AK is a premium starting hand.There is no doubt that this is indeed one of the strongest starting hands in poker.Knowing how to play AK correctly preflop will be a very valuable skill for you in the long run.

 

[eetenor]

would / do you rereraise or even go all in with it preflop even though you face lots of aggression and reraise from an opponent ?

i have often seen pros in high stakes poker or poker after dark reraising and even going all in with it . even very tight players like chris ferguson doing it

they treat AK even AK off suit like AA or KK

whats your take on this ?

Thank you for posting

Pros play ranges not just hands that is why they play AK like AA or KK because they block AA KK.
It is less likely in their V's hands and anytime the V does not have AA KK vs AK it is a flip at worst. Pros battling pros have to take more flips because their skill edge is less.

Vs weaker V we do not need to flip as often so we can adjust our strategy with AK

Hope this helps

 

[hobojim1247]

I treat it as just another starting hand. How I play it depends on game situation.

 

[hilary antonik filho]

Just yesterday, I lost two AK tournaments of the same suit, going all-in preflop, in one of them I was out of the bubble, there were two left for the bubble, unfortunately there are days that are night

 

[Spannerdeth]

For me AK is always a 4 bet hand and would go all in nearly all of the time unless I'm up against a total rock, who are more likely to have JJ, QQ because of blockers.

 

[emejota23]

You should, bet, strong, according to your position, and above all, if you connect something on the flop, and re-raise, in case someone bets you.

 

[Artexx]

Against a low pair it is approximately 50/50 chance to win. I would re-raise a hand like this according to the players im facing. I've seen to many players going all in or re-raising with TJo+ that i think the chance of facing a pair in these high bets is not very high...nevertheless...i lost many times with a AK against really bad hands (38o etc). So it depends on how lucky you feel

 

[June4Spades]

No, I wouldn't go all in with that. With AK you are more likely to loose even against a small pair.

 

[miguel198433]

my opinion

AK is a very good hand and even more so if it is the same color I always usually play allin pre flop you have to be unlucky if you hit a pair

 

[Oranaro]

AK plays very well postflop IP, you can bluff against small pairs, value better kings, better aces, have the nuts flush, get the straight, but OOP is quite bad, specially when you don't have the initiative, you will get denied from your value, so you prefer jam preflop in this case, and play postflop when having position. When you are less than 60BB depth, it's just better to shove in position too, you are beaten by AA KK , QQ, JJ, TT, sometimes 99 and 88 will call, you will make fold the AJ, KQ, KJ, which in fact you beat, but winning 100% time is better than 80% time, cause 60bb deep and less on 3 bets you will be anyways committed, and having to deal with double pairs, draws not easy in those spots.

 

[Rob Hobson]

Many things to consider, if it's pre flop, streets to come, number of players claiming the pot, position...and blend it all together...is Hard to get a answer at a particular way.

 

[Recreationalplayer]

would / do you rereraise or even go all in with it preflop even though you face lots of aggression and reraise from an opponent ?

i have often seen pros in high stakes poker or poker after dark reraising and even going all in with it . even very tight players like chris ferguson doing it

they treat AK even AK off suit like AA or KK

whats your take on this ?

AK is a very good candidate for going allin unless the stacks are 150BB+.
It has blockers to AA and KK and blocks a significant part of your opponents continuing range. Also the hand is flipping against many pairs and have a tough time getting value post flop when an Ace or King spikes.

 

[n0n4m3]

Will you re-raise or even go all-in preflop even if you face a lot of aggression and re-raise from your opponent?

I've often seen high-stakes poker pros or poker professionals reraise and even go all-in after dark. Even very tight players like Chris Ferguson do it

they consider AK, even offsuit AKs like AA or KK

What do you think about this?

AK is not yet a guarantee of winnings, I have seen how people with 2 3 in their hands collected a square, and at that moment I already put half of the jar on the line. It's a shame.

 

[dongato2]

I never go all in preflop with AK as I play low stakes where players are very tight

 

[siberianspecial]

depends on the value of the cashgame we're talking about, it may seem silly, but a $5 cash AK is very different from $1000 cash, if it's in smaller entries I don't shy away from raising or all-in...

 

[Erik343]

In the past I use to go all-in with AK. Now, I only go all-in with AA or KK. I don't even go all-in with QQ or JJ. I might not even raise with QQ. I sometimes even get royally screwed with KK. You should play how you want though, but with experience you might start playing more cautiously.

 

[zwbb]

The standard case when you can use all-in to increase your winnings is the presence of a strong hand in poker, which is impossible or very difficult to outbid. Of course, it's best to go all-in with the highest possible hand in the game.