Playing AK from the blinds...

[nameless1537]

One of the most frustrating things for me lately is getting premium hands while in BB or SB. It's been happening more often than not, and I'm learning to tone down my aggression a bit more when I get these hands while in SB or BB with multiple players in the pot. I play NL2 right now, and a lot of people generally don't fold to raises when there are multiple limpers.

So here's a recent hand I want to ask you about:


pokerstars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (SB): 78.5 BB
BB: 95 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 4)
UTG: 107 BB (VPIP: 30.77, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 13)
UTG+1: 100 BB (VPIP: 9.09, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 11)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
MP+1: 170 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
MP+2: 107.5 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
CO: 38.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)
BTN: 150.5 BB (VPIP: 93.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has As Kd
fold, fold, fold, MP+1 raises to 3 BB, MP+2 calls 3 BB, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, Hero calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop : (13 BB, 4 players) 6h Jh 7c
Hero checks, MP+1 checks, MP+2 checks, BTN checks

Turn : (13 BB, 4 players) 2s
Hero checks, MP+1 checks, MP+2 bets 7 BB, fold, fold, fold

MP+2 wins 12.5 BB

In this case, someone raised in late position, and I decided to simply call the bet rather than 3bet for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I didn't want to build a huge pot and then play for it out of position since I really didn't think others would fold to a reasonable 3bet (like maybe 15-18BB) since there were so many others involved. Secondly, I just HATE playing OOP, even with a premium hand. The only hands I'd probably 3bet on would be AA or KK in this position. Even AKs wouldn't be enough.

So my question is: what factors do you consider when playing premium hands from the blinds? What would you need to see to 3bet? In this case, was a smooth call the right play?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Babis VGS]

No it wasn't. In general never calling from SB is a correct strategy. With AK you should 3bet big 100% OOP with all these limpers. Maybe someone would call and you would play heads up with him. If you miss you check give up, simply as that. It's NL2.

 

[nameless1537]

No it wasn't. In general never calling from SB is a correct strategy. With AK you should 3bet big 100% OOP with all these limpers. Maybe someone would call and you would play heads up with him. If you miss you check give up, simply as that. It's NL2.

I’d agree if it was limpers (which I know I wrote about earlier but didn’t quite apply here)... but here we had a raise in MP+1 followed by 2 callers so at least one of those is probably indicating some kind of strength.

I’ve been caught in this kind of situation before and if they call 1 pre-flop raise, there is a high likelihood that they call another and then I’m stuck playing OOP. There are times that I’d even consider folding AK in the blinds if there was a lot of LAGs in the hand...

 

[riverokker]

You gotta play more aggressive with AK you gotta make them think you have AA OR KK. You went into the hand with a poor strategy and loss because of it. Good Luck At The Tables.

 

[TheGenera1]

I’d agree if it was limpers (which I know I wrote about earlier but didn’t quite apply here)... but here we had a raise in MP+1 followed by 2 callers so at least one of those is probably indicating some kind of strength.

I’ve been caught in this kind of situation before and if they call 1 pre-flop raise, there is a high likelihood that they call another and then I’m stuck playing OOP. There are times that I’d even consider folding AK in the blinds if there was a lot of LAGs in the hand...

I would disagree. The fact that there was a raise from MP+1 (widish range) followed by two people flatting, shows incredible weakness. The MP+1 has the "tightest" range here, as their range is uncapped (could hold anything but likely to have a wide range) and the two callers have shown immense weakness by not being "strong" enough to 3bet the wide open rage of MP+1

This is a clear case of 3betting large with AK. You can either pick the pot up right there, or be ahead of the calling range of any one of them. If we miss the flop we can either:

1) Bet for value when we hit, or bet as a bluff against weak tight players when we miss.
2) Check when we miss against loose players and still be profitable from the times 2nl players will call down light with worse hands.

Don't be afraid to 3bet with AK at the micros. Generally, 2nl players will 4bet AA-KK and sometimes QQ so if you pair your ace or your king, it's usually good. Only have to worry about random 2 pairs and sets mainly.

 

[Dj_demain_matin]

You played the hand poorly, you should have been more aggressive.

 

[pentazepam]

I’d agree if it was limpers (which I know I wrote about earlier but didn’t quite apply here)... but here we had a raise in MP+1 followed by 2 callers so at least one of those is probably indicating some kind of strength.

I’ve been caught in this kind of situation before and if they call 1 pre-flop raise, there is a high likelihood that they call another and then I’m stuck playing OOP. There are times that I’d even consider folding AK in the blinds if there was a lot of LAGs in the hand...

Just because you 3-bet pf and miss don't mean you have to continue putting in money post flop (especially not multi-way). You can just check and at the most call one more small bet or give up.

You are at the top of your range so as other has stated a 3-bet is the "standard" play.

Like all things in poker you can always find exceptions. If you for example play against players that is total calling stations post flop I guess you can play fit or fold poker yourself after seeing a flop at a low price to lower variance.

If a very tight player raises from early position it can also be a reason to just call pre flop with AK in the blinds.

 

[EvertonGirl]

OP you played it perfectly IMO.

3betting with AKo pre OOP is not a standard play, there is no need bloating a pot with a hand that could end up a marginal hand on the flop!

 

[nameless1537]

OP you played it perfectly IMO.

3betting with AKo pre OOP is not a standard play, there is no need bloating a pot with a hand that could end up a marginal hand on the flop!

Thanks for the encouragement. That is the thought process that led me to call pre-flop rather than 3bet. Just knowing that I might hit the flop 1 time in 7 is nice, but to still have to play it OOP is not fun. If it was only one raiser pre-flop and it was potentially heads up, I'd usually 3bet, even against a tight aggressive player because I need to have an idea of what I'm dealing with based on the response to my 3bet.

Don't be afraid to 3bet with AK at the micros. Generally, 2nl players will 4bet AA-KK and sometimes QQ so if you pair your ace or your king, it's usually good. Only have to worry about random 2 pairs and sets mainly.

I have no problems with 3betting with AK from any other position -- even MP. From MP, at least I can go in with the belief that I'm shutting the door for most players with a 3bet with the exception of hands in a very high range. From LP, most have already acted and I have an idea of what I'm dealing with on the table, plus I have position post-flop.

But from the blinds, it just feels different. I'm 3betting into a situation where I only have position pre-flop (where I have maximum information), and OOP for the rest of the hand post-flop. 3betting from being in strong post-flop position means that I am less "afraid" of calls to my 3bet.

The challenge of playing in the blinds for me from the role of aggressor is that I am first to act post-flop, and expectation is to cbet on any decent looking flop (where it looks like I have a potential to hit my range)... but cbetting into 3 other players would need a higher equity hand because I have to expect at least 1 other player to call my cbet. But not cbetting on the flop indicates weakness and invites someone else to take charge. If the next player to act bets and everyone else calls, then I'd have the odds to call, but the positional disadvantage would act to counterbalance that.

Now, if the situation is that there were multiple limpers followed by one pre-flop raiser, and then action comes to me... I actually would be OK with 3betting in that situation because I'd think that the limpers would fold when there are two raises since their last action, so the action would likely be heads up... and I would have fewer issues to deal with.

That said, even 3betting to defend my blind against one raiser pre-flop would be quite fine for me. Further, if I find myself in a situation where everyone else limps into the pot before me in the blind, then I would actually have no problems raising from the blinds because everyone else has already indicated weakness and a cbet can more often than not compel others to fold and I can take the pot right there. Even if they didn't, the pot isn't that big and I can still deal with the turn.

For all of these reasons, I have a specific issue with 3betting into a pot with AK from the SB/BB with multiple players in a pot with an initial raiser and multiple callers.

In my situation... I called from BB with the intention of check-raising on a post-flop bet if I hit the flop with an A or a K (no intention of donk-betting... would rather be in position of aggressor going into the turn rather than being raised.

Would love feedback to see what areas in my thinking process is flawed here. Especially to those who felt that I should have been more aggressive preflop in this kind of position.

 

[Cash2019]

Hi! An interesting hand, I think it if this opponents have a large percentage of fold on a bet, then you can try to play a more aggressive preflop. However, if you make a minraise, the rest of the participants will call, since the pot odds allow to do this, thereby creating a multipot. In which case if there is no coincidence on the flop, then this will be a very difficult decision.

 

[pentazepam]

OP you played it perfectly IMO.

3betting with AKo pre OOP is not a standard play, there is no need bloating a pot with a hand that could end up a marginal hand on the flop!

So you flat your whole range in the blinds?

Can be a little easy to read if you only 3-bet your strongest pairs.

You can of course hyper-polarize by just 3-bet AA, KK and some bluffs to balance.

I also wrote standard in quotation marks. I mix it up myself depending on the calling tendencies of my opponent pre and post. Often call with AK suited in the blinds against an early position and sometimes middle position raiser to keep all suited connectors and worse aces in if they often fold them to a 3-bet.

AK off suit can almost be seen as a combination of value and bluff since you want them to fold lower pairs etc.

You are still on the top of tour range so a 3-bet against all but the tightest players can never be wrong - unless you play so low stakes that they pay you off with garbage like low Ax or even worse when you hit. On the other hand if they call the 3-bet with such garbage it can again be a standard 3-bet for value.

 

[EvertonGirl]

So you flat your whole range in the blinds?

Can be a little easy to read if you only 3-bet your strongest pairs.

You can of course hyper-polarize by just 3-bet AA, KK and some bluffs to balance.

I also wrote standard in quotation marks. I mix it up myself depending on the calling tendencies of my opponent pre and post. Often call with AK suited in the blinds against an early position and sometimes middle position raiser to keep all suited connectors and worse aces in if they often fold them to a 3-bet.

AK off suit can almost be seen as a combination of value and bluff since you want them to fold lower pairs etc.

You are still on the top of tour range so a 3-bet against all but the tightest players can never be wrong - unless you play so low stakes that they pay you off with garbage like low Ax or even worse when you hit. On the other hand if they call the 3-bet with such garbage it can again be a standard 3-bet for value.

No I don't often flat from the blinds especially if I am in the SB, I will flat AK some of the times if it is ORd from EP or MP.

I wasn't taking a pop at you saying that 3betting AK is standard, I thought the guy before you had put it after he told OP he played this poorly and he should be more aggressive.

 

[yoejslattery]

Good points all. I just thought I would add that if you don't 3-bet for value pre-flop, you may not get any value when you hit on the flop.

 

[EvertonGirl]

Good points all. I just thought I would add that if you don't 3-bet for value pre-flop, you may not get any value when you hit on the flop.

I agree with the likes of JJ-AA, but AK can be a spewy at times and some people can and will get married to it. Say we flat AK OOP and the flop comes AKx OR from UTG/MP could have AT, AJ and AQ sort of hands and would probably go for the cb thinking that we are weak with just flatting it.

 

[yoejslattery]

I agree with the likes of JJ-AA, but AK can be a spewy at times and some people can and will get married to it. Say we flat AK OOP and the flop comes AKx OR from UTG/MP could have AT, AJ and AQ sort of hands and would probably go for the cb thinking that we are weak with just flatting it.

Good point. You don't think they would call with those hands with a 3-bet from the BB?

 

[Johnkanon]

Interesting spot...


I think that you played the hand well. There is 1 reason why i would concider 3betting here: the (small sample size) calling station on the button. I would be very happy to see everyone fold after 3betting and play heads up vs this guy with AK, even OOP.

Hope this helps

 

[EvertonGirl]

Good point. You don't think they would call with those hands with a 3-bet from the BB?

I believe they would call a 3b with those hands, but I don't think we would get much action on the board I mentioned if we did 3b as it hit us hard.

 

[okeedokalee]

At the lower cash buy-ins many players disregard good play strategy and will chase with almost any hand. AA AK etc lose their strength when this happens.

 

[Tmoney999]

You chose the more passive approach with this hand, and i don't mind that, or think it is bad OOP. Just remember passive poker in the long run is not winning poker. Lots of players like myself choose to raise here, calling just minimizes your losses if you don't happen to make a hand but your never maximizing value with premium holdings doing this, and become easy to play against. It is not every hand that you pick up a premium holding, so in my opinion, you look to get mass value with these hands when you get them, despite your position. If you did raise a respectable size your likely to just be playing heads up post flop if at all. No raise is fine and it happen to work out because you never hit the flop, but in hindsight it is negative EV, with such a strong holding as AK. People tend to give OOP raisers a lot of respect, if they have any knowledge of the game, this makes it easy to pick up pots with a single bet on the flop. I think you played it very passive giving multiple players a chance to suck out on a monster like AK, this being said you never connected so it doesn't seem like a big mistake, but it is a slight mistake if you ask a aggressive player like myself. All in all you lost the minimum with this hand here OOP, but you never gave yourself a chance to win the maximum with a premium holding, or even the chance to just pick the pot up with a stern bet post flop. Play seems fine in this spot but is a mistake in the long run.

 

[kingleo720]

AK evry taim i reiz or re-reiz