Can we speak with some data to back this up?
To me AK is strong and worthy of pre-flop shove under the right circumstances.
But what I like to avoid is shoving a huge stack with AKo from early position early in a tournament.
But we are playing with position in mind, with our carefully gathered intel, congnizant of action before us, and considerate of player tendencies of those who play behind us.
I think there are people who still like to argue whether AKo is a made hand or not. I say YES because it beats all other non-made hands. But you could argue it is simply the best of non-made hands.
But with its ability to block AA and KK and be a flip/race against any other hands/pocket pairs, its strength should not be overlooked.
The key here is not to over-value any two cards. first, you need to value your chip stack. That is what is keeping you in the game. Not two hole-cards. Your hole cards are what risks knocking you out of the game.
If you have 200BB early in a tourney, sure, but AKo...but why risk your tourney life over it? I'm not suggesting you cower in fear if you get 3-bet/4-bet...but we shouldn't always be so eager to get all our chips in pre-flop.
I like a good 3/4-bet with AKo, narrowing the field, and then a good flop bet, especially with over cards on the board. But you also need to maintain some fold equity and be prepared to let losing hands go.
(This is a bit rich from me as I spend a fair amount of time trying to be less timid, post-flop...almost ot the point of becoming a call-station. It is important to be able to let go when you're beaten. That is what is holding most of us back, I expect.
Cheers,
JT
