AK Overrated?

[billyth3kid]

how can you say AK wins more money... if you A or K hits every folds and you win a medium size pot... but the time that peopel dont fold they have the 2 pair or the set and you lose the big pot, n e way AK is way over rated AK vs 47off suit preflop is 60% to 40% not a dominating hand.... and thats just one caller only time AK dominates is to AQ, AJ, KQ n e other hand its not that great

 

[S93]

Playing in a tourney today blinds are 100/200 Player 1 UTG raises to 500 Player 2 in the CO re-raises to 1500 and then Player 3 push all-in over the top for a about 3500 which 25% of Player 1's stack and most of player 2. Player 1 then goes all in as does the Player 2.

Player 1 has AK
Player 2 has 99
Player 3 has JJ

Now Player 1 hit twice to take out Players 2 and 3 and good luck to him but surely he had to know he was behind and could have been dominated by AA or KK. A player I admire once said to me that if raise with big unmade hand and its gets re-raised and called or re-re-raised you are behind at least one of them which has proved very useful advice over the journey.

So my question was it a bad move by the AK that got lucky or would you have done what he did?

The Muppetteer

Asuming this wasnt in a 300-400BB deep cash game this is 100% standard play by the AK.
The dead money in the pot more then make up for the times he is dominated.

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 37.138% 37.16% 00.11% 139577264 418201.67 { AKs, AKo }
Hand 1: 45.056% 45.11% 00.11% 169423175 418201.67 { JJ }
Hand 2: 17.806% 17.76% 00.11% 66702306 418201.67 { 99 }

 

[glworden]

how can you say AK wins more money... if you A or K hits every folds and you win a medium size pot... but the time that peopel dont fold they have the 2 pair or the set and you lose the big pot, n e way AK is way over rated AK vs 47off suit preflop is 60% to 40% not a dominating hand.... and thats just one caller only time AK dominates is to AQ, AJ, KQ n e other hand its not that great

It's maddening that people continue to post this kind of information as if it were factual. It's grossly incorrect. Not only that, the 60/40 coinflip theory has already been posted and corrected in this very thread.

According to the Cardplayer poker odds calculator, AK vs. 47, all different suits, is 64.02:35.06, which is nearly 2:1. That is a big advantage.

Why do you lose a big pot if the opponent hits a set or two pair? Is it because the only move you know is all in, or because once you get AK you're playiing it all the way to the river no matter what? Just because you play it poorly does not at all mean it's a bad hand.

If you want to spout, spout. If you really want to learn the power of AK, go back and read AlienGenius's post on the subject. Play it strong pre-flop, read the situation, possibly C-bet with it and be able to get away from it.

It dominates all other non-paired hands and is a coin-flip to any pair. And for those who are petrified that the opponent might have AA or KK, well maybe you shouldn't be playing poker.
Gary

 

[glworden]

how can you say AK wins more money...

You can say it because it's not a guess. It's a fact. AK when properly played is a money winning hand. Check any large hand database of decent players. Why argue facts? It's just silly. If you are consistently losing with AK, you are playing it poorly.

 

[glworden]

Playing in a tourney today blinds are 100/200 Player 1 UTG raises to 500 Player 2 in the CO re-raises to 1500 and then Player 3 push all-in over the top for a about 3500 which 25% of Player 1's stack and most of player 2. Player 1 then goes all in as does the Player 2.

Player 1 has AK
Player 2 has 99
Player 3 has JJ

Now Player 1 hit twice to take out Players 2 and 3 and good luck to him but surely he had to know he was behind and could have been dominated by AA or KK. A player I admire once said to me that if raise with big unmade hand and its gets re-raised and called or re-re-raised you are behind at least one of them which has proved very useful advice over the journey.

So my question was it a bad move by the AK that got lucky or would you have done what he did?

The Muppetteer

Like most things, this is situational. Player one would play this hand short-stacked for sure, or when he has a big stack advantage. In this case, he's only risking a fourth of his stack to possibly take out two players. Both other players having pairs is almost a worst case scenario; the short stack could be playing jst about anything.

But even in this case, the AK has a 36% chance of winning, and even if he loses he is far from decimated. I might not play it with a medium stack that would be decimated by a loss, but others might disagree. How does this situation look from an ICM standpoint?

 

[LizzyJ]

This thread really has me puzzled.

'AA is over rated'
'AK is over rated'
'AK > AA'

Ummmmm. If AA and AK is over rated then what starting hands do you prefer? Let us in on the secret of which starting hand is the best.

Blonde 'ol me has no problem at all putting in a big raise to thin down the field or going over the top with a huge raise to inflict fear and second guessing. AA and AK are NOT multi-way hands, they work best heads up. I really, REALLY like AK when players over value AJ or KJ or AQ or A10. Sometimes I lose, but you have those hands dominated. (special note: dominated does NOT mean you are going to automatically win.)

Heck if I have AA and someone re-raises me all in I would actually call. But that's just me.

So please let the rest of us know if AA and AK aren't really that good starting hands which are?

 

[unchosen]

I believe AK is underated aswell. AK is a monster hand, but a lot of people have trouble folding AK when they know they are beat. Same goes with pocket pairs, they can be hard to fold when you know you are beat. I don't like going all in preflop with AK because most of the time, I find that it is usually a 50/50 chance of winning(a coin flip) and I normally wont do that unless I am short stack or chip leader.

 

[Exit141RTe1]

It is a great hand to see the flop and just as easy to get away from. Playing it the wrong way..... big trouble!

 

[Mikeisanace777]

Ak is a very easy and powerful hand to play

Ace king is one of the best hands you can play it takes a real moron to play it poorly. For one with ak your looking to play a small pot pre flop limp in. Utg and flat call any moderate raises. If the flop comes ak5 and your up against 55 well that's bad luck and scared poker if you worry about this. Raise if your the first one in and on the button its real easy guys steal pots if you sense weakness and fold them if flop or turns are like all hearts of 8910j etc.. This is basic stuff guys