AK(preflop)-shove or fold

K

Kaosrp

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Depends to much. If you are in the final tables when the blinds are very big it's a good hand to shove. But when you are in the early and middle stages it's a very dumb decision. If the communitarian cards do not helps you, you're probaly in a big trouble, because if someone had any pair, they have more chances to win the pot like the people said above. I only shove with AK when I'm on final stages, otherwise I bet and see what happen.
 
shinedown.45

shinedown.45

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Ho, guys.
I've had to fold AK so many times preflop. You raise and your opponent reraises you. Call to see the flop and then fold it you miss or just go all in?
Does AK overall win more all ins than it loses?
Would you consider folding it preflop?
There are a few threads on AK, too many links to post here but if you search "big slick", you may find the answers you're looking for.
 
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Rumme1

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As is the case, with many scenarios regarding poker , each individual needs to anaylize how lucky they are with a certain hand over the long term. My father played poker for 60 years until his death. His favorite starting hand in all games { 7-stud - draw poker- hold em } was KK....he loved KK..and he got dealt KK way more then average and he won with it way more then average .

I am just the opposite. KK, has cost me more money then any other hand in poker over the years. It has become my most hated and dreaded hand to be dealt.

As far as AK is concerned in NL hold em, one needs to evaluate how well they have done with it over the long term....Do you win with it the majority of the time when you have it against a opponents underpair or their 2 random cards/ suited connectors ?

The pros claim AK vs a underpair is a coin flip hand or 50/50 hand but some players will lose with it much more then 50% of the time { me} while other players will win with it much more then 50% of the time . Even over the long term, all poker players will not average out with a even 50/50 win loss percentage with AK vs a underpair or 2 random cards. Some players do great with it , others wont.

You must find your own style of play , and identify which specific hands work best for you , or worse for you.

A/K- KK , are 2 hands that have never rewarded me and I doubt they ever will . Call it fate or destiny . Ironically, I like 2/2 way more then KK, because I have won much more money with it , and it hardly ever costs me alot of money because its easy to fold on a non missed flop of 4-10-Q , where folding KK on the same flop becomes very hard against a big bet.

In one of our local big games { pot limit $300 min buy in, dealers choice} we have a player whos favorite hand is 99 . He gets that pair several times a night and scoops huge pots with it. Call it fate, destiny or just mental attitude , but certain hands that work well for some players,. are hands that are terrible for others. This local player that constantly gets 99, and wins with it, does not win with it because he outplays his opponents , he wins with it because his 99 will chase down overpairs or beat huge draw hands { like nut flush draw on flop, and 2 overcards to the flop } .
 
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onondaga

onondaga

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one answer which u can use for any question in poker: it depends!

depends on ........ 1.......2 ........3 (google: position in poker, type of players, type of game - mtt, sng, cash etc. etc.) ..... no matter/ there are no permanent rules in this game.

AK preflop? it depends! /raise/re-raise/all-in/fold/limp/
 
therealslomo

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It depends on many things really. Stack size, position, action involved, table image, players and so on. So there really is no real answer to this.
 
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Valerio Rodrigues

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Ho, guys.
I've had to fold AK so many times preflop. You raise and your opponent reraises you. Call to see the flop and then fold it you miss or just go all in?
Does AK overall win more all ins than it loses?
Would you consider folding it preflop?


it depends a lot man, position, how many in the table yet, fourbet sometimes, all in some times, you need to analyze the game
 
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Valerio Rodrigues

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one answer which u can use for any question in poker: it depends!

depends on ........ 1.......2 ........3 (google: position in poker, type of players, type of game - mtt, sng, cash etc. etc.) ..... no matter/ there are no permanent rules in this game.

AK preflop? it depends! /raise/re-raise/all-in/fold/limp/

this guy said everything.
 
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rhombus

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In Zoom when you get it all in Preflop with AK you are more likely to run into AA and KK as the player pool is abit tighter than regular games.

Although my results below vary alot when AIPF with AKo/AKs, big difference between 5nl Zoom (-$39) and 10nl Zoom (+$200).

In general I don't stack off if Raiser is UTG or tight Raising Stats unless they are short stacked.

In regular games this can change based on dynamics, i.e. they have just lost or big hand or had a bad beat, difficult to do this at Zoom
 

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DontAskWh

DontAskWh

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Hello.
I think sometimes you can fold AK , because if someone is making bet of 3blinds , and the another guy is make a big raise as you said you can fold you hand , anyway is depends of situations if you're watching how they play , and you feel your AK will win , and you're better than them why not to call :) as a lot of players told you already AK is profitable to call all in of these guys who have shortest stack than you.
Thanks.
 
Shumkoolie

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If you're playing Zoom (or Rush on Full Tilt), or full ring, it really depends on multiple factors that earlier responses have gone into in great detail, so I won't regurgitate what they said. However, let me provide you with an example.

I'm in one of the blinds, and there's a raise to me by a late position player (pretty standard play). If your stack is deep enough (50+ bb's), shoving is not really something that should be entering your mind at this point. You can do one of the following.

Fold (I'm probably doing this most likely in situations where there's been a raise and a 3 bet behind me, whether it's 6-handed or full ring).
(a) You're out of position with a drawing hand and you could be up against a pocket pair that has you looking for outs which may/may not necessarily help you.
(b) Not often, but something to consider - because action won't close with a call or a 4 bet, you're putting yourself into a position where you could very well be playing for your stack, and with multiple players in the hand pre-flop, it's something you have to determine if you want to gamble.

Call - Under-repping your hand here. If you feel that you can outplay your opponent when the flop hits, you can try doing this. Many times I have taken the hand down post-flop even missing the flop. Sometimes you may have to double/triple barrel on the board and if your opponent is a pretty sticky, it may not work (hence the importance of taking notes).
Many times you can get a player to fold a pocket pair on a board with 1-2 overcards (ie: opponent has 88 on a 6QT board). It's about applying pressure at the right time to the right opponent and it works a fair amount of the time.

The best thing to do is watch players play online on Twitch. If you're playing MTT's, then watch guys like Jaime Staples, Jason Somerville (for example). If you like watching cash games, Doug Polk (WCG|Rider) and Adrian Fenix are a couple of good examples. There's many more out there, but these come to mind. There's so much free content out there for you to watch and absorb. I know it's helped my game, though I still have my own leaks I'm trying to address.

Raise - An obvious option here, as it puts immediate pressure on your opponent by putting more money/chips into the pot earlier in the hand. For example, you have a hand like AK, and the board comes out Kxx. Some part of the time your opponent may have a hand like KQ that they think is good here and may pay you off pretty nicely.
It's all about putting your opponent into tough spots where the potential for making mistakes increases.

Mostly though, it comes down to what you are most comfortable with doing. Keep in mind that mixing up your game is good because what you do want to avoid doing is becoming predictable, so balancing your calling/raising frequencies here is good (and on the rare instance, folding).

Good luck at the tables.
 
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Tosh_67

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Folding AK is hard... When you are dealt it you sometimes feel the pot is yours !

But yeah it is always a dynamic situation based on lots of variables... With a big stack it's an easy shove, but putting your tourney survival on it needs some careful analysis....
 
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pokeherfreak

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Am I the worlds unluckiest player?
I counted 30 consecutive lost all ins with AK against pockets lower than King and with pocket JJ or higher to AK.
I lost 3 consecutive AA shoves to 37, J3 and JJ. Do I have to start going to church to win? My bankroll went from 300 bucks down to 0!!!
 
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rhombus

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Am I the worlds unluckiest player?
I counted 30 consecutive lost all ins with AK against pockets lower than King and with pocket JJ or higher to AK.
I lost 3 consecutive AA shoves to 37, J3 and JJ. Do I have to start going to church to win? My bankroll went from 300 bucks down to 0!!!
30 consecutive flips Are you sure?

Probability is 1 in 1,073,741,824 (over a billion to 1)
 
Ivab

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If your answer aggression with aggression, AK, you have to go Allin in 50% of cases. Call in this case would be a mistake. My comments do not touch Zoom games.
 
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pokeherfreak

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The reason why I'm sure is because those all ins took me from 300 bucks to 0!!!
I just couldn't believe my eyes.
 
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ph_il

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Too many variables to answer OP's question, but don't be afraid to get your money in with AK in most situations.
 
Ivan Basic

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shove, but i am a fish so dont listen to me
 
blef mashine

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AK should always play aggressively , if necessary, all in , in most cases you stronger, a little bit of the luck factor is not used AA is not good, or are you that you can not influence them .
 
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pokeherfreak

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5/10
Lot's of 20 dollar all ins.
 
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Rumme1

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Am I the worlds unluckiest player?
I counted 30 consecutive lost all ins with AK against pockets lower than King and with pocket JJ or higher to AK.
I lost 3 consecutive AA shoves to 37, J3 and JJ. Do I have to start going to church to win? My bankroll went from 300 bucks down to 0!!!

Although this is highly unlikely, I do believe it could happen. The game of NL hold em, can be 100% luck at any given time, for any given amount of sessions/ hands. It is the one game where a player can CONSTANTLY get all their money in with the best hand, on the preflop/ flop , then have very bad luck on turn/river, and go broke, repeatedly.

I only suggest NL HOLD EM games, for people who feel they have at least average luck { but hopefully above average luck} over the longterm because its a poker game where the players who win the majority of coin flip hands , will often be the bigger winners.

Of course the limits you played at, are also important , but if you are telling us the truth, you may need to find a new hobby, or at least learn another poker game
that has less luck involved . If you have a good memory, and patience, you may want to consider 7 stud- hi -lo.
 
theRaven68

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it depends on too many factor and there isnt one simple answer
 
Greg Austin

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I bought into a a 10c sng at betonline was playing for awhile got dealt AK and someone went all in. I called and he had AA. flop K-K-Rag lol im not folding AK over a dime lol he was cursing me out... it was comical. I should have lost that hand but the buy in was a dime and i will roll the dice over a dime with AK anytime. I have lost a lot with AK but ive won a lot to.

Do what is right at that moment in time.
 
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pokeherfreak

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I just had 3 consecutive AK losses to pocket AAs. The 4th one was to pocket QQs. Lost all my cash again.
 
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ph_il

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I just had 3 consecutive AK losses to pocket AAs. The 4th one was to pocket QQs. Lost all my cash again.
All your cash? You had your entire BR on a table or possibly multiple tables?

Small BR or just bad BRM? If its bad BRM, you really can't fault AK for losing your BR.
 
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