I have played a lot of hands in my day and put a weight scale on each hand. AK suited and AK UN-suited, I believe are polar opposites.


Although suited is a better hand but still has it draw backs. Even UN-suited has its limitations. Pre-flop these hands have high percentages of winning but at flop their respective win-loss can take a big hit both ways.


I’ve seen a lot of players who use these two cards to the fullest extent of betting but will continue their betting strategy to overcome their low winning percentages. Hence the bluffing starts before he turn.


So when I get dealt AK I'm more cautious then I should be.

AK is only as good as the flop it gets. This is why it's never a good idea to put your whole stack on the line pre-flop with AK. It's really not that great a hand to put all your money in the middle for. If you cannot see a flop at a reasonable price then fold and wait for a better opportunity. If you do see a flop and you miss then let it go. I see many players pushing all-in with AK on a flop that they missed completely, trying to get their opponents to fold or hoping to get lucky I guess. They almost always lose.

Here's what I don't like about AK, in a turbo tourney you have to go all in because blinds go fast, what happens then a lower quality hand wins.

If you play AK normally, 3x to 4x blinds is standard for a raise but then what happens the flop doesn't help and causes you to lose a quarter of your stack.

Originally Posted by 619Leafs

If you play AK normally, 3x to 4x blinds is standard for a raise but then what happens the flop doesn't help and causes you to lose a quarter of your stack.

Depending on the amount of callers and what reads you have on a table, do you think the flop helped them in any way?
So you don't hit the flop, that doesn't mean you have already lost your chips, you still have a c-bet in your arsenal.

AK looks very nice, but it's only two high cards. If you do not get an ace or a king - they still remain high cards. The chance to get a pair - only 6 outs from the entire deck of cards.

I never played too aggressively on AK, I lost more than I win on those cards!
Especially if some call all-in on the preflop, I lose almost every time.

Yeah, as you know AK is called Anna Kournikova sometimes because "it looks great but doesn't win anything".

I suppose everything depends on how many people call with your AK.
If only 1 person calls, and you miss on the flop, you still have around 50% chance of being in the lead, since he has a 50% chance of missing it as well.

As a general rule with AK I tend to raise high, so that only 1 person calls, maybe 2. Then see the flop, and hope for the best. Dare to fold if you don't hit anything and others bet. I do agree that it can be really frustrating.

Ak is a good hand to push a c bet at least then its all about the situation encontered. If more than 3 people calls it there are big chances to not be a winning hand but again there are tons of scenarios that could happen

AK can be a strong hand both preflop and postflop if you know in what situations you should play and when to let it go.
It is obviously very player dependent and also depends on if you are playing tourneys or cash. In tournaments it's a hand that can be 3bet or 4bet shoved because stacks are smaller. Especially early in freerolls you can expect many people to open raise and call a big shove with AQ through A2, which makes AK a good candidate for getting it in preflop.
In cash games (which I play most often) you should let it go in many situations, especially against 3bets from nits or cold 4bets in general. You never have good equity with AK in those situations.

Originally Posted by iwont20

Yeah, as you know AK is called Anna Kournikova sometimes because "it looks great but doesn't win anything".

Lol! I freaking love this, and I freaking love her haha

It's a good starting hand and worth a pre flop raise in any position in my opinion. You've got to know when to let it go though. I've seen people online call flop, turn and river bets and I'm so surprised when all they have is AK that didn't hit.

Ak suited looks much better though I think it's not as better as it actually is with the odds

I like these cards when they look like any two.^}

i like seeing flop with AK as cheap as it is possible, otherwise i could be a raiser, if i flopped something then start betting as someone higher said it is only two high cards

In any case, AK is better than almost all combinations, and if you win some other pocket cards. A neatly you need to play with any card! The most dangerous hand for me is KJ, I play on it extremely tight. AK - a great combination 9 times out of 10 I win with it a good pot!

the last few days with AK on the Board there was nothing at all.. it's just unexplainable.. and not once.. within 3-5 days, different tournaments, different situations and nothing happened.. I don't know what it was but now I look at this hand with a very large view and a lot more began to think what to do.. It's actually one of the very dangerous hands at a table with lots of players it is overrated sorry.. not so simple..

Today's hand was super interesting and useful in my opinion have a Look and tell me, who could not by raising to go to the table and to fold after the flop or the turn


https://www.cardschat.com/showpost3740571-post40.html

AK only looks good and if you dont get an ace or a king, they remain only high cards

AK is indeed a very tempting hand, I can not get off AK right away, I'm slowly learning to let go, but it's a very good, tempting hand, difficult to fold

No matter how frustrated the results of playing it make you it is still one ofthe strongest hands preflop in the game. If you are soft playing it you may be missing out on it's strength.

C/P from an older post I made, but I think a lot of it applies to this thread.

AK suited or unsuited is a very strong hand preflop and you should be raising/3betting preflop with this hand as often as you can. Like most big hands, you want to limit the number of players that see a flop against you, so raising to isolate is what you're looking for. Against almost all players, playing AK aggressively is much better than playing it passively.

Hitting and missing flops with AK:

AK is going to pair on the flop about 1/3 of the time, always giving you TP/TK which is often times the best hand at show down. Even if an A or K hits on a dry board, you should still c-bet as the aggressor because your opponents will call you with much worse on really standard c-bet looking flops. For example 88 might call a c-bet on an A 2 7 flop.

AK is going to miss the flop 2/3 of the time, but they still have equity to win the hand. If the flop is J 3 7, even though AK missed, being the aggressor and c-betting can easily pick up the pot. And if the opponent calls, you have a ~12% chance to hit the turn. ~24% chance if you can see a turn and river, like if you shove flop and get called, for example, or you set up to see the river card for free.

So, c-betting most flops with AK is going to earn you the pot more often than not even if you do miss it, but you have to keep in mind your opponents raising and 3bet calling range. The tighter the range, the less equity you have against them when c-bet on missed flops. The wider the range, the more equity you have.

AK vs other hands:

I think a common misunderstanding a lot of newer players have are the preflop odds to win with AK vs other hands.

67 is 40% to win against AK's 60%, but it only applies if you are guaranteed to see all 5 cards. Otherwise, AK has much more equity over 67 on most flops when both miss and even when 67 hits a single pair after calling a preflop and is facing c-bet aggression. Even on flop of 6-Q-2, it could be hard to call a c-bet with MP/WK since the turn can bring a lot of over cards that can shut it down, especially if AK fires a 2nd barrel.

The same goes for 22 vs AK. Yes, this is a classic race situation, but again, that only applies if all 5 cards are seen. AK as a lot of equity against 22 because 88% of the time over cards are going to flop. So, even if AK misses, it's very hard for 22 to continue on a 5-8-10 flop facing a c-bet.

A member said that 22 and QQ against AK is practically the same thing and this is not true at all. Yes, AK vs QQ is 50/50 preflop if all cards to be seen. However, AK doesn't have as much equity on a missed flop against QQ as it does 22. A 3-J-7 flop is going to be very hard for 22 to continue against a c-bet, but it's very easy for QQ to continue. Again, the tighter the raise/3bet calling range your opponent has, the less equity you have on missed flops.

Shoving vs calling shoves with AK

Aggression is the key when playing AK because you can either win it by having the best hand or by getting your opponent to fold. So, you would rather be one to be betting/shoving than being the one calling shoves on missed flops.

AK, on a missed flop, has ~24% chance of hitting on the turn or river when facing a shove. So, you'll need to be getting over 3.15:1 pot odds to make this call a profitable one. However, if we flip and we're the one's shoving with AK on a missed flop, say 7-J-3, we still have equity to hit when called, but make it hard for some hands to call with, like 55, so we gain when they fold. Being the aggressor gives us 2 ways to win vs only 1.

Whether you should standard c-bet missed flop or shove it with AK depends on effect stack sizes. If stacks are deep, then you're better off making a standard c-bet. You'll either win the pot uncontested and if your opponent calls, you can re-evaluate on the turn. However, with deep stacks, you don't want to shove on a missed flops because your opponent is still folding if they miss, but they're only calling your shove with hands that have you beat. Even with your ~24% to hit on turn or river, you're not getting the right pot odds to make this type of play profitable.

One thing I've started doing in the mid-late stages of MTTs where blinds and antes are high is open shoving and 3bet shoving with 30BBs and less preflop. It might seem like overkill to open shove AK with 30BBs, but you're getting called by a ton of weaker hands that you dominate (weaker AX/KX hands), in 50-50s vs 22-QQ, 60-40s vs all other non paired hands (that don't include an A or K), still have 30% equity vs KK, and only way behind AA. So, if you get your money in and getting called, you're very rarely in a terrible situation. I prefer doing this in the later stages when antes are big because the times you do pick up the pot uncontested, it's a more significant pad to your stack. Without antes, I drop down to shoving 20BBs and less with AK for the same reasons above.

On top of that, you're also gaining max value with AK when you do shove and get your opponent to commit their chips preflop. Again, you're very rarely in a terrible situation when you get your money in preflop with AK. Lets say you open shove 25BBs UTG with AK and you get a call. With blinds and antes, the pot is ~52BB.

-VS weaker AX/KX hands, you're picking up this pot 70% of the time.
-VS 22-QQ, you're picking up this pot 50% of the time
-VS non paired hands without an A or K, you're picking up the pot 60% of the time.
-VS KK, you're picking up the pot 30% of the time.
-VS AA, only 10% of the time.

So, if you can get your opponent to commit 25BBs with AQ preflop, this is great for you because you're winning that pot most of the time and picking up an extra 25+BBs. Compare this to standard raising say 3x BBs and your opponent calling. 2/3 of the time, your opponent misses the flop and is folding to a c-bet, so you only pick up a ~8BB pot and lose out on picking up on the other 22BBs your opponent would've committed preflop.

The same goes if your opponent has a hand like 55. They're only making a set 1-in-8 times and over cards are flopping most of the time vs small pairs, so they're likely folding to any c-bet and you're picking up a small pot. However, getting your opponent to commit their chips preflop and you being in a 50-50 with AK situation is great for you.

So, do what it takes to get all of your and all of your opponents chips in preflop, because, again, you're very rarely in a terrible situation when you do.

These hands I usually use to re-raise preflop since they have decreased as combinations of A and K. I can fold when I take another raise depending on the player. I can fold if I miss failure, I think the hand itself does not matter much, but what do you do with it.

Depends on your spot, if your short stacked it can be very powerful as a shove hand but at the end of the day it is still just a draw hand and will be behind even by a call with 22 pre-flop.

Originally Posted by ohshootmybad

C/P from an older post I made, but I think a lot of it applies to this thread.

AK suited or unsuited is a very strong hand preflop and you should be raising/3betting preflop with this hand as often as you can. Like most big hands, you want to limit the number of players that see a flop against you, so raising to isolate is what you're looking for. Against almost all players, playing AK aggressively is much better than playing it passively.

Hitting and missing flops with AK:

AK is going to pair on the flop about 1/3 of the time, always giving you TP/TK which is often times the best hand at show down. Even if an A or K hits on a dry board, you should still c-bet as the aggressor because your opponents will call you with much worse on really standard c-bet looking flops. For example 88 might call a c-bet on an A 2 7 flop.

AK is going to miss the flop 2/3 of the time, but they still have equity to win the hand. If the flop is J 3 7, even though AK missed, being the aggressor and c-betting can easily pick up the pot. And if the opponent calls, you have a ~12% chance to hit the turn. ~24% chance if you can see a turn and river, like if you shove flop and get called, for example, or you set up to see the river card for free.

So, c-betting most flops with AK is going to earn you the pot more often than not even if you do miss it, but you have to keep in mind your opponents raising and 3bet calling range. The tighter the range, the less equity you have against them when c-bet on missed flops. The wider the range, the more equity you have.

AK vs other hands:

I think a common misunderstanding a lot of newer players have are the preflop odds to win with AK vs other hands.

67 is 40% to win against AK's 60%, but it only applies if you are guaranteed to see all 5 cards. Otherwise, AK has much more equity over 67 on most flops when both miss and even when 67 hits a single pair after calling a preflop and is facing c-bet aggression. Even on flop of 6-Q-2, it could be hard to call a c-bet with MP/WK since the turn can bring a lot of over cards that can shut it down, especially if AK fires a 2nd barrel.

The same goes for 22 vs AK. Yes, this is a classic race situation, but again, that only applies if all 5 cards are seen. AK as a lot of equity against 22 because 88% of the time over cards are going to flop. So, even if AK misses, it's very hard for 22 to continue on a 5-8-10 flop facing a c-bet.

A member said that 22 and QQ against AK is practically the same thing and this is not true at all. Yes, AK vs QQ is 50/50 preflop if all cards to be seen. However, AK doesn't have as much equity on a missed flop against QQ as it does 22. A 3-J-7 flop is going to be very hard for 22 to continue against a c-bet, but it's very easy for QQ to continue. Again, the tighter the raise/3bet calling range your opponent has, the less equity you have on missed flops.

Shoving vs calling shoves with AK

Aggression is the key when playing AK because you can either win it by having the best hand or by getting your opponent to fold. So, you would rather be one to be betting/shoving than being the one calling shoves on missed flops.

AK, on a missed flop, has ~24% chance of hitting on the turn or river when facing a shove. So, you'll need to be getting over 3.15:1 pot odds to make this call a profitable one. However, if we flip and we're the one's shoving with AK on a missed flop, say 7-J-3, we still have equity to hit when called, but make it hard for some hands to call with, like 55, so we gain when they fold. Being the aggressor gives us 2 ways to win vs only 1.

Whether you should standard c-bet missed flop or shove it with AK depends on effect stack sizes. If stacks are deep, then you're better off making a standard c-bet. You'll either win the pot uncontested and if your opponent calls, you can re-evaluate on the turn. However, with deep stacks, you don't want to shove on a missed flops because your opponent is still folding if they miss, but they're only calling your shove with hands that have you beat. Even with your ~24% to hit on turn or river, you're not getting the right pot odds to make this type of play profitable.

One thing I've started doing in the mid-late stages of MTTs where blinds and antes are high is open shoving and 3bet shoving with 30BBs and less preflop. It might seem like overkill to open shove AK with 30BBs, but you're getting called by a ton of weaker hands that you dominate (weaker AX/KX hands), in 50-50s vs 22-QQ, 60-40s vs all other non paired hands (that don't include an A or K), still have 30% equity vs KK, and only way behind AA. So, if you get your money in and getting called, you're very rarely in a terrible situation. I prefer doing this in the later stages when antes are big because the times you do pick up the pot uncontested, it's a more significant pad to your stack. Without antes, I drop down to shoving 20BBs and less with AK for the same reasons above.

On top of that, you're also gaining max value with AK when you do shove and get your opponent to commit their chips preflop. Again, you're very rarely in a terrible situation when you get your money in preflop with AK. Lets say you open shove 25BBs UTG with AK and you get a call. With blinds and antes, the pot is ~52BB.

-VS weaker AX/KX hands, you're picking up this pot 70% of the time.
-VS 22-QQ, you're picking up this pot 50% of the time
-VS non paired hands without an A or K, you're picking up the pot 60% of the time.
-VS KK, you're picking up the pot 30% of the time.
-VS AA, only 10% of the time.

So, if you can get your opponent to commit 25BBs with AQ preflop, this is great for you because you're winning that pot most of the time and picking up an extra 25+BBs. Compare this to standard raising say 3x BBs and your opponent calling. 2/3 of the time, your opponent misses the flop and is folding to a c-bet, so you only pick up a ~8BB pot and lose out on picking up on the other 22BBs your opponent would've committed preflop.

The same goes if your opponent has a hand like 55. They're only making a set 1-in-8 times and over cards are flopping most of the time vs small pairs, so they're likely folding to any c-bet and you're picking up a small pot. However, getting your opponent to commit their chips preflop and you being in a 50-50 with AK situation is great for you.

So, do what it takes to get all of your and all of your opponents chips in preflop, because, again, you're very rarely in a terrible situation when you do.

That was an excellent analysis, thanks!

Originally Posted by hamildo

I have played a lot of hands in my day and put a weight scale on each hand. AK suited and AK UN-suited, I believe are polar opposites.


Although suited is a better hand but still has it draw backs. Even UN-suited has its limitations. Pre-flop these hands have high percentages of winning but at flop their respective win-loss can take a big hit both ways.


I’ve seen a lot of players who use these two cards to the fullest extent of betting but will continue their betting strategy to overcome their low winning percentages. Hence the bluffing starts before he turn.


So when I get dealt AK I'm more cautious then I should be.

I hear ya, i use to believe in the almighty AKs like it was an unbeatable monster... Now, after loosing more than a few times with it, i'm a lot more cautious when i play it...

The biggest frustration I've had playing a hand with AK is that I have to play all in against a villain who has a pair 22 and I can not connect anything on the flop or the turn and neither on the river ... or worse Even if a villain plays all in with A2 and you make a call and the villain wins on the river with a 2 ... that's to die for ... but it can happen because this is poker .