Calling an all in with AK

[madjek]

yeah i never understand the guys that say "only call with AA or KK, maybe sometimes QQ". I'd love to wait for those hands, but with the players today, you can't fold AK pre just because they shove. Definately if you have a read on player and they seem pretty tight and you are pretty sure theres a good chance they have big pair, then yeah, but most of the time I'm calling there. So often players shove Ax. And why would they shove AA or KK, most players are going to try and get some value out of them. And btw, 6 outs preflop is a coin flip, lol

 

[karl coakley]

And btw, 6 outs preflop is a coin flip, lol

Yep, but people like to ignore that. A bigger problem is that its 6 outs if no one folded an A or K, at a full table its most likely worse.....


Its always good to see a flop...but in a freeroll I'm certainly not folding, shove and pray...

 

[619Leafs]

I am the bigger stack calling an all in with AKo during early stages of free roll. Villain has pocket 44 and I lose in the end. I have twice the chips compared to him. Was it a good call and just unlucky or should I have just folded? I keep losing these types of hands when I have premium hands, it's frustrating. I also tend to call all ins with players that are very loose, never against tight players.

thanks guys!

The way I see it, this sounds like its a coin flip however you should wait for a better opportunity and risk less chips until you have a hand.

 

[gabpoker]

If you are folding AK what are you calling with? What range do you think the villain is shoving with. You don't say if anything else is in the pot but lets assume not. SO lets say he is open shoving for 1500 so you have to put in 1500 to win 3000. So you need 50% equity to call (1500/3000). So if you know he is only shoving pairs then you have a clear fold. However if there is more money in the pot or he is shoving much wider then it is much closer. It is hard to tell what someone will open shove with in a freeroll.

 

[Chewfulitsch]

It is hard to tell what someone will open shove with in a freeroll.

Yep, that's the dilemma I'm facing as a new player. I've been watching this particular player for a few hands and saw he was playing a wide range and thought I'd take my chance. I fold most suited and unsuited premium cards to these type of players and I keep draining my stack slowly, especially when they re-raise all in. I usually try and go heads up with all ins, if there are more than one I fold.

 

[williamsc99]

is a very standard play and not a little condemnable. You have 67 percent equity against a group of random hands which is a lot of equity.

 

[Shady Slim]

Ummmm 46% vs 54% is largely considered a coin flip in the poker world. Am I missing something?

That might be in the poker world, but not mine.

My point was that it is not a good bet against stacks that are half yours, as stated in the OP. Maybe if you have 3-5 times the opponents stack, and definitely 6+ their stack.

Of course, there are other things to consider. Like is the opponent a bounty, then yes, go for it. Is it head-to-head play, then yes, go for it. Is the opponent on the bubble, hmmm, maybe.

 

[MKaizer07]

Early stages in free roll has a lot of bingo players. So, you made a good call and it just unfortunate that you lost that flip. Usually in freerolls I would try and triple up or higher early on or it isn’t even worth playing because if you put all that hard work in the beginning to build up your stack is just a waste of time. Cause you will just get into a hand that your opponent will get lucky and hit the card to beat your hand and either cripple your stack or knock you out of the tournament. So I just try and win as many double up as I can until I have a big enough stack.

 

[dejan85]

usually in tournaments I call all in preflop,but if is some re raise sometimes I fold .....

 

[ederato]

It's fine if you want to try to get lucky. Technically it's a coin flip. Ask yourself, do you feel lucky enough to win 15 coin flips in a row to win a tournament or would you rather take down pots without show downs?

The AKo can be an excellent hand, but it loses to a simple pair of 2, or in your case a pair of 4. Depending on the opponent's stack, it will hardly fold, even more with a pair. It's not bad luck, I also lose straight to AK, I already lost with three of a Kind of Ace and the person who won simply paid an all in with 2-3 and the board came A-4-5. But they're game stuff. Good luck next time.

 

[Peter Jankowski]

Early in Tournaments I do not like the flip concept its easier to wait for better spots to chip up.