Playing AK and playing it right
Big slick is one of the more popular hands in Texas hold’em.
Professionals love it because they know it works and beginners hate it because they don’t understand why they lose with such a “good hand”.
There is a lot more to playing AK in online poker games than most players realize.
The hand is very versatile, it is fairly powerful unimproved, a great hand for pairing up and it’s a good drawing hand as well.
With that in mind, today we will cover some various strategies for this great hand.
Many players feel that because they need an ace or a king on the flop to make AK worthwhile, that checking or calling is the proper move pre-flop.
This is silly.
Ed Miller (2004) states one very important point in regards to pre flop play with AK.
Although you need certain cards to improve your hand, so does everyone else. The high rank of your hand makes it naturally stronger than most other holdings thus giving you that much more of a chance at taking down the pot. Do not call with AK pre flop, raise! Re-raising should be a common tactic as well.
AK plays best with less
AK can lose some of its value in big multi-way pots if you miss the flop.
The best situation for AK to work is when you have been able to narrow the field down to just two or three players.
The reason for this is because even if the flop doesn’t hit, sometimes you’ll still have the best hand.
AK is easier to lay down in large multi-way pots if the flop doesn’t come your way.
Remember, don’t just stick with AK because some book told you it’s one of the best hands in the game, stick with it because the opposition and the cards on the board indicate that you have a good chance at winning the pot.
Playing AK in tight, aggressive games
My first suggestion if you play online poker in a tight and aggressive game is to get up and find another table.
This however, is not always possible, so it is better to be prepared for these inevitable situations.
Playing AK from early position in a tight aggressive game can get tricky.
Many times you might end up getting re-raised if you open the betting.
You need to analyze the situation:
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Are the aggressive players good or just players who like to play by pushing a lot of chips?
Many times these players are raising with hands that your AK will dominate.
Two strategies come to mind, either re-raise and make them pay or lay low and crush them with your superior kicker once a favorable board comes. -
Excellent players play excellent hands, if you’re getting taken to the top constantly, watch out for KK or AA, these hands are superior and your fighting an uphill battle.
On a final note, if your game is loose or passive or just plain juicy like a lot of low limit games are at many pokersites, make sure you are charging premium price for your bad competition to make their hands.
Many players are raising and calling with just plain junk, you won’t win every time, but make them pay dearly for awful play.
