I hate AK

[suzanne]

I can honestly say that probably 7/10 games I get busted out of MTTs and STTs with AK, I actually sigh when ever I see it in my hand.

Does anyone know where I can find a good article on how to play AK?

I can only find a thread on AK playing cash on here.

[Horneris]

wow you must be running bad.

I dont think iv ever lost a hand with AK in my life.

Its absolutely amazing!

[ChipRich]

Juuuuune, i bust out of like 9 torns a day with AK, but thats just how it goes sometimes.

You prob win a lot with it too, but dont remember those once uv busted.

Have no link on AK for you though, sorry.

[Grier78]

I love AK when the blinds are big and the stacks are small, I don't fancy AK when the blinds are small and the stacks are deep as most of the time you are playing top pair with top kicker which is only the best hand against donkeys. I just play it strong if its better than A high post flop, otherwise bin it. Its miles better than AQ though.

[suzanne]

Juuuuune, i bust out of like 9 torns a day with AK, but thats just how it goes sometimes.

You prob win a lot with it too, but dont remember those once uv busted.

Have no link on AK for you though, sorry.

Nope I have kept a tally and I definitly lose more times than win

[Royal Flush]

Juuuuune, i bust out of like 9 torns a day with AK, but thats just how it goes sometimes.

You prob win a lot with it too, but dont remember those once uv busted.

Have no link on AK for you though, sorry.

Nope I have kept a tally and I definitly lose more times than win

Do the opposite to what you are doing and AK will become a winning hand for you

[suzanne]

Juuuuune, i bust out of like 9 torns a day with AK, but thats just how it goes sometimes.

You prob win a lot with it too, but dont remember those once uv busted.

Have no link on AK for you though, sorry.

Nope I have kept a tally and I definitely lose more times than win

Do the opposite to what you are doing and AK will become a winning hand for you

If only it were that easy.

I push and I get called/reraised and miss the flop do I shove or fold?

I limp hoping to hit and miss,,then what do I do to a raise before me?

The flop is K high and I raise get reraised then what?

PS I am thinking early stages of an MTT here...later on Im banging all my chips in there and not looking at the screen.

I have tried every angle and still mostly get beaten with AK

Any advise appreciated

[ChipRich]

Juuuuune, i bust out of like 9 torns a day with AK, but thats just how it goes sometimes.

You prob win a lot with it too, but dont remember those once uv busted.

Have no link on AK for you though, sorry.

Nope I have kept a tally and I definitely lose more times than win

Do the opposite to what you are doing and AK will become a winning hand for you

If only it were that easy.

I push and I get called/reraised and miss the flop do I shove or fold?


PS I am thinking early stages of an MTT here...later on Im banging all my chips in there and not looking at the screen.

This is the best bit! You can be absolutely crushed if they hit/beat if you look. But then really happy if they don't get there. Should look imo.

[byronkincaid]

when stacks are deepish and you raise then people are calling and looking to beat your range of hands, so for instance say you're the tightest player in the world and you only raise QQ KK AA and AK early in a comp, people can call with small pairs looking to hit a set, suited connectors looking to hit 2 pair, a straight or a flush or whatever, as long as it beats top pair top kicker and overpair type hands. If you think about it if someone raises then part of his range is always Ak right? so if they're tight and willing to get all their chips in later on in the hand they must either have you beat or be drawing to have you beat right?

everything depends on the situation, there is no ONE right way to play AK, it depends a lot on your stack size for example, however I don't think you're playing super deep comps so talking very very generally...

You are looking to get all in pre flop with AK, it likes seeing 5 cards instead of 3 if poss. that is if you see a flop and miss you might fold on the flop to hands that beat you eg AQ AJ etc and you might fold to hands that beat you ATM but you would outdraw with an A or a K on the turn or river. So raise your AK and if someone raises push all in. If you raise and someone calls and you miss, look at the flop texture, if its 2,7,Q rainbow (all different suits) then it is unlikely to have hit his suited connectors, he will prob fold out his tiny pairs and call with 88 and better. So make a half to 3/4 size continueation bet on the flop and if he calls give up on it unless you hit on the turn.

If someone calls and you hit an A or a K, then it's tough to get away from especially if it's a drawy flop, if the flop is then he might be wanting too get all in with a draw, so get all in and flip
If it's a real dry flop like 2 7 K, then he may have a set and if it's a big deep comp against a good player then maybe you can fold but if it's a $10 donkfest then I'm prob going broke to his 72o anyway

varience is huge in tournaments, you might lose with AK 10 times in a row even playing it perfectly. also people tend to forget when they win with a hand and remember the horrible bust outs.

this is very very general advice, every situation is different it's important to realise that, think about stack sizes first, ( if you're low on chips it's prob never wrong to push all in) how your opponents are playing and how they view you, how have you been playing? if you have just pushed all in the last 5 hands they ain't gonna give you much credit if you push again etc etc etc etc etc
but try to think about the best way to get all in pre flop with your stack size to start with.

[EvilPie]

If only it were that easy.

I push and I get called/reraised and miss the flop do I shove or fold?

I limp hoping to hit and miss,,then what do I do to a raise before me?

The flop is K high and I raise get reraised then what?

PS I am thinking early stages of an MTT here...later on Im banging all my chips in there and not looking at the screen.

I have tried every angle and still mostly get beaten with AK

Any advise appreciated

Try to start looking at position and see who's raising you or calling your raises.

If someone raises in early position and you find AK in late position or the blinds then reraise them. If they 4 bet you then you're only beating AQ so should be laying down unless you want to gamble that you might get a 50 50. If they flat and you hit the flop then you've got a chance of being paid nicely. Don't fold it unless you've got a very good reason.

If someone raises in late position when you're in the blinds you could try to flat call and trap on a favourable flop. The reason for this is that the raiser will never put you on AK and there's a decent chance that he's got a weak ace or KQ / KJ. If the A or K hit then it's pay day!!! If it doesn't then try to keep the pot small knowing that you've got a chance of winning anyway and haven't necessarily got to steal.

If the flop is king high and you bet then get raised you shove be shoving the lot in in these tournaments. People will risk all their chips with a lot of hands that you're beating in this situation. If you're playing a major event then you can possibly lay down but in online games you're not going to find many better positions.

Just a couple more possibilities to maybe try out.

There's so many possibilities to ty that you'll never do them all. Just keep mixing it up as much as possible.

Another thing to do is to analyse hands where you get beaten by AK. Check the hand history and see how they played it to maimise what they won off you. You may pick up a few things here.

AK should be a profitable hand though so keep working at it.

[Longy]

when stacks are deepish and you raise then people are calling and looking to beat your range of hands, so for instance say you're the tightest player in the world and you only raise QQ KK AA and AK early in a comp, people can call with small pairs looking to hit a set, suited connectors looking to hit 2 pair, a straight or a flush or whatever, as long as it beats top pair top kicker and overpair type hands. If you think about it if someone raises then part of his range is always Ak right? so if they're tight and willing to get all their chips in later on in the hand they must either have you beat or be drawing to have you beat right?

everything depends on the situation, there is no ONE right way to play AK, it depends a lot on your stack size for example, however I don't think you're playing super deep comps so talking very very generally...

You are looking to get all in pre flop with AK, it likes seeing 5 cards instead of 3 if poss. that is if you see a flop and miss you might fold on the flop to hands that beat you eg AQ AJ etc and you might fold to hands that beat you ATM but you would outdraw with an A or a K on the turn or river. So raise your AK and if someone raises push all in. If you raise and someone calls and you miss, look at the flop texture, if its 2,7,Q rainbow (all different suits) then it is unlikely to have hit his suited connectors, he will prob fold out his tiny pairs and call with 88 and better. So make a half to 3/4 size continueation bet on the flop and if he calls give up on it unless you hit on the turn.

If someone calls and you hit an A or a K, then it's tough to get away from especially if it's a drawy flop, if the flop is then he might be wanting too get all in with a draw, so get all in and flip
If it's a real dry flop like 2 7 K, then he may have a set and if it's a big deep comp against a good player then maybe you can fold but if it's a $10 donkfest then I'm prob going broke to his 72o anyway

varience is huge in tournaments, you might lose with AK 10 times in a row even playing it perfectly. also people tend to forget when they win with a hand and remember the horrible bust outs.

this is very very general advice, every situation is different it's important to realise that, think about stack sizes first, ( if you're low on chips it's prob never wrong to push all in) how your opponents are playing and how they view you, how have you been playing? if you have just pushed all in the last 5 hands they ain't gonna give you much credit if you push again etc etc etc etc etc
but try to think about the best way to get all in pre flop with your stack size to start with.

Nice post Byron, pretty much the best reply you are going to get to such a general question.