AK Preflop

[Ironside]

i would either call or make it 30 to go

if i make it 30 and he comes over the top i could laydown or stick in basically just reading from how the table is playing

if i call i am looking to hit flop or fold

[Robert HM]

I'd call until you know what the flop brings, raising would give him a chance of going over the top of you and you are probably facing a made hand compared to you drawer.

But what do I know

[Ironside]

if he comes over the top you know where you are and therefore you can fold and lose the minimium

[snoopy1239]

What if he flatcalls your raise and then the flop comes rags?

Do you bet or check?

[Ironside]

bet he has shown weakness by flat calling you are representing a big pair

[snoopy1239]

He could easily have QQ, JJ, or TT. Maybe even AA KK if he's sneaky. He could also have hit a set.

Do you just give it up and check it down if he calls the bet on the flop?

[totalise]

Does any1 have any cash game advice for playing AK in the small blind after someone has raised preflop?

I may even welcome Ironside's advice. This is his speciality after all.

Not enough information - What stage of the tourney are you at? How many chips do you have compared to the rest of the table? What type of player has raised originally and what position are they in? What is your image at the table? Is the raiser the type of player who can lay a good hand down when faced with strength? Is this a cash game, sng or mtt?

this is pretty close to the info you need to consider when you play Ak.

I'll offer one little tip though, lets say that you are playing 1/2 NL, and the raiser makes it $10.. and has $80 total, and you know hes a bit of a loosey goosey.. you figure to be a long ways ahead of his range. Obviously you want to play against his hand.. so  you shovel your chips in, right?

nooo... the leverage bet is the best idea. If you make it $35/$40, you are committing HIM to the pot, whilst you aren't committing yourself to the pot if the BB wakes up with a big hand.

As an example, if you have $250 or so, BB has $200, and you make it up to $80, to put the loosey goosey all-in, and BB wakes up with a monster and jams, you are pretty much committed, but if you make it $40, and BB then comes over the top, you aren't committed, and can get away from it

you still achieve the same thing, ie getting the loosey gooseys stack in the middle, but you avoid getting roped into the pot by a monster from the BB, as he will need a monster to play in that spot.

Naturally these figures aren't set in stone, but its just an example of playing AK to maximise the chances of getting THEIR stack in the middle when you have the best of it, but minimizes the chance of you getting your stack in the middle when the BB has the best of it.

[Bongo]

Again it depends on the player and the texture of the flop, against some it's worth firing a bullet, others it is not, depends how you feel really.

[snoopy1239]

I knew nothing about the table and had only played a few hands.

ps. Welcome to Blonde, Totalise and cheers for the advice. I'll definitely take that on board.

[Bongo]

I knew nothing about the table and had only played a few hands.

Maybe it's not the time to be playing a big pot then?

Call and see what the flop brings?

[jezza777]

OK Snoop I am a cash game fish so take my advice with that in mind.

Calling - this is an option but I am not sure I like it . If  you call then you have no further information on the raisers hand, even if you hit the flop ie top pair top kicker then you cant be sure you are ahead . If you hit the flop with 2 pair you could be losing to a set- unlikley but happens. The point here is you dont know where you are in the hand and you will be playing out of position for the remaining streets. This is a bad situation to be in.

You said that you dont have any info on this player so the only way to get that information is to use your chips .You need is to reraise in my opinion. Without knowing the players style or raising requirements it is difficult to peg him to a hand but a reraise definately narrows the field of what he should be calling with. If he chooses to call with a marginal hand then he makes a mistake and that is profit for you no matter who wins the pot. If you do reraise and he flat calls appreiate the fact you will almost have to put in a flop bet due to your position regardless of the flop. This bet will have a much higher sucess rate coming from a perflop raise than a preflop call.

If he reraises you post flop then I fold cash poker is about making bets per hour not gambling with 50/50 shots for your stack. If you call a reraise with AK here then you may as well go to the Blackjack tables and put you bankroll on RED.

Just my thoughts m8

[snoopy1239]

How much should u bet on the flop?

[Highstack]

I don't advise limping with AK but a smooth call into a raised preflop bet is thonly way to play AK here. Especially at low limits. So many players will raise with much less that you simply can not fold and reraising is not an option with your poor position. See what the flop brings. If its rags, your opponent could too have missed (AQ or AJ are common lp raises) so you may still have the best of it. Check it to him (forget control here as you dont want to build the pot into something you cant fold) let him either hang himself (depending what you know) then call raise or fold after his action. The strength or lack of his post flop action may help you decide your next move.

[jezza777]

if I make a continuation bet then I bet the pot always . This is wether I have hit my hand or not. I think this is a long term +ev play.
There was a very very good article written by one of the full tilt pro's about the amount to bet I will dig it up and PM you the link.

[ACE2M]

I raise around half the pot. WIth the stacks what they are there is no need to go silly and bet the pot. $32 again should have the same result as a pot bet. If you bet the pot i think you are committed if he raises.