How to play AK when it misses the flop?

Avvavva · Nov 11, 2018

I c-bet dry flops with AK.

01461958 · Nov 11, 2018

depence

the answer is........depence
depence the cards of flob , the stag , the kind of the others players .....ect.

NHequalsFU · Nov 11, 2018

champ_mc99 said:
Especially out of position.

Do we check for showdown value since we don't know where we're at or bet as a bluff? Obviously its situation dependent but would like to hear some thoughts.

It depends on the board as well. Does it hit our range? Does it hit the villains range?

If we are OOP against loose aggressive player I would just slow down unimproved.

Against a tight opponent I may fire at the pot on the flop if it looks favorable to me or unfavorable to them. Giving up to any resistance.

AK plays like any other suited connectors you may play when you miss the flop.

GreenDaddy1 · Nov 12, 2018

Just like any other hole cards, a lot depends on board texture and your/villain ranges in any given spot. Perhaps more so than some other starting hands though, it is important to not get married to AK. It is a hand with a ton of potential pre flop that gets grouped together with the likes of AA, KK & QQ in terms of pre flop strength, but in comparison those hands sort of play themselves post flop provided you pay attention to the board, meanwhile AK requires that are more measured in your aggression and that you don't overplay your two pretty overcards should you not connect with the flop.

Sorin Iliescu · Nov 12, 2018

Mostly check but it all depends on board texture and opponent

makisaa · Nov 13, 2018

It depends from the other players. If they play aggresivelly and they are bluffing, then I must be carefull, because I might be a big winner, or a big victim. If the other players seem less experienced I try a bluff!

champiomf · Nov 13, 2018

It depends on what position. if you are DL and the BB or SB equals you. It depends on the flop of how you bet. If you do not get anything and you have a closed flop bet 60% most of the time against 1. Close I mean 5 5 2, 77 Q, something like that, if you're out of position and you do not get an open flop like 456 or all letters of the same color and you have nothing. It only happens and if you see weakness in the Turn you have a minimum bet of 2.5 and if you pay you do check fold on the turn. Tomate simple decisions. It is the best.

sibird · Nov 13, 2018

champ_mc99 said:
Especially out of position.

Do we check for showdown value since we don't know where we're at or bet as a bluff? Obviously its situation dependent but would like to hear some thoughts.

AK means some excitement at pre-flop. Since you are out of position, try to utilize that pre-flop experience such as how he reacted when you raised pre-flop, did he re-raised or just called? (I am assuming that you initiated the raise as we all do).

It is possible that while you missed the flop, he might had missed too.

If you check then sure there will be bet from other side. What will you do then? Fold? or call to see the turn?

My thoughts are in favor of betting/raising. If he calls then you have opportunity to see the next card. If he raises/re-raises then fold.

agriggy · Nov 13, 2018

champ_mc99 said:
Especially out of position.

Do we check for showdown value since we don't know where we're at or bet as a bluff? Obviously its situation dependent but would like to hear some thoughts.

I would bet it since you have 2 over cards and that you are probably ahead. Also depends how many players are in the hand which reduces the chances of being ahead.

jova1994 · Nov 13, 2018

everything will depend on which is the flop, according to that we see what possibilities we have to connect a hand on the turn and river

Aca0012 · Nov 19, 2018

If you raise a pre-flop and miss a flop with AK, in 90% of cases you must continue betting and play c-bet. If the opponent continues to pay, we need to be careful and maybe slow-play and slow down the hand. I mostly play c-bet on a flop if I miss a flop with such hands. But, of course, everything depends on your opponent like the type of player, how he played before the tournament, and there are still many factors there. AK is a strong hand, but it does not need to be too attached to the same. Greeting! And all the best!

bakreni · Nov 19, 2018

if you are against 1 oponet then cbet..more players chek end fold

NBDG8477 · Nov 19, 2018

it depends on how action went pre flop but I usually tend to have a plan in place for flop /turn/ and river if it gets that far ,but if im check raised on a missed flop ill just give up especially if its early stage of a tournament no point in risking your tournament life on a hope and a prayer early on

Tunnelrat · Nov 19, 2018

If I'm out of position with AK and miss the flop I would more often than not c-bet, but again it depends on the situation (how many opponents in the pot, stack size, table image etc). More often than not my opponent will fold because of my TAG image prior to the flop (with AK I would've raised pre-flop). So if you bet then the opponent is going to put you on a strong hand, he doesn't know if you're sitting on over pair or if you even hit the set.

If I'd get re-raised then I'd fold or call, again depends on the size of the bet and what's already in the pot and how many opponents etc.

Daithi · Nov 19, 2018

champ_mc99 said:
Especially out of position.

Do we check for showdown value since we don't know where we're at or bet as a bluff? Obviously its situation dependent but would like to hear some thoughts.

It's a real nightmare and god it happens more often than not. My 2c are.....

Depends how many opponents and what kinda spot it is. #1 Is it a more fishy spot (more rare) where you had like 2 limpers EP and LP and you raised them. Or #2 Is it Isolation or Squeeze where EP or MP opened and LP or SB called? #3 It it a defend against steal from the button?

In the rare case of #1 (yes it does happen) I would check the Flop. Likely you are facing fishier opponents who wontw let go, but give you cheap Turn and River possibly.

2 and 3 are similar. Pot is already worth fighting for. You are in a tricky spot. I would fire a Cbet most of the time. You have to, to have any chance to take it down right there. I would prefer a small Cbet a bit less than 1/2 pot, but it looks to weak, sometimes it does the job. I would fire 2/3 of the pot. Depending how big the pot is, maybe a bit less.

Remember they don't know you have AK. You can still have AA, KK, QQ. Your preflop aggression suggests that. I would make a few exceptions where I would check sometimes. Like when Flop came mid-range heavy and wet, smacking the Buttons range. I might go for the check there sometimes. But most of the time I'd Cbet on any board. You have to. You get raised, you fold. Unless you absolutely certain the guy is a mad raiser. I would check-call. These guys freeze on the Turn sometimes and you might get a free River card.

Anton Fedorov · Nov 20, 2018

You need to play the way you would play if you hit the flop, because you preflop raise and check the flop, it’s obvious that you didn’t hit him, your opponent cannot know that you have AK, you may have AA or KK or a set, therefore I would put a cbet in 80% of cases, only if you are not sure that you are playing with a maniac who will drag 22 then the river

collesut · Nov 20, 2018

Too many unknowns

It all depends on situations, in tourney its a C-bet 90% if you were the raiser, but in cash games and small field tournaments or last 50 in a Big MTT field it depends on the situation

majango · Nov 20, 2018

Check-Raise that B**** 😁

ChickenArise · Nov 20, 2018

Anjo said:
I like to insist if the stakes are not too high compared to my stack, I think that up to 30% I would risk seeing another card.

This is how you get lured in when the opponent flops a set.

MikeCarasone · Nov 21, 2018

When I miss the flop with AK I usually will Cbet and hopefully take it down there or only get called and I hit the turn. AK is a nice starting hand but if it doesn’t connect it can be very costly and not worth going broke with. I will try to see the turn and river but if my opponent raises me a lot I’ve learned to be disciplined enough to get away from AK. It looks a lot better than it is. Players are playing aggressively with a wide range these days and not connecting your hand usually means you are behind. Obviously there are times when you need to read the opponents tendencies and evaluate individually but AK is not invincible and when missing I have been easily capable of folding.

pirateglenn · Nov 21, 2018

Just to play devils advocate here though, i raised AK to 1200 from the BB last night (3 bet raise) and a K hit the flop - i jammed and was called by 44 (his stack 2k more than mine) and he rivers a 4 so AK whatever way you play it can present issues.

Poker Orifice · Nov 21, 2018

pirateglenn said:
Just to play devils advocate here though, i raised AK to 1200 from the BB last night (3 bet raise) and a K hit the flop - i jammed and was called by 44 (his stack 2k more than mine) and he rivers a 4 so AK whatever way you play it can present issues.

How deep are stacks here? Once we've 3bet pre while OOP w AK... do we have an SPR of just 1? (what is our SPR here... & how deep are effective stacks?)

Called by 44.

.. I hope they're depositing and not just playing freerolls

maximmaxim · Nov 22, 2018

with this hand, you need strong nerves and show character, sometimes you just get knocked out with nothing, and your kicker is higher, it seems to me that I often get knocked out myself in the first street

fernando21 · Nov 22, 2018

It is important for you to evaluate what type of players you are up against. In every situation it is imperative that you keep an eye on what actions were taken by your opponents in previous hands so that when you come to face them you can use that information to take the best actions against them.

Sil3ntness · Nov 22, 2018

With AK it depends on the board texture once we miss. Do we have a nut flush draw? A combo draw of two over cards + a double gutter?

It also depends on the opposing player. Do they fold a lot to C-bets? Are they super sticky to the point that we have to have some form of equity to get paid off? Once we start answering some of those questions we can form a plan on how to play post flop.

As mentioned earlier though, Ace King is just ace high preflop. It's a really good ace high, but still ace high so be ready to fold when you're facing a high amount of aggression post flop when you are not drawing to enough outs.

How to play AK when it misses the flop?

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