How often are you willing to get it all-in pre flop with A,K?

As loads have said all ready depends on so many factors but personally i am quite happy to shove or call an all in before the flop most of the time

In turbo tourneys I would go in early,also if the player Im calling the all in for is 1/3 my stack or less I would probably call under (pretty much) any scenario. Now small pocket pairs are a much bigger annoyance for me than AK though...

First phases and final table... or in turbo tournies, In which is almost obligatory to shove when you have a decent hand.

1. If any inferior hands are within their calling range, ship it in pre-flop all day.
2. If it's not multi-way pot for your whole stack.
3. If you're willing to accumulate chips quickly as possible or bust out early since any knucklehead will call you with a pocket pair other than KK/AA.

More times, you'll get called by inferior hands or pocket pair. Don't feel embarrassed or stupid of getting it in and lose. There's nothing wrong with getting it in pre-flop since it's a standard pre-flop all-in hand. You'll win more times than lose with AK.

And yes, it's player dependent. If you have specific read that the person is a very nitty person, then you may consider folding.

It's also tourney dependent. If you're on a bubble play of flat-structured satellite with solid M zone and someone rams their stack at you for your entire stack, then AK is a fold, especially if there are lot of shorties that will bust out.

Pretty much never fold AK at any stage.

You've got blockers to both AA and KK, you flip with a bunch of pairs, crush AQ/AJ.

Whoever said they'd rather have 22 over AK is welcome to it; you are far less likely to be crushed down to 2 outs than with AK thanks to the blockers.

baudib1 said:

AK is just a drawing hand.

I'd rather have 22.

You're a coinflip at best.

I wouldn't want to risk my tournament life on AK.

You know what they call AK? Anna Kournikova. Looks good but never wins!

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So, you would rather play a Group 7 Hand v Group 1/2 hand (depending on if suited or not)?

Group 7 includes great hands like J9, 64s, 34s. With 22 you are a coinflip at best no matter what the other player holds, and it is the slight dog hand v AKs. With AK you can actually dominate other players hands, and are only a 2 to 1 dog against KK. Tell me again why you like 22 better than AK?

baudib1 said:

AK is just a drawing hand.

I'd rather have 22. Yeah after you see his cards that's not a pocket pair.

You're a coinflip at best. 22 is coin-flip at best against any rags not containing 2. Can be dominated by 12 pocket pairs

I wouldn't want to risk my tournament life on AK. And you would risk with 22.

You know what they call AK? Anna Kournikova. Looks good but never wins! I thought it was Auto Kalashnikov. Cheap weapon that gets the job done efficiently.

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But don't worry. I used to overvalue low pocket pairs over a year ago. You'll find out someday that AK is much better hand to hold than deuces when facing pre-flop all-ins.

Just about the time I figure out the hand is simply just two cards the be. They never hold up when I get them.

baudib1 said:

my poast was ironiq

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At first I was like "hehe", then I was like "wait wat?", then I was like "Omfg you serious??!" then I was like "He can't be serious I'm sure he's not a retard", then I was like "Lmao".

This thread is teh funs.

LuckyChippy said:

At first I was like "hehe", then I was like "wait wat?", then I was like "Omfg you serious??!" then I was like "He can't be serious I'm sure he's not a retard", then I was like "Lmao".

This thread is teh funs.

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You actually had to wonder if it was a level? glad you got it figured out, lol

Between cash and tournaments, AKs has been a winner for me, AKo pretty much even (it's a small sample size though, only about 14k total hands). Having said that, I'm not a fan of AK even though Doyle Brunson's explanation of why he likes it has endeared it to me a bit more. I will generally not go all-in PF with AKo unless I'm going to be blinded out the next hand, simply because I've had such poor luck with it. AKs, however, I will shove with starting with an M of about 8.

You've got a big results-orientated leak in your game; the sooner you sort it out the better.

results-oriented poast:
Final Table bubble
SB was extremely tight.

No Limit Holdem Tournament
FullTiltPoker
7 Players
Hand Conversion Powered by weaktight.com
$6K Super Turbo Knockout

Stacks:
UTG mastat44 (1,115)
UTG+1 BWDav (12,952)
MP koolkid218 (6,002)
CO Soul Coughing (8,975)
BTN DONKEYTRAP26 (4,986)
SB XpeedBR (8,855)
BB Hero (9,705)

Blinds: 300/600 Ante 75

Pre-Flop: (1,425, 7 players) Hero is BB K:diamond: A:heart:
2 folds, koolkid218 goes all-in 5,927, 2 folds, XpeedBR goes all-in 8,780, Hero calls 8,180

Flop: J:diamond: J:heart: 6:heart: (24,012, 3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: K:club: (24,012, 3 players, 2 all-in)

River: J:spade: (24,012, 3 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: 24,012
Hero shows a full house, Jacks full of Kings
K:diamond: A:heart:
koolkid218 shows a full house, Jacks full of Sevens
7:spade: 7:diamond:
XpeedBR shows a full house, Jacks full of Queens
Q:heart: Q:spade:

Hero wins 24,012 (net +15,157)

koolkid218 lost 6,002
XpeedBR lost 8,855

Looks like this has been well answered, but I'll just add this. It's *highly* dependent on three factors (probably more, but this is what I've got right now): (1) who gets it in first, (2) the opponent that's all-in if he got it in first, and (3) my own stack size.

(1) When you're in a position to steal, or re-raise, AK lends itself to getting it all-in first. It doesn't mean you have to push it all in right away, but if you're raised, don't be afraid to flex your muscle with AK.

(2) If my opponent plays A-rag a lot, I'm happy to join him all-in in the pot even if he got there first. If he's got A-rag, I've got him dominated. If he does happen to have a pocket pair, I'm only slightly less than a coin flip, so overall it's +EV.

(3) If I'm short stacked, AK is auto all-in.

Like I said, there are probably other factors as well, but those come to mind. Fold equity is your friend in a MTT (in my opinion, at least -- I know some others feel otherwise) and AK can be a means to that end.

Good luck with your AK in the future!

I usually need a reason not to get my stack in with AK. As someone said we have blockers to AA and KK and we flip with the rest or dominate. When I play tourneys I don't mind taking flips at any point really so it's rare i'm going to fold it pre without a strong reason

seachicken said:

First AK is just A high.

Its hard to win a large pot with AK but really easy to lose a big pot.

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I went back and reread my response and this is not what i meant to say. I think i got interrupted and didn't finish my thoughts.

First I like AK because its a great head to win a big pot and easy to get away from after the flop. Unlike AA and KK where its hard to win a large pot and easy to lose a big pot.

In tournaments i do not like to flip a coin early but that is my style. One of the main reasons i don't like to shove in early or mid position is when you get called you are most likely on the bad side of a coin flip or a huge dog. You may get the occasional AQ call but live i have found you are mostly getting called with pocket pairs.

I don't mind calling a shove with AK because i have found it is rare that someone "live" will shove AA's or KK's. They normally want to make some money so they don't shove with them. If i have 3x your chips i will call AK more than i will shove. I don't mind the gamble but i don't want to put my tournament at risk with the coin flip. There are easier ways to get chips. When i call a shove I know i don't have the fold equity but i have found i am almost always at least a coin flip and a lot of the time i am up against someone making a move and i have two over cards to there two nonpaired cards.

Playing ATC depends on your style of play. without knowing how you play you cannot take two cards and isolate how to play them successfully. It all depends on your approach to the game. I may be able to play them successful by doing x but you may have a -Ev because of all the other things that going into how i play.

gzedao said:

First AK is just A high.

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Hahaha no second?

play it differently all the time.

i raised my ak but i never shove it all

Eclipsenz said:

play it differently all the time.

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otentik691 said:

i raised my ak but i never shove it all

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One can`t fail to be impressed by the standard of the contributions ITT.

I do not think you can define a set of rules for playing AK or any 2 whole cards for that matter. It is always difficult early in a tourney before you have a read on guys but when you are into a game you should be playing the hand depending on your read and how the others have played up till that point.

It is a poweful hand but like all hands it only stays powerful after the flop if you play it correctly.

Egon Towst said:

One can`t fail to be impressed by the standard of the contributions ITT.

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Agreed this needs locked

ben_rhyno said:

Agreed this needs locked

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I don't think so since there is valuable info ITT.

There's hardly one good strategy thread without meaningless or unhelpful + spam posts.

Yeh i suppose so. Maybe clean it up though?

well i like to look at A,K as the best pre-flop drawing hand

with the key being "drawing hand", since it is only A high

as such you would play it similar to a post flop 4 to flush, 4 to straight

you def. want to raise both for info and to give yourself 2 ways to win (i.e. bet them out or hit your A or K)

if you get re-raised and then someone re-re-raises, you can start to think, could i be up vs. AA or KK and make ur decision from there

it's easy to continue bet ... b/c even when u miss, u have 2 over cards ... obviously if you get re-raised on flop, now you think , hmmm do they have trips, a big draw, AA, KK

it's probably the easiest hand to bluff with on all 5 streets b/c you'll often play it like you had AA or KK, so even somebody with like AQ that hits their Q on the flop and holds top pair ... well they would certainly have a tough decision for all their chips on the river in that situation

anyway, long story short it is a very good hand pre-flop and after the flop, you just play poker