AK against an all-in in the first hands

schon1958 · May 3, 2020

There are times when we play poker tournaments and our first hand is AK and someone goes all-in playing before us, like you would play AK in the first hands of a tournament against an all-in from an opponent who has played before us. ?

vajavava · May 3, 2020

If is the start of tournament of course fold ..dont GO ALL IN with Ak pre FLOP ..just go all in against low stack player then it's good

ocl07 · May 3, 2020

It's one of the toughest decision in mtt. I've strategy that I check only with QQ,KK,AA in that situation. Personally, I don't like play AK all-in in first hand because there is a lot of situation when we've flip with small or middle pair. I prefer to be aggresive not in the first blinds of mtt but in the middle and late phase of these tournaments.

lyudiko · May 3, 2020

If in Hyper turbo and turbo, all in, especially if the cards are of the same suit.
Still need to watch other players.

lyudiko · May 3, 2020

If bluffing is noticed, players often no longer trust.
This is both bad and good.
But bluffing can always be useful.
I prefer not to bluff, but sometimes ....)

Bleeis · May 3, 2020

If it is a slow tournament I prefer to wait unless I know it is a fish, in turbo / hyperturbo I call

gichka97 · May 3, 2020

If it is tournament where the blinds are between 10 or 15 minutes, it is better to fold, because you can increase your stack in many, many various hands after that. If it is a hyper-turbo or SNG tournament it is better to call. On the other hand, there are players , who will call every time AK never mind what is the tournament and if you do it,too in the first hand that will not be wrong. It is to what you feel and for what you are playing. Do not blame yourself if you call in the first hand with AK and loose. That was your decision, you were in with good hand, it can be only bad luck.

blix177 · May 3, 2020

schon1958 said:
There are times when we play poker tournaments and our first hand is AK and someone goes all-in playing before us, like you would play AK in the first hands of a tournament against an all-in from an opponent who has played before us. ?

It depends on the structure of the game. In games like 3 people SNG you start with 20BB. By all means go all in.

In freeroll or $3 or under micro. Go all in.

In low stake or above, you can fold it. What happens if you fold AK on the first hand. You lost 0 blinds. You stack is the same as as if you started 1 min later.

AK isn't a made hand. You are behind 22-AA and dominated by KK&AA while they are unlikely since you have blockers for those.

Here is a quick fact. In a 50 table tournament, on the first hand for everyone, there will be 4 tables with someone having either AA or KK.

kubistok · May 3, 2020

In regular tournament I prefer fold. In hyper turbo is possible call.

ocl07 · May 3, 2020

I need to add that in hyper-turbo it's rather all-in. We need to be active in that tournament from the beginning.

ph_il · May 5, 2020

i call 100% of the time.

i also only play $1 mtts.

JJP · May 5, 2020

It depends on the structure for me, if this is a deepstacked slow event then I am folding 100% of the time bc there is just no need to flip coins when I think I have a skill edge on the field. However if it a turbo or something where you start shorter stacked then I probably would call and look to gamble to get chips

alfiyka · May 5, 2020

I used to always reset it.But lately I've been taking risks.If you win with these cards 2 or 3 stacks, then there is a chance to reach the final table.I realized that a careful game will not lead to anything good.Just a waste of time.I think the probability of winning with AK is not higher than any pair more than 10.

bempassado · May 5, 2020

Man, is a very hard decision but you must fold AK in the early stages of the tournament.the equity is not in your favor. But if you are in the midle stage of the tournament, shove would be a right dicision.

vashsv · May 5, 2020

schon1958 said:
There are times when we play poker tournaments and our first hand is AK and someone goes all-in playing before us, like you would play AK in the first hands of a tournament against an all-in from an opponent who has played before us. ?

In low stake tourneys specially if its a rebuy will deinetly call, you would not belive the kind of hands I saw people push all-in first hand. Also depends on my possition, how many people are behind me but will probably call anyway. In the long run at low stakes I think I am doing well with AK vs very early game all-ins. Usually I ran into AQ,AJ,A10, small poket pairs plus alot of nonsence. Yes I do run into KK, AA, but thats rare.

VVi10 · May 5, 2020

It´s difficult situation, but, in many times i would take the risk depends on the buy-in i´ve payd or the stack of other guy.

ph_il · May 5, 2020

VVi10 said:
It´s difficult situation, but, in many times i would take the risk depends on the buy-in i´ve payd or the stack of other guy.

it's the first hand. stacks are even.

Alekxandrovi3 · May 7, 2020

In general, with such a hand, in most cases, you can safely call all in. If you play in expensive tournaments, then it’s possible to lose with a heartache because you don’t want to risk the whole stack at the beginning of the tournament and play blind without focusing on the actions of the opponent and the cards on the table.

DancingNancie · May 7, 2020

Like anything with poker my answer is well it depends...

If there are rebuys I go with it and rebuy if I miss. If it is a freezeout it would depend on the action and stakes. If there are 3 or 4 bets happening you are looking at sharing outs to any pair and that stinks. In that case I would fold. If it is just open jam, call and call I may go with it. I always enjoy having a big stack to start a tourney and am willing to gamble some in this situation. For me I probably play this hand about 75% of the time.

Fenix7 · May 7, 2020

Yes, although it is not recommended I have done so. Ak is played by looking at the flop. It's ideal, sometimes I go Allin. you win and lose.

axel142 · May 7, 2020

if is the first hand and preflop, Fold

Only_player · May 7, 2020

In freerolls I call) Also in hyper-turbo tournaments I definitely play!

blata8ruga · May 7, 2020

I fold for sure, I am not someone who always pushes with AK like some players.

edgarpm · May 7, 2020

if the tournament is fast the best thing is to go with everything

DS3 · May 7, 2020

Situation dependent - buy in and structure etc.

However, I am trying to rebalance my play. I am a TAG player and generally happy with where things stand...but for the fact increasingly I feel like some tourneys should be given over to a 'swing for the fences' attitude. I can cash with regularity but limit my chances to reach the final table by playing things safe.

One of the more pointed comments in a similar thread which stuck with me is this - if you would commit to playing a strong hand such as this later in the tournament, why would you not play it as an opening hand?

It seems logical to exercise caution at first, but the more you look at this situation, not so much.

AK against an all-in in the first hands

schon1958

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