Is it good playing with AK or with 89 suited

hecibala · Jul 10, 2025

I think the hands AK and 89 the same if you are not doing all in

sandy358 · Jul 10, 2025

AK and 89s are not really the same.

AK is an ace-high big card hand which makes top pairs and if neither you nor your opponent connected to the board it makes good ace-high.

89s is a medium hand, which makes weak top pairs and most oftenly second or worse pairs, making it not really that strong. Its main strength is in the fact that it makes a lot of straights (much more than AK, which by itself can only complete the broadway straight and that's it) and that it makes flushes (but if we compare 89s to AKs it's weaker in flush making, because AKs makes nut flushes that can't be beaten by any other flush, while 89s can be beaten by a better flush).

dannystanks · Jul 10, 2025

AK can win at showdown with ace high, it’s going to be a rare occasion to win with 9 high at showdown with 98.

Flyer35 · Jul 10, 2025

I like 89s if I feel like I'm boxed in (i.e., everybody around me is shoving and I'm short). odds are very high that two of the villains are shoving with AK, and there are other Ax hands or 77 and lower pairs. So 89s looks really good (better than AKo or another Ax) in that specific circumstance.

I just ran AKo v AKo v 55 v 89s. 89s came out on top at 36.9 %. The AKo hands were approx. 15% each and the 55 was 32.5%. Those are really good odds if you happen to be in the BB, blinds are high and you're short.

Omar.Imrane · Jul 10, 2025

Honestly, we can't say that A♥ K♠ and 8♠ 9♠ have the same luck. Even if sometimes 8♠ 9♠ wins, the difference is clear.
A♥ K♠ is a strong hand and ranked among the best starting hands, while 8♠ 9♠ is more speculative, relying on improving into a straight or flush.

What makes some people feel they’re “the same luck” is when they lose with A♥ K♠ to a weaker hand — and yes, that happens. But it doesn’t mean they’re equal.
Poker isn’t about short-term results; it’s a game of long-term decisions — and over time, A♥ K♠ is clearly ahead.

Sure, 8♠ 9♠ might win once… but if we play the same hand 100 times, A♥ K♠ will win more .often.

Acechador · Jul 10, 2025

AK is a powerhouse preflop, especially in early positions, great for aggression and fold equity. 89s is more of a sneaky, speculative hand you want to play in position and multiway. Both are good, but for very different reasons:
- AK smashes high-card value.
- 89s plays the long game with implied odds.

Mario7 · Jul 10, 2025

hecibala said:
I think the hands AK and 89 the same if you are not doing all in

Instead of explaining why it is not, like others already did (it seems obvious), I would rather like to ask what stands behind? How did you come to this conclusion?

Rost · Jul 10, 2025

I don't think so. Although maybe you mean the size of the cards themselves, since they are the same size. It would be strange if, for example, the Ace was the largest card in the deck, and the Deuce was the smallest.

tagece · Jul 10, 2025

According to the Cardschat Poker Odds Calculator, AKo is a better hand.

But you can have some good implied odds playing with speculative hands.

Goggelheimer · Jul 10, 2025

hecibala said:
I think the hands AK and 89 the same if you are not doing all in

AK can win a hand if none of the other players in the hand hits the board.
89 is dominated by A, K, Q, J, T (X) kind of hands, it has to hit the board with at least a 9(if the other players have A,K,Q,J,T and no hit) and no higher cards that I mentioned.
If a higher card shows up on the turn or river and there are no draw options(FD,STD), 89 is hard to play.

mclay · Jul 10, 2025

hecibala said:
I think the hands AK and 89 the same if you are not doing all in

I think it all depends on Lady Luck here.

MK_ · Jul 10, 2025

Well alrighty then... since they're the same I'll take the AK and you can have the 89😎👍

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Is it good playing with AK or with 89 suited

hecibala

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sandy358

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dannystanks

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Flyer35

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Omar.Imrane

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Acechador

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Mario7

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Rost

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tagece

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Goggelheimer

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mclay

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