Is AK a made hand or not and why?

hobojim1247

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  • #101
It is just another starting hand with it pluses and minuses. But its EV post flop is negative. It' worthless on a flop 856 with late position limpets.

Jim
 
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  • #102
It's the best non-made premium hand pre flop. I play it aggressively pre flop as it hardly gets paid when you hit an Ace or King on flop. So big preflop raise with AK.
 
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  • #103
Against a weak player, I play aggressively with AK, if the opponent is tight, then I play carefully.
 
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  • #104
xOneCoolHandx said:
Hi all,
I keep hearing people all the time talking about AK and the trouble playing it because, while it is a strong hand, it is not a made hand. Yet, almost no one has a problem getting it in preflop with AK (esp suited). So, this begs the question: Is AK a "made hand" -- why or why not?

I believe that AK IS a made hand. It beats all other Ax besides AA (which is a decent made hand as well...lol), it is also beating all Kx (besides the obvious KK that is not too shabby). As draws, it makes the nuts on both flush and straight boards, it flips with every pocket pair (that is not the aforementioned AA and KK) and it is leading every other hand. It does not necessarily need to improve to win at showdown.

What is everyone else's opinion?


In fact, AK is a drawing hand, meaning you will often need to improve by showdown. But at the same time, this hand has a very good chance of being the best, as any ace or king on the board will give you top pair and top kicker. So AK is a hand that should be played aggressively and decisively until you run into resistance preflop and later streets.Against weak players or players with short stacks (up to +-15bb), the best decision is to immediately shove. The combination of fold equity and actual equity in your hand makes this a profitable move.
 
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  • #105
In my practice, it often happened that I outplayed the holder of such strong cards. And I learned after I was often outplayed with these cards. Although of course - the chances of breaking the bank with such cards are very high.
 
Pavel1203733

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  • #106
AK is not a made hand. In no case. Yes, such a hand gives a significant probability of getting a high combination, but on its own before the flop, even against a pair of deuces, this hand does not look like a favorite.
 
hilary antonik filho

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  • #107
I don't consider it a strong hand, I've already lost, I believe 78% when I went all-in pre-flop, without a doubt in a good connector, but there are days when you even lose to a pair of 2s
 
tony2521

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  • #108
AK is not a made hand but it is a strong hand
 
jleon_zat

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  • #109
it depends on the position and at what level you are playing and what kind of game you are playing, clearly it is a premium hand but it does not always win
 
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  • #110
It could be a made hand if noone gets any pair. If they have a pocket pair or someone buys a pair, then it is not a made hand.
 
mina271

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  • #111
AK is considered a very strong hand, but any pair can beat them if you haven't hit a pair yourself. With that, the strength of the hand has decreased again and can be seen as only 2 very high cards and are only effective if they hit the board. There are many people who see AK as the hand to go all-in with, but it's not a pair and therefore not a made hand. After all, it's the cards on the board that decide the game and how good the hands you're holding really are. Sometimes you even have to be willing to fold with AA, and if that's the case, it certainly counts for AK as well. Of course, it's not just the cards that play a role, you should also keep an eye on how the others at the table are playing.
 
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Kiryl

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  • #112
Poker

AK hand for aggressive play.
 
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  • #113
By definition AK is a 'drawing' hand, not a 'made' hand.

A 'made' hand insinuates a pair or better.

High card is not a made hand.

All pocket pairs are technically a 'made' hand but in comparison preflop any unpaired cards are not a 'made' hand.
 
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  • #114
I don't really have anything to add to 90% of the comments here. AK is a very good hand, I have confidence in it pre-flop. But it's not a made hand, because Only pocket pairs are made hands pre-flop.
 
willjosp

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  • #115
AK is a very strong hand since they are the combination of very high cards, however, despite being strong, sometimes it is very common to lose with this type of cards, more than when they are of the same suit, we call them Big blind, but it has happened to me that I have lost with this type of hand I have even with pair of AA :(
 
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  • #116
xOneCoolHandx said:
Hi all,
I keep hearing people all the time talking about AK and the trouble playing it because, while it is a strong hand, it is not a made hand. Yet, almost no one has a problem getting it in preflop with AK (esp suited). So, this begs the question: Is AK a "made hand" -- why or why not?

I believe that AK IS a made hand. It beats all other Ax besides AA (which is a decent made hand as well...lol), it is also beating all Kx (besides the obvious KK that is not too shabby). As draws, it makes the nuts on both flush and straight boards, it flips with every pocket pair (that is not the aforementioned AA and KK) and it is leading every other hand. It does not necessarily need to improve to win at showdown.

What is everyone else's opinion?

Considering a pair as a minor hand, AK is not a made hand.
 
Tigroslav

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  • #117
I will rephrase your question.

Is AK a made hand or not and why YES?


Well YES because we should think of poker in long term.
The times that we do connect with the board we will
be beating so many other hands that it will net us great profits.
Also there is one big important factor to mention I think is
often overlooked argument. That is about all the times we
get called by baby to mid pairs and the board over pairs up twice
example AK v 55 board T 7 Q 7 T
over a large number of hands those wins add up quite nicely.
To a lesser extent boards like 6 J J J J are also nice for us.
 
Last edited:
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  • #118
I don’t understand what a made hand is. No wonder I can’t play very well. To me the hand is not made until the river. Haha!
 
MrrrRock

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  • #119
very dangerous hand but im not sad when dealt ak :D
 
Claudiunm

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  • #120
xOneCoolHandx said:
Hi all,
I keep hearing people all the time talking about AK and the trouble playing it because, while it is a strong hand, it is not a made hand. Yet, almost no one has a problem getting it in preflop with AK (esp suited). So, this begs the question: Is AK a "made hand" -- why or why not?

I believe that AK IS a made hand. It beats all other Ax besides AA (which is a decent made hand as well...lol), it is also beating all Kx (besides the obvious KK that is not too shabby). As draws, it makes the nuts on both flush and straight boards, it flips with every pocket pair (that is not the aforementioned AA and KK) and it is leading every other hand. It does not necessarily need to improve to win at showdown.

What is everyone else's opinion?

It's certainly not a hand to despise. But what happens is that many people overestimate this hand. Especially if you're at a wild table, going all-in with it pre-flop is like playing bingo. I prefer to be cautious.
 
TCHUCO2005

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  • #121
For me AK are great cards but it's not a made hand, made hand for me is pair, and any pair of 2s not beating A or K, nor two pair on the board greater than two, to entreo,,,,,,,ma if I have AK and don't open anything on the flop, and if the bets are low I keep calling....if not try others try.
 
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  • #122
I really like this hand of AK and I act properly.
 
TheNutz4You

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  • #123
nope, just a good ace high hand. Because it's just ace high :)
 
pegasus888

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  • #124
Trap hand, good percentage of the players get knockout because of it. Overrated
 
Jogo4

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  • #125
The thing about this hand is that your opponents at the table have pairs of JJ 10 QQ. and the lot is cast.
 
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