Overplaying Ak

[TrueFX 0]

First my most recent hand....50 - $1 NLSB : $100BB : $142MP : $101CO : $275Button : $60Middle Position raises to $4.Cut Off folds.I am on The Button with . I raise it to $11.The blinds fold and the original raiser makes it $33 to go.At this point I'm thinking he has AA, KK, or as I have seen sooooo often, AK!I decide I am going to call and push on a dry flop.Flop is :6dThe original raiser bets $30. I only have $27 left and call. I figure if he had Aces, he would bet less inducing me to call as there are no straight or flush draws on the board. At worst he has KK and doesn't want my AK to get there.I call of course and the turn and river come :4cHe turns over to take down a $123 pot.This is not a bad beat post, but one questioning AK at .50 - $1.Why the hell do people push so hard with it? I have often raised from late position with a medium pair to have a blind come over the top of me for 3x my bet. With the frequency it is happening, I have to assume it is with AK more than AA / KK. I usually fold my poket pairs under 10 and will occassionally call with AK / AQ.I have seen so many raise, re-raise, re-raise all in and calls with AK pre-flop! I have even experienced several where both players are all in pre-flop with AK!Honestly, how can they wager so much on a hand that hasn't even hit yet? People are playing AK like it is Aces! On hands where I call and hit my set, they typically push with a fairly large C-Bet even when they don't hit. I am starting to think that I have been pushed out of MANY pots pre-flop with premium pairs by AK. Is AK played this aggressively at all stages? I have tried playing it this way, but I just spew too many chips when I miss my flop. It costs me $10 - $14 pre-flop and then another $15 - $20 on my missed C-Bet only to have someone call me down because they are checking to see if I slow down on the Turn.Am I undervaluaing AK, are other players over valuing it, am I being pushed around too much?What do you generally see and how do you play against it?

[NonZeroPossibility 0]

bbfidts

[TrueFX 0]

bbfidts

It is a serious question. I could care less about losing the hand and want to hear how other people have seen AK played or play it themselves.Why waster your time responding with something as useless as 7 characters.

[Chris-LFC 0]

Hey,i see it all the time,just played a hand which is a good example,im not quite sure why people do it,AK is overrated imo, people must think it has loads of value, which it does if you hit the right flop,but thats the only time really. i only really ever get it all in pre in a cash game if my opponent has been pretty loose with his 3 betting hands or if i know my oppenent is losing in the game. i dont mind it so much in tournaments though, the hand below i dont quite understand though lol he can't have thought i was bluffing could he? we had played like 9 hands think ill be finding this guy a bit more often FTR Hand History Converter Output (intended for copying and pasting into poker forums!):Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.comButton ($50.25)CJW-LFC (SB) ($48.70)Preflop: CJW-LFC is SB with 5 , 6 Button raises to $1.50, CJW-LFC calls $1Flop: ($3) 8 , 6 , 6 (2 players)CJW-LFC checks, Button bets $2, CJW-LFC raises to $5, Button raises to $12, CJW-LFC raises to $47.20 (All-In), Button calls $35.20Turn: ($97.40) K (2 players, 1 all-in)River: ($97.40) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)Total pot: $97.40 | Rake: $0.50Results:Button had K , A (two pair, Kings and sixes).CJW-LFC had 5 , 6 (three of a kind, sixes).Outcome: CJW-LFC won $96.90

[Solar 0]

Happens all the time. Just the other day playing $50NL, I raised QQ from the button. Big blind calls, then makes a huge crai on the flop of Txx rainbow. I knew he was a maniac, so called. His AK didnt get there. yum yum

[mtdesmoines 3]

Honestly, how can they wager so much on a hand that hasn't even hit yet? People are playing AK like it is Aces! Am I undervaluaing AK, are other players over valuing it, am I being pushed around too much?What do you generally see and how do you play against it?

People who play AK like that are gambling that they need the entire board to roll out to hit their hand. If he has $100, and he raises PF to $15, then cbets another $30, the theory goes what's the point of folding with the price we're getting the see the whole board. Playing AK like this enhances a "fold equity" style and boosts action. IOW, it leads to people playing QQ to the death.

[TrueFX 0]

The only time I see their hand having any value is if they get to see the river. Seems like the only way they get there is an all-in pre-flop or on the flop.They are basically straight up gambling at this point?I just find myself with so many tough decisions. I can beat AK, but they are playing like they have Aces. I guess it comes down to going with your gut on those calls.

[antistuff 0]

imo its from people playing cash games like they are tournaments. if you're short stacked then AK gets unfoldable.

[SCS 0]

I think villain played his hand fine, considering stack sizes.Against a range of AK, AA, and KK, QQ isn't doing so well. Either you are crushed, or villain has a decent amount of equity. Pot is $67.50 on the flop, villain bets $27 If you call villain is getting 3.5-1 odds ($27 to win $94) which is more than enough.

[jmbreslin 0]

imo its from people playing cash games like they are tournaments. if you're short stacked then AK gets unfoldable.

Or watching tournaments on TV. I can't tell you how many times I've watched tourney coverage and when a player has AK facing a raise in front the commentator always says something like, "AK is a hand you want to be reraising with, you don't want to be calling with it." That kind of philosophy, combined with the desire to see all 5 cards with AK, drives people to play it very hard. They'll either get you to fold your hand or they'll get it all in and flip for stacks.

[JoeyFinngars 0]

First my most recent hand....50 - $1 NLSB : $100BB : $142MP : $101CO : $275Button : $60Middle Position raises to $4.Cut Off folds.I am on The Button with . I raise it to $11.The blinds fold and the original raiser makes it $33 to go....................................................Out of curiousity why not push your stack in preflop after his raise? You have committed more than half your stack preflop so why not push over his raise? I would have pushed it in preflop instead of having half my stack in there only to fold to a non-dry board.

[SCS 0]

Out of curiousity why not push your stack in preflop after his raise? You have committed more than half your stack preflop so why not push over his raise? I would have pushed it in preflop instead of having half my stack in there only to fold to a non-dry board.

This. You're only 60bbs deep. Just get it in preflop.

[jmbreslin 0]

If your read tells you your opponent is on AA/KK/AK, and he's willing to get it all in PF with AK, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling and pushing a non-A/K flop. The advantage is that you might get him to fold if he misses the flop.That being said, in this particular hand Hero doesn't have a whole lot of FE on the flop here because he's left himself with too little behind.

[SCS 0]

If your read tells you your opponent is on AA/KK/AK, and he's willing to get it all in PF with AK, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling and pushing a non-A/K flop. The advantage is that you might get him to fold if he misses the flop.That being said, in this particular hand Hero doesn't have a whole lot of FE on the flop here because he's left himself with too little behind.

The thing is though, with hero's stack size, villain can profitably call a shove on the flop with AK.

[JoeyFinngars 0]

If your read tells you your opponent is on AA/KK/AK, and he's willing to get it all in PF with AK, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling and pushing a non-A/K flop. The advantage is that you might get him to fold if he misses the flop.That being said, in this particular hand Hero doesn't have a whole lot of FE on the flop here because he's left himself with too little behind.

Agreed that if the Hero's stack is deeper than this would be a better play but as stated above he had left himself with very little to work with once the flop comes out.

[mln_falcon 0]

This whole thread is level right?

[Snamuh 0]

If your read tells you your opponent is on AA/KK/AK, and he's willing to get it all in PF with AK, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling and pushing a non-A/K flop. The advantage is that you might get him to fold if he misses the flop.That being said, in this particular hand Hero doesn't have a whole lot of FE on the flop here because he's left himself with too little behind.

This logic is really bad. So basically you are waiting for a safe flop and assuming he is going to stack off with AK on a dry board. Why would you want him to fold the flop if he misses???? You have a lot to lose and little to gain by calling preflop. Additionally your range for when you actually do get your stack in preflop becomes KK and AA which is extremely narrow and exploitable.

[jmbreslin 0]

This logic is really bad. So basically you are waiting for a safe flop and assuming he is going to stack off with AK on a dry board. Why would you want him to fold the flop if he misses???? You have a lot to lose and little to gain by calling preflop.

Very valid point, if Villain has AK you don't want him folding on a whiffed flop.

[Sens-Eh 0]

This whole thread is level right?

[MovingIn 0]

Yes, people play AK like the nuts, because it's the biggest winner that isn't AA-QQ. Run a zillion simulations and see for yourself. I'm not the biggest fan of playing it that way, but I see why people do. It's a huge hand.Dude figured he was racing after you 3bet, and he was. You didn't have much fold equity once you flatted pre, and he had a lot of cash behind, so you were getting called.

[Snamuh 0]

Yes, people play AK like the nuts, because it's the biggest winner that isn't AA-QQ. Run a zillion simulations and see for yourself. I'm not the biggest fan of playing it that way, but I see why people do. It's a huge hand.Dude figured he was racing after you 3bet, and he was. You didn't have much fold equity once you flatted pre, and he had a lot of cash behind, so you were getting called.

Additionally, the majority of it's value is going to come when you are able to put a lot of pressure on other opponents and force them to fold hands like 22-TT in situations where they are flipping vs your actual hand but feel crushed by your range, thus are forced to fold.