How To Play AK In Tournaments

Most players understand that “Big Slick” is a strong hand, but it must be rememberd that it’s still a drawing hand.  When you do hit the flop you’re guaranteed to have at least top pair and top kicker, but the fact is that you’ll miss the flop twice as often as you hit! One thing’s for sure though, in online poker tourneys whenever somebody in a hand is holding AK you are probably going to either witness or participate in an big pot.

The tendency for impatient players is to think of ace king as a made hand when in fact, it is actually only a drawing hand – mind you a very strong drawing hand. The way you play Ace King has a lot to do with conditions in the tournament. For example, it is really not wrong to shove pre-flop when you are short stacked because with AK you are almost never in terrible shape against anybody who calls you. There are truly only two hands that you do not want to see flip over – AA or KK. Anything else and you are at worst a slight underdog against a single opponent.

There are nonetheless, circumstances when more caution is needed when holding Ace King. Early in the tourney, even with a hand as strong as AK you still want to keep the pot small unless that flop has really helped you. Top pair and top kicker is a decent hand, but it’s not necessarily a hand that you want to let your tournament ride on in the low blind levels. So if you do hit an ace or a king on the flop you are very likely ahead, but if your opponents decides to stay in the hand you need to be very concerned about straights, two pair, flushes and sets. In fact, on a dangerous board in the early levels you may have to consider folding your top pair hand if the pot gets too big.

Another situation is where you get a preflop caller, and you both miss the flop, but your opponent is first to act and makes a continuation bet. Then all of a sudden you’ve got a tough choice to make because you will be calling with an ace-high hand. If you think about it, AK is really a hand that you want to see all the community cards, because you have a very good chance of hitting the turn or river and making the best hand. However, if you hit nothing on a ragged flop, you’re almost always going to be involved in a debatable hand. That is something you want to avoid in early tournament stages, as well as against aggressive opponents.

The other time you need to be careful is if there are multiple limpers before you act.  Sure, you could raise and narrow the field but with multiple players interested in the pot, but the chances are that at least some of them are also holding high cards, further depleting your chances of hitting the flop. If you aren’t short stacked, try and get to see a affordable flop that helps you, then bet out. Calculating on what your opposition does can influence your play for fourth and fifth streets. That’s when opponent profiling really comes into play too. Ideally you want to keep AK a lucrative hand for you, and only play big pots with strong flops.

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