AKo Heads up in NL ring game.

You're in the button with AKo. 10 handed game. No maniacs, stacks fairly even.

EP (UTG+2) opens with a small (not tiny) raise. MP calls. You call. Blinds fold.

Flop is A-10-7 rainbow.

EP pushes 1/4 of his stack in, MP folds.

Do you:
a) Go all in and pray?
b) Call?
c) Raise him back (and if so for how much).

If you opt for c. and raise, He raises your bet right back. Now what?

if you opt for b and call, The flop comes a blank, ( let's say a 2 ). EP makes a substantial raise again. Now what?

Would your answer be different in the early stages of a tournament than in a ring game?





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[Jimbo]

You may not like this response since it doesn't really answer your exact questions but it is how the hand should be played.

I have AKo on the button with a small raise and 1 limper to me I raise about 4 times the pot preflop. This makes the post flop play much easier and eliminates all your questions. It does however open up other preflop scenarios.

It's hard to answer these questions without exact numbers or close approximations. You say the stacks are fairly even, but are they large compared to the blinds. Are the stacks 50 BB, 100 BB, 1000BB??? You can see how hard it is to understand your statement,"EP pushes 1/4 of his stack in", when I don't know how big his stack is. Fill us in.

- harold

[Zeno]

Calling perflop on the button with AKo in this situation is a big mistake. You should raise and raise big. Jimbo hit the nail on the head with his post.

Lets say you did raise big and EP calls (MP folds) and the flop is the same. EP then bets 1/4 of his stack. In general, (depending on table image, your and his hand reading skills, your oppositions playing style etc) if you can't raise and play for all or most of your money then someone needs to drop a bowling ball on your toe /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif .

-Zeno

100 BB.

Yes, in retrospect I should have raised pf.

I did go all in and lost to A-10.

C'est la guerre?

Or, leaving aside my poor pre flop play, a case of overplaying the AK when nothing hits but another A?

LLHE 101 "Don't play A-8o, what if an ace hit and the flop is AJ9"

Are we overenthusaistic about AKo in NL in about the same manner?

Yep, if I had raised PF he might have folded (then again it was A-!0s). But going back and forth with hefty raises till I was all -in?

I think that was misplayed , not just c'est la guerre. What do you think?

Hi, it's hard to make a big bet with a drawing hand in NL, but if a-10 (drawing hand) called a big bet that what you would like to happen. You lost because he hit a weaker hand. /forums/images/icons/mad.gif Going all in with top pr and top kicker in ring game where you have other funds and can keep playing in a good game OK but i would not go all in a tournament. /forums/images/icons/ooo.gif

[angelo alba]

"Yes, in retrospect I should have raised pf."

Why? Because you lost? I assume no one with a decent hand is going to fold. (yes, depending ot table image, etc.etc)

So the main reason to raise would be to clarify the situation:

1) Both raise. Good luck. You can now safely fold or be a tough hombre. If you choose the latter then depending on whether you win or lose you'll be a genius or a maniac. Ditto the former if it goes to a showdown; youll either be a genius or a wimp.

2) Both call. Pat yourself on the back for getting 'better value' until you're smashed in your post flop play by the A-10s

3) A-10s calls (allright he coud re-raise,but...) and the other folds. Again pat yourself on the back for " isolating " until ,once again you're smashed post flop by A-10s


SO WHAT TO DO?


The last poster indicated that going all-in when all you have is top pair with a higher kicker is not such a hot idea in tournament but he might chance it in ring games.

Echoes of your:

" LLHE 101 "Don't play A-8o, what if an ace hit and the flop is AJ9"
Are we overenthusaistic about AKo in NL in about the same manner? "

IMHO: YES!!
And btw getting all-in by 'going back and forth' post-flop in this hand wasn't ideal play either.

(But what the hell do I know?)

A little logic here. While EVERYTHING could be attributed ( or copped out to) 'Well it's all about table image and your knowledge of the other players."

( Which is absolutely true but who doesn't know that? If your question has any meaning I've got to assume you're not getting a strong read at present )

How would most of you play the hand?

I think we should have a new forum added! "A-Ko through AJo " /forums/images/icons/grin.gif