AKo and its cousins

[tj00]

I have two questions reguarding AKo, AQo, AJo in a loose passive game.

1. Is there any equity in raising with these hands in LP after 6 or 7 limpers, what about 4 or 5?

2. Is there any equity in raising for EP with these hands if you know you will get 5 or 6 callers behind you?

Here are my thoughts on the matter. (Which are probally off base)

Situation 1, I still like to raise, punish the limpers with bad hands plus maybe get a free card on the flop if you miss.

Situation 2, I am starting to limp with these hands. If I miss the flop it is an easy release. If I hit I like to go for the checkraise if I think I can get one in. If I bet out my hand is more hidden because of the pre-flop limp.

I would really appreciate some feedback on these issues especially the strategies in situation 2.

[Schmed]

There was a discussion about this in the small stakes forum about a week ago. It was mainly centered around how you play that hand in the blinds.

I understand where you're coming from. There was a time when I thought that AK lost a little strength depending on structure. I play a 1-4-8-8 game that a lot of people will limp in with an A. What I was starting to find was that because you are usually up against at least one other person with an A all the time if not 2 that you get nailed a lot by a's up.

In the end what I realized was that I was going through a bad stint where I was getting beat with A's up. It really wasn't indicitive of reality. I mean you get beat. People stay with a lot of different A combinations out there that most sensible players wouldn't even consider.

I raise AKo from anywhere but the blinds. When those weak A's catch an A they pay off all the way so it winds up making up for the times some lucky guys stays with A2 and catches both. Sometimes I wont raise just to change up against players that I always play with but I would say the vast majority of the time I'm raising.

[bernie]

http://www.twoplustwo.com/forums/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=smallholdem&Number=278 434&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1

this is a post i did on small stakes representing my take on it. note, it's not necesarily saying which way to play, but how it could affect post flop play.

b

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

The problem with raising any of these hands after many limpers is that, if you fail to thin the field (and that will likely be the case), you won't be able to get the gutshots and backdoor draws to fold on the flop. And they shouldn't, as they'll be getting proper odds to chase.