Question about AK in NL HE tourneys

[Gomez22]

6 of the last 7 tourneys I've been in, I've been knocked out holding AK (both suited and not). The other time was AQs..... Every time, I've been put all-in, and I've run into pocket kings EVERY TIME!!!! 4 of the times, I went all-in PF from EP/MP, and was called by players holding KK, the other 3, I've raised (approx - 4-8 times the pot), adn gotten put all-in by a bigger stack. My question is this:

If I raise a good amount before the flop, and get put all-in, and am holding AK, is it better to fold, or call all-in????

[Eihli]

I wouldn't raise so much preflop. If my stack is short I'll just go all-in. If my stack is more than 10x BB I'll raise it 3, that way I can fold if a tight player pushes in on me. If it's a loose guy who I suspect of a steal I'll call him and pass it off as bad luck if he beats me. If there are a few limpers and a raise of 4-8 BB would make them all fold then raise that much no matter what. Every situation is different there is really no single way to play any hand. Take a look back over the histories and see if maybe you overplayed them. You don't have to see a flop with AK every time, it's ok to fold preflop.
Hell just last tourney a tight player raised to 100 from UTG with blinds at 15/30 and I had a stack of 900 in the SB. I folded because I knew the BB would call and he was a player that pressed real heavy on the flop no matter what, and even if I hit top pair he would push me way harder than what I'd like to play my top pair with. That combined with a tight player raising UTG that might already have me beat, folding seemed like the right option.

[CrisBrown]

Hi Gomez,

I don't know what stakes you play at, so it's hard to know how the players are. In my experience, the play of AK is one of the most significant differences between lower and higher buy-in tournaments. At lower buy-ins, people will move in fearlessly (and foolishly) with Ax or Kx, so it's usually correct to call an all-in reraise with AK because you'll be a coin-flip underdog or a significant if not dominant favorite. That makes for a lot of dicey all-ins, but in most cases it's still the correct play.

By contrast, at higher buy-ins, an all-in reraise is much more worrisome. You'll almost never have the dominant hand unless the other player is very short-stacked and forced to move in on AQ, AJ, KQ, etc. You'll be at best a coin-flip underdog, and often enough you'll be dominated by AA or KK. So at higher buy-ins the correct play is usually to fold AK to an all-in reraise.

On the other hand, at the higher buy-ins, people are more likely to lay down decent but not great hands (medium and small pairs, etc.) to a 3xBB or larger opening raise. So although it's usually correct to fold AK to an all-in reraise, AK wins more hands at higher buy-ins because you get fewer loose callers and very few loose reraisers.

Without knowing what stakes you play for, and what kind of players you typically face, it's really difficult to assess your AK play. Sorry.

Cris

[Gomez22]

Cris - Thanks for the reply. All the hands mentioned happened during TGC's daily $3000 freeroll. I mentioned the hands I was against (all KK.... what're the odds of that?)... and all opponents were largest stacks at the table. I know NOT to get into a war against much larger stacks, but I can't help but wonder how to play AK when facing a player who's re-raised me to all-in..... especailly if it will leave me short-stacked should I fold.

[CrisBrown]

Hi Gomez,

In freerolls, given the very loose raises and reraises, it is usually correct to call an all-in bet with AK. There are exceptions -- when you have a middle stack against a big stack and you're on the bubble, etc. -- but in general you'll be calling a weaker hand or at worst as a coin-flip underdog, with a chance to make some serious ground.

Cris

[Al_Capone_Junior]

The specific amounts make a big difference. If you raise it 4x the bb and someone pops you back 100x the bb, that's different than if they just double your bet (in which case i will call every time). Often YOU should be the one moving in with AK tho.

al

[JohnG]

[ QUOTE ]
6 of the last 7 tourneys I've been in, I've been knocked out holding AK (both suited and not). The other time was AQs..... Every time, I've been put all-in, and I've run into pocket kings EVERY TIME!!!! 4 of the times, I went all-in PF from EP/MP, and was called by players holding KK, the other 3, I've raised (approx - 4-8 times the pot), adn gotten put all-in by a bigger stack. My question is this:

If I raise a good amount before the flop, and get put all-in, and am holding AK, is it better to fold, or call all-in????

[/ QUOTE ]

This looks like deepish money play where the dead money is not worth much. Your mistake is raising too much in the first place. Just make a normal size raise and take it from there. Although AK is not always a raise or re-raise. It depends on various things.