AK play

[Ben]

I play $10 Party SNGs.

I've read previously that AK is a good hand to get all-in on pre-flop. I've been pushing in after being raised and have been getting killed by PPs.

My new strategy is to raise about 3x BB if limped to. If raised to, I'm thinking about folding it unless the raise is small.

How does that sound?

[LetsRock]

Are you familliar with the gap concept? I'm not an expert on the subject, but basically (as I understand it) the theory is that it takes a better hand to call a raise than it does to make a raise.

There is a big difference between opening by shoving your stack and re-raising with your stack. AK is a much better open raiser than it is a calling a raise hand.

There's a lot of conditions that must be considered (especially in tournament play) - it's rarely a black or white move.

What does the raiser raise with? If he only raises with big PP, then you are a little behind. If he has really loose raising standards, then it might be correct to test him.

How big are our stacks? Does he have me covered? By a lot? Is his tournament threatened by calling me?

Is he a loose canon? Will he buckle and fold? Will he call with anything?

Can I make into the money without making this move? Will I bust out if I lose this hand? Can I afford to wait for a better opportunity?

AK is not always a great all or nothing hand, especially if the pot has already been raised. I'm not saying to cold call or fold every time, but you need to consider all of the conditions before making your decision.

[Edge34]

Hey Ben,

Considering the incredibly horrible play often seen especially at the low level SnG's on Party, I don't like the idea of simply mucking a hand as strong as AK to a raise. So many things need to go into consideration, not the least of which is your chip position, the raiser's position, your read on the raiser, blah blah blah. However, something to consider is not simply pushing all-in every time you look at AK, as you said. A good-size raise to probably 4x the BB should accomplish your job there. When facing a raise, you should definitely consider a reraise to thin the field a bit (although not necessarily all-in). Since you'll flop either an Ace or King one time out of three, there's a good chance you'll be ok unless you're running into AA or KK.

I guess to sum it up, calling or reraising are much better options, in general, than mucking AK to a raise PF. Play it strong, but consider all the conditions surrounding the hand before committing to a big move.

Hope this helps.

-Edge

[GoSox]

I wouldnt push all in PF with this unless you're short stacked. You're putting your tourney on the line with a hand beaten by 22. I play it very differently based upon position. Early position I will raise 2 or 3xBB, if you get raised there's a good chance you're beaten and need to flop something. Late position I tend to raise less because on the flop most people will check to you and you may not get a good pot going. If there's a lot of people in the pot then I will put a good raise on and try to take it down. You need to remember the more people in, the worse this hand becomes.