AK out of position, pick your default play

[Steve Giufre]

20-40 BIke. One limper and all fold to me in the SB. I have A /images/graemlins/spade.gifK /images/graemlins/spade.gif and raise. BB folds, heads up. The limper is decent, probably a little over aggresive, but is a thinking player and pretty tricky.

Flop:10 /images/graemlins/heart.gif4 /images/graemlins/club.gif5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

I bet, he quickly calls.

Turn:8 /images/graemlins/spade.gif

I check, he bets, I call.

River is a brick and I check and call.

Pick your default play on the turn here agaist a tricky oppenent. Do you bet and fold to a raise, bet and call a raise, check and call, or check and fold? I think an argument can be made for each choice, which is what makes these hands interesting even though they seem boring at first glance.

[Ulysses]

My default is probably to bet the turn, fold to a raise, and then check-call the river.

If I've checkraised a lot recently, I might check-fold.

If I haven't, I might checkraise.

If I don't think I can safely fold to a raise, I check-call - betting and calling a raise is my least favorite option.

I agree, this situation comes up all the time and it's pretty important to find the right line in each situation.

[BookOfIcculus]

This AKs is an easy turn fold on the turn. Sometimes however you have other info and check calling or semi-bluffing is more approriate. But most of the time its a fold.

[PittRounder]

In my opinion, if you don't bet the turn you have to give up. You're inviting a bluff that you'll have to pay off on the river (if you pay off on the turn) so you might as well bet it yourself. I bet the turn almost religiously heads up with AK unimproved. If he did have you beat (pending he doesn't have a monster) he would have probably raised the flop. Folding to a turn raise is normally safe, except against very tricky players.

[Steve Giufre]

Are you suggesting betting and folding to a raise, or check folding?

[Steve Giufre]

Pit,

I usually bet he turn in these spots too. But agaist some players I think check calling can be correct. I would probably check call most of the time agaist someone who is capable of raising me with a worse hand on the turn, and who is also very likely to bluff at it if I check, thinking that I have given up the hand as you pointed out.

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
This AKs is an easy turn fold on the turn. Sometimes however you have other info and check calling or semi-bluffing is more approriate. But most of the time its a fold.

[/ QUOTE ]

Book,

It might be a fold some of the time, but I don't think that it's an *easy* fold. Opponents will often draw to two overcards like KJ or QJ on a raggety, T-high flop. What the correct way to proceed if your opponent holds one of those hands is open for debate, but it wouldn't be to fold. The situation is a lot different if, say, the T on Steve's flop were replaced by a Q.