[jedi]

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Something I noticed you didn't mention in your question is pot-odds. This is a vital matter, and the fact that you didn't mention it is troublesome. Not just for AK hands, but for all hands it's necessary to know the pot odds, as the correct play varies greatly depending on whether the pot is big or small and how many players are in the pot.

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Yeah, pot odds are quite important here. Of course, I was generalizing, but usually the pot starts getting big since I pumped it up pre-flop. One worry was the turn call down where an opponent with just overcards calls me pre-flop and my flop bet on a rag board, then hits the overcard (which I don't share). Obviously that's good when I have AA, but I get frustrated about it when I have AK. The note I should make is that this opponent will value call me down without the nuts, but I should probably slow down or induce the river bluff if I don't pair up.

Then back to the turn check-raise. If the pot is small, I don't have any problems giving it up, but since the pot has been bloated I think I'm tied to the pot. I frequently call it down, don't like it, am usually shown 2 pair or better, and am happily surprised on occasion when donk has been overplaying 2nd pair or something else. It's the times that I'm surprised that make me want to call down because of the size of the pot.


Update (small sample size). I was in a 3-way pot this evening with QQ, where I raised pre-flop. Flop was AT6, turn was an 8 and I got check-raised and there was an overcaller. Though the pot was 10BB when it came back to me to call 1BB cold, I folded here (mainly because I figured someone overcalling was also a problem.

Not that it matters, check-raiser showed TT, overcaller showed A2s