[mmcd]

AKo out of position in a multiway pot:

1. AK is not really that big a favorite against non-dominated hands like JTs 87s QJ, etc.

2. With 3+ limpers theres at least a reasonable chance that someone has a pocket pair. Theres also a chance that other A's and K's are already out. This means that you have a dominating hand, but also negates some of your outs.

(these may seem like weak-tightish concepts, but theres more to it)

3. You will have a harder time playing the hand correctly both when you hit and when you miss after the flop:

a) When you miss you either fire at the pot or check.
When you bet out, you can expect to get a bunch of
callers and almost certainly one will bet the turn
when you check. Now you are in the position of
(maybe) having to take another card off b/c of pot
odds where you may be no good if you hit (reverse
domination). When you check, the same can be said,
except, now depending on board and how many players
stay-in there will be some doubt in your mind as to
whether your AK is still the best hand.

b) When you hit your hand, checkraising now becomes
much more difficult. You probably should not even attempt
it because the risk of giving a free card is too great.
Betting out is just fine, but realize that now every
gutshot, bottom pair, middle pair, etc. will have
the odds to chase you. When you have 3 or more of
these type hands chasing you, there's a good chance
your AK will be no good by the river.

Essentially, you are giving yourself odds to chase when you miss, and your opponents odds to chase when you hit. You are also making it more difficult to protect your hand after the flop. Also, when you hit your hand, say on board of A-7-2, you will get less post-flop action from a 2nd best hand like AJ because of your raise, but get more action from hands like 87, 45s, backdoor straight and flush draws, etc.

4. When you raise in that position, people are going to put you on a big pair or AK and are going to respond accordingly in their play. By raising you are giving out a lot of information about your hand. If you decide to push your hand postflop. Most players will probably assume its a big pair, but still "chase" you and "pay-off" on the end because of the pot size. If you don't push your hand post-flop, people will assume you have AK and you will likely be pushed out of the hand when it comes 2-bets back to you. You will also get MUCH less action when you flop great as in AK7.

By raising out of position, you might win a bigger pot when you hit your hand AND IT HOLDS UP, but I don't think the extra 2 or 2.5 big bets you gain in those pots are worth the trouble that a raise creates regarding playing the hand.

Also, when you raise you are only gaining (if at all) a small fraction of the extra small bets put in in terms of ev.