The Way to Play AK?

[JohnShaft]

3/6 Online. Typical.
In a real bad stretch after having played for almost 2 hours and played TWO hands, both in the last 30 mins. A EMP raise with 99, two cold callers, get raised on the turn when the board is AA8K and fold. And an open raise from the SB with A10s.
Barring these hands I have not seen even *half* playable hands, even situational ones.
I KNOW those who have been sat at the table any time view me as utterly weak-tight as I have made no comments about my cold cards. They probably think I am waiting for Aces, which I will lay down on the flop to a raise.

7 handed, MP limper (to my right, has been sat only about 10 minutes) I raise with AKo, only the limper calls.
Flop 5d 2d 8s I bet, he calls
Turn 9h I bet, he calls
River 4s I bet, he pauses and calls.

He turns over Q2s. For a flopped pair of 2s, and no draw at any point. The bare minimum hand that beats me.
A few hands later I realise he is definitely too loose. Too late.

In the past my default play here is to check the river, hoping my nut no-pair beats my opponent, and if he beats me he calls. But reading about giving opponents free showdowns with hands they wouldn't call the river with I have decided changing might be right. I hate the idea of people thinking I only bet the river if I've got the goods, thus inviting further calling down.

So what I'm interested in is the play of an unimproved AK. I think I really need help on this score.
I'm becoming a magnet for people calling me down when I have a missed AK, but don't get paid off when I have a big AA or KK, despite the fact I play the hands essentially the same often.
Talk about "What the fish put you on"...

[The _Grifter]

I would have played it the same way in that situation. He wins check/check.....Those are the hands that will drive you nuts.

...When I'm playing A,K...I'm aggressive pre-flop and hit the brakes if I don't get a piece of the flop...especially if there's more than one opponent.

[Lunar Tweak]

played perfectly in my opinion. there aren't too many MP limping hands that i can think of that hit a 9 high flop. some will assume the same with you and call u down with worse aces. if there was another player in their then u should usually slowdown, but heads up....fire away. like u said, u didn't have all the information about this player and should assume typical until proven otherwise. i mean who knew he played trash like Q 2s, better luck next time. the one argument i can see for not betting the river is that some players will limp with a small pocketpair, and will decide to just call you down. but those instances seem to be few and far between.

later

[oddjob]

i will never understand why someone would call with a pair of dueces, but it happens all the time. these are the people that pay you off when you hit. i think you played it fine.

[ZManODS]

"i will never understand why someone would call with a pair of dueces,"

In this case, he was seen as a weak-tight player only playing the best hands. He raised preflop and his oppenent probably picked up on that and put him on 2 overcards, which was correct.

[DeliciousDi]

My reading and experience with AK tell me that it is a more profitable pocket hand than AA or KK simply because it is so foldable unimproved on the flop. I would not chase with AK unimproved after the flop, except under certain rare game conditions. Reference page 107 WGTTHP.

[Homer]

AK is definitely not more profitable than AA or KK, and for most people it is much more difficult to play. If you get AA or KK and simply bet/raise until the board gets really scary, then call to the river, you will still make more profit than by playing AK perfectly.

I think others will agree with me but I am open to discussion.

-- Homer

[STOSH1]

"If you get AA or KK and simply bet/raise until the board gets really scary"
If you can get it heads up, the board has to be VERY scary for me to stop betting if unraised. I've bet the river with AA unimproved into a 3 flush, 4 st8 board heads-up. Turned it over and got "nice hand". Hmmm, guess people will actually call with worse hands. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] (heard that somewhere)

[bad beetz]

I don't the the Q2s was thinking that hard. He was probably thinking:

"I have a pair, maybe I'll make two pair or trips if I call this flop bet,"

"We'll, that turn card didn't do it for me, I'll call again and try to pick up a Q or 2 on the river,"

"Oh, well, I do have a pair, I should probably call cause I might win."

[bad beetz]

this is some big fat wrongness.

I once heard an entire table, yes, 8 people, agree that they would all rather have AKs than AA. I politely remained out of that conversation.