The value of AK suited

[crashdavis]

From what I understand in Texas hold'em this is considered the 3rd best starting position. I don't play texas hold'em.

In 7CS what would you value

(AK) X-offsuit
or even

AX K

KX A

would you call a complete with one A or K out?

Trying to learn what is not in the books

[Ray Zee]

its not a playing hand unless for an ante steal. from reading the right books you should get this out of them. or maybe you arent reading between the lines.

[SittingBull]

10% to 15% and completely live A K,this is a RAISING hand. what U are trying to accomplish is a field reduction and hope that u pr up on 4th or 5th. If these cards are semi-dead,the hand is NOT playable.
If a tight player completes the bet,FOLD--whether u have live cards or not.
If a loose player completes in a generally tight field ,re-raise the live big cards.U want to go heads-up with the loose player. However,do not try to semi-bluff or bluff. if u do not connect by 5th,usually give it up.
in a SHORTED-HANDED game,these high cards go up in value. Hence they are very playable.
in a loose game with a relatively high ante,and live big cards,stick around until 5th to see if u can become a money favorite.
It will usually be a horse-racing contest between u and another player in the pot where each of u has a 50% chance of winning the pot. however,there will be enough dead money in the pot in these spots for u to continue on this 50% basis and even smaller--like 25%.
HappyPokering,
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] SittingBull

[7stud]

Trying to learn what is not in the books

The first lesson is that Hold Em is not Stud. It's actually kind of an interesting question why AK suited is so good in holdem, and it's not even playable in seven stud. Afterall, you get to see seven cards in both games, and in both games you start off with two hidden cards. So, in seven stud why wouldn't you want to start with As Ks/ x? I guess the answer is that you get to see 3 cards initially, and three card hands can have more potential strength than 2 card hands. Since, your expert opponents will be starting with stronger hands than As Ks/ x, then so must you. As Ray Zee said(and he is the expert) AK suited is nothing in a stud game. In 7 card stud, to consider starting a hand when you are not in a steal position, you basically need trips, 3 to a flush, 3 to a high straight, a high pair, or a smaller pair with a good kicker. Then position, the betting, and the cards that are out determine if you will actually play the hand.

[crashdavis]

Thank you that was the part I was missing. I was thinking like your original statement, both games have 7 cards, both start with 2 down cards but it does seem to be the third card that significantly impacts your playability.

[patrick dicaprio]

i think this is true in mid to high limit games, but at low limits you can often call on third if there is no raise and hope to catch perfect. of course only if you are able to fold on fourth street if you dont catch an A or K, or if you pair the side card and can limit the field.

hands like this at lower limits can be tricky and an inexperienced player probably shouldnt play it in the manner i suggested, but a better player with experience can.

Pat

[punkass]

I think QQ is the 3rd best hand. AK falls somewhere between JJ, TT, and 99, depending on who you ask.

In stud, I think AK xo is unplayable, and xK Ao or xA K are only good for steals. But that depends on the game. You can probably dump in the lower limit studs, as everyone likes to play anything there. maybe 5/10 and higher, you can represent a high pair by betting it, hoping to steal antes.

But you can wait for better hands. I might play if the A is suited with something, but I think you're in marginal range there at best