AK off in the small blind against a crowd

[Figge]

A hand that constantly gives me head-aches is AK off in the small blind when more than 3 people have already called the big blind in a limit game. What's the best way to play it.

My gut feeling would be to raise but nobody will probably fold (not in the games where I play anyway) and that leeaves me with a very difficult hand to play on the flop, what freaquently happens is that if I raise 2 or 3 players will stay after the flop with long-shot draws.

Any thoughts?

[sin808]

At low limits if you raise every time you will pretty much never be wrong.

[DEvice]

You live and die by AK at these limits so you need to put your money on a good hand like this. You can't get too passive.

[Evan]

You really seem like you don't understand where profit comes form in poker. If people don't call you down with long shot draws it becomes much harder to make any money. And getting back to raising AK form the blinds afetr several limpers, you'll almost always have the best hand, if you don't raise you're making a colossal mistake.

[Red_Eye_Jedi]

The only hands you can be scared of preflop are KK or AA. Even with three callers, the odds are that nobody holds a monster like this.

[HesseJam]

I also think you have to raise from SB. I always do at small limit and have by and large good success with it. But

a) what comes next if you miss the flop? I usually bet if the flop is small rags or something like QQ or JJ and see what happens then. Would that be correct?

b) Would raising preflop also be advisable from early, mid or late position? Or is early and middle position raising too aggressive. Background: I play now for two weeks and pokertracker lists me as a maniac. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] I played 3500 hands made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, still give up then and there too much because of not folding or senseless skirmishing with a rock but managed to stay ahead with 2.5 BB/100. I am working hard to get that pesky VP$IP down from .50 to below .40 and also to lower the raise indicators but I guess being shy with AK is not the answer.

Hesse

[James Boston]

Definately raise. It will set you up for a c/r on the flop given your position.

[Masquerade]

Just call it and go for a check-raise on the flop if you hit.

[Fabian]

There are both upsides and downsides to raising AKo in the SB in loose games. There is a discussion specifically about this in HPAHP, in the loose games section (I believe it's about AQo in late position with several limpers). The reason they say you should consider calling (instead of raising), is that the other players in the pot (the loose, weak ones) won't be making as big a mistake when drawing to their gutshots or one overcard or whatever the might be calling with.

Someone earlier in the thread responded that you can't make as much money if the others wouldn't be making these flop and/or turn calls to draw to their long shots, but the problem is your pre-flop raise can make it correct for them to call because of the large pot, or at least a much smaller mistake. If they would call with one overcard or a similar holding on the flop regardless of pot odds, the downside of making them play more close to optimal (by raising), is much greater than it otherwise would be. And at low limits, odds are the people you're playing against would make those calls regardless how many bets go in before the flop.

That being said, I think you should raise with AKo (and AQo for that matter) anyway because your pot equity is much higher (greater? larger? better?) than the limpers. The raise probably makes it more difficult to play post flop, but post flop playing is extremely important to improve anyway, so one might as well try [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[meow_meow]

[ QUOTE ]

Someone earlier in the thread responded that you can't make as much money if the others wouldn't be making these flop and/or turn calls to draw to their long shots, but the problem is your pre-flop raise can make it correct for them to call because of the large pot, or at least a much smaller mistake.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never been comfortable with this arguement against making the pot bigger when you are a favorite because it gives people odds to draw. Sure, raising pre-flop might give them odds to draw later, but it makes them pay more for their limping mistake right up front. It feels to me like the latter is going to make a bigger difference than the former, but I've no idea how to do the analysis...