How to Play of Ace King

Suited or unsuited, early or late position - ace king is a premium hand that is best played in a tight and aggressive manner. One of the unique characteristics of an unpaired hand such as ace king is that it sometimes has the ability to hold up against few players without improving. Additionally, a hand such as ace king possesses the ability to fold a better hand. By playing ace king aggressively, you will see your profit margins increase by taking advantage of this starting hand’s main strengths.

Deciding How Much to Raise Pre-flop with Big Slick

You should raise preflop when you have ace-king more often than not. There are several items up for consideration when deciding how much to raise with ace king. You want to consider position and stack sizes for both you and your likely opposition. Venture an educated guess as to how many players you expect to get a call from, as it is imperative to plan your hand prior to acting.

Before we decide how much to raise, we must take the following into account:

• What is the average preflop raise at this table?
• What has my average raise looked like during the course of this session?
• Is there a "live player" at the table and if so, how do I best get his attention in this hand?
• What kind of players are at my table (tight, loose, passive, aggressive)?

When playing this hand out, let us assume we are playing $1/$2 no limit Texas Holdem, and we have the maximum buy-in of $200 in front of us. We will also assume that the table is made up of a variety of playing styles as well as skill levels. Additionally, the average raise for this table is between $6/$10, and our average raise is anywhere from $6 to $12.

Consider the Possible Flops and Post-flop Actions with Ace King

Statistically, the most likely situation after the flop is that we flop over cards. The odds of making a pair or better for us are roughly 3.5 to 1. This means that most flops will result in us holding overcards to the board. We will plan for the most likely scenario and adjust in the event we flop a pair or better. Of course, considering that are table image is that of a tight-aggressive poker player, we will be expected to make a continuation bet if we are the preflop raiser. More often than not, a check on a flop we have raised suggests we might be trapping after flopping a monster, though we know we use the check for more reasons than to trap. While the flop may dictate how much we bet, it will not change the fact that more often than not, we will be the aggressor after raising preflop.

That being said, we will take the following actions based on the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: Big Blind with Ace-King Suited 1 Raiser, one caller

Middle position raises to $6 and the small blind calls. Middle position is a tight and semi-aggressive player who can lay down a hand. The small blind seems to enjoy calling when he has “paid the blinds” only to go away if he misses the flop or bet if he hits it. We are out of position with big slick in relation to the raiser. We are torn between calling and raising here, but decide to simply call and take the flop.

The pot contains $18, our stack is $194. The flop comes 2-4-9 with two diamonds, giving us a flush draw and two overcards. The small blind leads out with a $12 bet. This tells us, given our player notes that the small blind hit the flop. The question becomes how hard did it hit him? Furthermore, how can we best secure a free card if we need it, playing for either a pair or a flush? Our choices are call or raise. As a tight-aggressive player, we decide to raise possibly buying a free card on the turn, as well as to begin building a pot in the event the turn hits us. We put in a raise to $30. The preflop raiser folds and the small blind calls.

The pot contains $78, while our stack size is $164. The turn card is a jack - no flush. The small blind checks. A check behind gives us the free card we were striving for. However, it is possible that our opponent has a hand such as ace - nine or ace four. He may have a set, though he would have likely re-raised the flop or bet out on the turn. The only way we can rule out a set here is to bet, though we do not wish to commit to the pot, in case the diamond does not fall. We decide to bet $20, disguising this as a value bet, though in reality we are seeing where we are at, as well as setting up for a river play of some sort. The small blind calls.

The river delivers a 2 of diamonds, giving us the flush. The small blind puts out what appears to be a blocking bet of $25. We decided with certainty that he did not have a set given that he did not re-raise when he had the opportunity to. Additionally, he is more of a straightforward player, so we can comfortably raise here. With the $25 bet, the pot contains roughly $140, which is just shy of our stack. If the player would call a value raise of ours here, he would also call an all-in. As a result, we move all-in. Unfortunately, the player folds - however, we take down a decent pot.

Scenario 2 Cutoff with Ace King Unsuited

Action folds to us in the cutoff position. We decide to raise to $8, as this looks and feels like a stealing move from us. The big blind calls. The flop comes Jack - Seven - Two. The big blind checks. As a tight aggressive player, we decide to continue and bet the pot. The big blind folds, showing pocket sixes.

As you can see, ace king has the ability to extract value by causing better hands to fold, and additionally plays well without improving. Ace king suited gives us additional means to win the hand, with the potential of a flush. By playing ace king in a tight aggressive manner, you stand the best chance of playing optimally and turning a profit during your poker session with big slick.

Now that you are familiar with how to play the starting hand of Ace - King it is time to put the lesson to use. You can do that by playing for free or real money in any of our recommended online poker rooms.