FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Ahh, the age old question.   Should you always call an all in with A-K in your hand?  I think this one statement should answer the question, but I plan to dig deeper.  And that statement is "You shouldn't always call an all in with A-A in your hand, so of course there are times to fold A-K".

That being said, lets discuss.  In nearly every hand ranking chart you will find, A-K suited is in the top 3 or 4 hands, and A-K offsuit is in the top 7.  In most charts, both are in the top 5.  What this means is, you should always consider playing A-K from any position, suited or not.  Seeing as the difference between any suited cards and the same cards unsuited is about 3%, I'm not going to discuss this part.  It really doesn't make much difference.  Any two cards that are worth playing suited are probably worth playing unsuited.

Now, having said that A-K is a top 5 hand, where does it actually rank in terms of being a WINNING hand.  The answer is simple.  If neither person improves after the flop, A-K is the 14th best hand in the deck.  In other words, a pair of twos beats it.  You've heard that A-K against a smaller pair (anything other than A-A or K-K) is a coin flip.  Basically, both players stand a 50% chance of winning the hand.  I'm here to tell you, this isn't the truth.  The pair will ALWAYS be better.  Its more like 52-48%.  So the A-K is NOT even money.  Its a losing bet over the long haul. 

So another player moves all in, you look down and see A-K, and you........?  If you can answer this question without a whole ton of other inforamation....you are a losing poker player.  If you always call, or always fold, you cannot be winning on a regular basis.  Like I said before, there are times that I consider folding Aces before the flop, so of course there will be times that you should consider folding A-K.

Perfect example last night, blinds 500-1000, player to my right, under the gun, raises to 3000.  I've got the button, and I move all in.  Two blinds fold, and back to him.  He tanks for awhile, and finally folds, turning over A-K.  Why?  He thinks he's in a coin toss, and I've got more chips than him.  So he's basing his whole tournament life on a coin toss.  What did I have?  A-K also.  Now, if he had been the one to move all in preflop, I would have probably folded my A-K, because with 2 players to act still behind me, I would not have wanted to risk my entire tournament in that situation.  So in my opinion, in both situations, the fold was correct. 

Same guy, a little later, raises again.  I look down and see an Ace, so I'm ready for some action....but wait, there's a second one.  A-A.  Hmm, last time I pushed all in on him, he folded A-K.  I don't think he'll do it again....I'M ALL IN.  He insta-calls.  And he's gone from the tournament.

Later on in the game, I again have A-K, and a player in front of me raises to 10000.  I move all in for nearly 30,000 chips.  He tanks for awhile, and finally calls with K-Q.  Monster mistake on his part.

One more lesson from two weeks ago.  Late in the tournament, final 6 players.  I look down and see A-K of hearts.  I push hard.  Guy next to me tanks for awhile, and finally calls my bet, putting him all in.  Everyone else folds, and he turns over A-K unsuited.  Flop...three hearts.  Lucky?  Sure.  But remember, my hand WAS 3% better than his preflop.  And the best hand won.  I cruised to victory in that tournament, for one of my biggest cashes since February.

Lesson to be learned from all of this:  A-K is a GREAT raising and pushing hand.  It is a TERRIBLE calling hand, most of the time.  There are far too many situations that make it a correct call, but that's for a different day.

lesson of the day:  No hand is an always or never hand.  The situation dictates everything.