14/01/2012

PKR | Don t make a slip when playing Big Slick

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Don t make a slip playing Big Slick

A-K is a great hand to have when you re short stacked and can ship it in with
ease. But when you re deeper-stacked do you really want to over-commit
yourself with Ace-high?
By Raymond 'callmebabe' O'Mahoney on Thursday 4 Feb 2010 17:00
Part of the following series: Six education playing six-max ring games
1Recommend

A-K is a huge starting hand, but does that mean you want to play it like
the nuts in deep-stacked ring games? PKR s callmebabe looks into the
pros and cons of Big Slick
There are many names for Ace-King. There s A-K, Big Slick and my favourite,
Anna Kournikova. This hand got this nickname because the tennis star looked
great but often didn t play that well! I ve decided to write about A-K because
it s a hand that has been giving me trouble of late and has made me ask some
serious questions about it. How much value has A-K got in today s aggressive
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short-handed game? Is it overrated and overvalued? How can you play A-K
most effectively?

Pros and cons

Let s start out by looking at A-K for what it really is. A-K along with Aces, Kings
and Queens is acknowledged as being one of the top four starting hands. The
only difference A-K has to the others is that it is a drawing hand and not a
made hand, meaning you will need to improve once the cards are dealt in
most cases to play a big pot.
Saying that then, the normal thing to do would be to isolate with it preflop to
raise, three-bet and move all-in if necessary. But this is an idea I m quickly
falling out of love with and I m becoming more inclined to weigh up my
opponents, stack sizes and the situation before deciding how fast I m willing to
play it. After all, it s only Ace-high and is far from the nuts.
Let s look at how A-K fares against various other starting hands in a heads-up
pot
A-K 12.1% vs A-A 87.85%
A-K 34.1% vs K-K 65.89%
A-K 46% vs Q-Q 53.9%
A-K 47.6% vs 7-7 52.3%
A-K 71.2% vs A-Q 28.7%
A-K 61% vs 7-6s 38.9%
A-K 64.8% vs J-To 35.1%
As you can see from the above stats, you will almost always be behind to
hands that will be three or four-betting and moving all-in preflop, with the
possible exception of A-Q. What s worse, it s only a slight favourite over hands
that are played a lot nowadays such as suited connectors.
Add up the average equity A-K has in the chart above and you ll find it s a
surprisingly low 48.1%. How premium does it look now?

So how should ou pla A-K?

A lot of factors govern how you should proceed with this hand
1. Your image at the table and your opponent s image.
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PKR | Don t make a slip when playing Big Slick

2. Your opponent s likely range of hands what they will three-bet and
four-bet with. Are you up against a loose, tight or aggressive player?
3. Position. This is highly important, as A-K is a drawing hand and one
that needs you to hit the flop to improve. Position will win you far more
pots when you don t connect with the flop and make your life easier.
4. Stack sizes. This is also important, as the value of A-K diminishes
when the stacks are deeper, whereas short stacks can play A-K like
the nuts.
Now you have to work out why you are betting with A-K
1. To increase the pot size. You have a premium hand and you want to
build a pot with what you think is the best hand.
2. To gain information as to what your opponents are holding.
3. To force weak hands out of the pot and make them pay to catch up.
4. Raising with A-K gives you fold equity.
5. Raising with A-K might get a better hand to fold.

Raising

ith A-K

I like to raise with A-K 80-90% of the time from any position to a standard
three to four times the big blind. If there are limpers in the pot I will maybe
charge them extra and raise it four to six times the big blind.

Calling a raise

ith A-K

I will rarely call with this hand unless I m up against a rock who hasn t played a
hand for hours. Then I might consider seeing a cheap flop for the purpose of
mixing up my game. Also it might be worth calling every now and then to trap
an aggressive opponent who is playing any Ace, in the hope that you hit an
Ace on the flop and have your opponent out-kicked. The problem with this is
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PKR | Don t make a slip when playing Big Slick

that you have to be prepared to release your hand if you haven t hit the flop as
they will more than likely make a continuation bet.

Reraising

ith A-K

It s a pretty standard move, but before you reraise you have to ask yourself
whether or not you re prepared to play a big pot and commit all your chips with
this hand. I think a lot of players nowadays see this hand as being the nuts. It s
far from it.

Calling a reraise
Whether it s a three-bet or a shove for all your chips, this is where reasoning
must come into play. This is where you have to know your opponent, and
position is of the utmost importance if you decide to call. Some players see
this as a weak move but, as I said, A-K is a drawing hand so why risk
everything by moving over the top when only hands that have you beaten or
you re flipping with will call. Also, flat-calling a three-bet disguises your hand in
some ways, as most players will move all-in with A-K. If an Ace or King hits the
flop, your hand is well concealed.
Ra mond 'callmebabe' O'Mahone is a member of Team PKR Pro. To find
out more about him and to read more articles written b Ra mond, please
click here

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Commen
no mention of reverse implied odds? that's kinda important when talking about
the strengths/weaknesses of AK no?
don't have to get mathsy or anything... just mentioning the implications
would've been cool :P
Comment by wulfy - 21/02/10 (Report)
amazing how pre flop a k looks great but can look terrible after the flop, the
challenge is to learn to get away when 70% of the cards are on the table and
your hand hasn't improved.
Comment by patto75 - 07/02/10 (Report)
Absolutely spot on mate, to play AK effectively, you need to play it almost like
any other hand, people just see the big cards and assume its a world beater,
it's not.
Comment by Epocsorcen - 05/02/10 (Report)
I followed your advice and missed out on a huge pot... ffs
Comment by Mediumchild - 05/02/10 (Report)
BIU
Comment by cornudetB - 04/02/10 (Report)
isso verdade!
ir disfarado!
tks Ray pote nice!
Comment by Maiconheiro - 04/02/10 (Report)
Edited on: 04 Feb 2010 19:55
ffffff
Comment by BankyClub - 04/02/10 (Report)
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