How do you play AK?

[DJJunkPauds]

(I was reading a similar post on another forum recently, but then again that other forum might have been here. If that's the case please feel free to delete/ignore this).

Table of unknowns, 100BB stack, everyone has you covered. Folded to you in the cutoff with AKo. You make it 4xBB. The Button makes it 12xBB. Blinds fold, you call/4-bet/shove/fold?

What if it's suited? What if the BTN is known to be a nit? What if he's a light 3-bettor? What if he's not exactly a light 3-bettor, but not exactly a nit, overvaluing hands like AJ, or 99? What if he makes it 16xBB, or 8, or 24? What if you're in MP, and there is a cold-caller between you and BTN? What if you're the BTN, and the BB 3bets you (i.e in positon)?

What factors change your decision as to what the right thing to do is, and how do those factors effect it? Do you have general guidelines for this situation?

More and more lately I've been wondering about AK. I love it if I've got initiative, but whenever I'm in a pre-flop spot where I certainly don't want to raise, and certainly don't want to fold, I keep thinking about how it only hits the flop 1/3rd of the time, and when it does you're quite often up against an over pair/set that has you crushed, or an under pair/air that doesn't give you a huge amount of action.

I'm folding it in the above spot more often lately, and every time I do I get this sharp twinge in my gut, and a voice in my ear saying "You fucking nit fish! You have AK, you fucking pussy!"

Anybody have advice for me?

[thizzSantaCruz]

I play AK for stacks unless hes a nit.

[DJJunkPauds]

And what if he is a nit? The thing is, the players I play against at 30NL/50NL are basically loose passive. The average stat is 44/11/1 - these guys call a raise with all sorts of crap, however when it comes to 3beting they generally aren't fooling around. Unless someone is a maniac, or short stacked, it's rare to see anyone 3bet with less than JJ, or AQs maybe. What I'm saying is calling stations are loose for a raise, but nitty with a re-raise.

There again, I am actually semi-assuming this. Does someone else's experience contradict mine?

[minSim]

Against a nit: fold

Against a standard op: usually 4-bet. Sometimes call and raise some flops villain likely missed.

Against a light 3-better; same as above but I 4-bet even more (like 90%). If you really know villain 3bets and overvalues high aces and kings, I guess you should call more and extract when you both hit. I usually don't have that precise reads and take the 'safer' way of 4betting. (and calling a shove, of course)

[DJJunkPauds]

I was just about to write a comment about the merits of 4-beting vs. shoving. I was thinking this:

Scenario 1: folded to me in the cutoff with AK. I make it 4xBB, villain makes it 12xBB, blinds fold. I make it 48xBB. Now villain can shove, I'm pot committed against QQ+/AK, so I call, or villain can fold, or villain can call (I.e his range is very well defined as QQ/AK. If I have a read he could also have JJ, maybe AQ).

Scenario 2: Same as 1, except instead of making it 48xBB I just shove. Villain can call, or villain can fold.

Does scenario 1 give me less fold equity than 2? Yeah, about 2% less I think. Does villain get his money in with a bluff in scenario 2? No, never. This basically means 4-betting is way better than shoving, right? But what if he just calls my 4 bet, I auto-shove just about any flop I miss, and maybe check (with the intention of shoving the turn) when I hit to let him bluff-shove me with the underpair? If the flop is KQ2r, I'm in a WA/WB/chopping spot, so check/call shove this, with the intention of shoving a blank turn so that he might just call me with JJ?

Any holes in my thinking here? What about the 4-bet amount?

[sil693]

Ive played 10NL for ages and 25NL for a while now, the vast vast majority of players dont 3bet light. If you get 4bet, unless you have a good read I'd probably fold - its almost always AA, KK. I've read a lot about playing AK for stacks, but at the micros I wouldnt advise it based on what I've seen unless the guy's a donk and you've seen him all in preflop with some random crap.

Everytime someone gets it in pre with crap MAKE A NOTE. These players will pay you off when you have AK.

Just my 2 cents.

[DJJunkPauds]

I played a hell of alot of 5NL at stars (like one hell of a lot), and a good bit of stars 10NL as well, and I agree with sil693. However, the site I've switched to, even at 50NL (heck, 300NL isn't a whole lot better), plays like stars 2NL with 100BB stacks. What I mean is people are making all these random moves, so there's much more crap in their ranges.

[sil693]

If people have a lot "more crap" in their 3/4bet ranges then I'd be willing to stack of preflop w AK like SantaCruz said, unless they're a huge nit.