I really hate playing almost any kind of hand OOP and AK is very high in this list. I often feel a bit unsure how to play AK out of the blinds in particular. In general if there is only 1 or 2 limpers I will make a decent raise, especially if the villians have shown a tendency to limp fold pre a lot. However, when there are several limpers and especially if these limpers want to see flops regardless of the pre flop raise then I figure why bloat the pot OOP and I will just check most of time and play more passively.

Here is an example from a recent 1/3 home game. Villian is a total unknown but seems somewhat loose pre flop and willing to call raises to see flops. In this hand there was one limper from MP, BTN calls, Hero raises to $21 with AK in SB and BB is the only caller. Hero has about $300 and covers BB slightly.

Flop = A33 two clubs
Hero bets $21
V raises to $55

Since this V is a total unknown I don't know if he is the type to raise with a worse A here. Based on my cbet size maybe some will do this, although he hasnt been too agressive, yet at the same time its hard for me to put him on a 3 here. I can't call. Either shove or fold. And this is the problem with AK OOP. I could have just completed and played a smaller pot, but then I let in the garbage. So I guess I am a little confused. I hate getting myself into spots where my decision becomes for my whole stack with one pair, but I also have a hard time not raising with what is almost always the best hand preflop. OOP really sucks.

I would really like some logical advice on this hand and playing big A type hands OOP like this.

You should c-bet less often OOP than you should when you have position against any callers. That doesn't necessarily mean you should check this flop, but it does mean that you should at least consider the option.

I'll take AKo in the blinds every single time and raise pre every single time even if the whole table limps and even if i expect multiple callers.

It sounds like you are playing scared. Yes being OOP can suck but we have AKo and we dominate a large portion of villain's limp calling ranges. We raise pre big enough to get it down to one or two callers. This is for value as well. Yes we miss the flop 66% of the time but each villain will miss flop 66% of the time as well unless they have a PP (which is a tiny portion of their range unless they're really tight). And even if they have small PP like 22, they can't really call a cbet hu on QJ4r if we raise pre and cbet flop.

If there's a bunch of limpers, I'll raise to 10bb pre. This likes me take down a good pot often pre, and if i get one or two callers, pot is big enough and SPR is small enough I can stack off on most flops i hit TPTK+. Also they won't hit often enough to profitably play speculative hands. If you get 3+ callers, GREAT!!! You simply check fold 33% of the time you miss and lose your 10bb investment. 33% of the time you can win a huge pot from a donkey who you have outkicked or who is gambling with a draw. On occasion you flop TPTK and they hit two pairs but that is a lot rarer than you think.

Raise AQ, AK all day pre OOP. AJ, AT, KQ is alot tougher and is often a limp esp if villains limp call AK, AQ, JJ alot and/or won't limp call with worse hands often enough.

As played I don't see how you can possibly make a huge hero fold here. You basically have the nuts on flop. Villain is very unlikely to raise flop with 33 or A3. Only 3x he can have is 43s, 53s, 63s and he likely folds those a big % of the time pre. So 3x is a tiny portion of his range if at all. On the other hand, you chop with AK, beat AQ-AT that is raising to find out where they're at, and you beat FDs and random bluffs.

Think about how to get max value here. What is the highest +EV line? Folding on this flop is horrendous without very specific reads!!! If we reraise back, our hand looks like AK, AQ and if villain is halfway decent, he will fold AQ-AT. If he's never folding, then shove before a club comes and to charge draws.

I would lean heavily towards a flat call to keep in AQ-AT, A2s+, which should be the bulk of his range. If I think his range is draw heavy, then I'd shove back and he can either make a bad call or fold with alot of outs

You can call and you should call. You're not even remotely committed to playing for stacks at this point.

Vs raise for different reasons. Sure, he could have a 3. He also might think AJ is an awesome hand. He could be trying to bluff you off KK. He might have 99 and be "trying to find out where he's at". I think flush draws would be far less than 50% of his holdings.

I'm the opposite. I'm always calling here. I'm never shoving. I'm never folding.

Also, don't plan to win every pot you raise with AK from the blinds. You likely have a big equity advantage pre-flop over the field, so you want to raise. You might not have that equity advantage post-flop. Folding AK after you've raised pre is fine on a lot of boards against a lot of Vs. It's just a small $15-$25 bet we're talking about. It's not some $150 river decision. Get $ in when you have good equity.

All the advice you got here about how to play AK, AQ is absolutely wrong. Be very careful how you use it.

Playing oop can be a challenge but you have a great hand and were able to get a caller when you raised big ($21).

What can the villan have that is worth limping $3 with but also call $21?

Not AA as I think he would have reraised you pre. Pair or an A.

You are ahead against any pairs except 33. I don't think he would raise you on the flop with 33.

Could he have A3? He could but doubt he would raise you with that.

I think it's safe to put him on a A8-AT.

I think you are ahead and should call his raise.

What you do with AK oop depends on your table. It's a hand you should be able to fold if you have a tight player raise with and another tight player caller the raise and action is to you!
It's also a hand that you raise with when two wide loose villan raise the pot with and you try to take it down then and make a 4-5x reraise pre.

What slimshady said

LLNLE can be frustrating but it's kind of hard to go wrong with AK. You don't have much fold equity but people are so frequently chasing draws, you'd be surprised how often your ace holds up.

I understand your concerns about bloating the pot but it's kind of unavoidable at most low limit games. You can bet 5 bb and get 4 callers or 10bb and get two callers. Not sure it makes a huge difference. Either way you have to make a realistic assessment of your hands value at every point along the way. Don't fall in love with it but don't get disgusted with it either. You will win some and lose some but you will win more than you lose.

In the example cited, I am happy to get raised. You are up against a dominated ace most if the time and if you are smart you will make way more money when that's true than you will lose when you find yourself up against 2p+.

People chase too much, they never believe you have the goods. They over-value Ax. They get scared and try to shut down the hand too early when they draw 2p or a set. These are all things that make it easy to play AK as long as you don't lose your head. The one thing the books are wrong about is, you can't count on much fold equity at 1/2 or 1/3, and precious little at 2/5. If you can live with that, you can learn to love AK. Just don't get stubborn and try to win every pot.

So how do you play AK, genius?

AK is an emotional hot button issue in LLSNL. I find that the key to playing these sorts of hands lies in how we play our OTHER HANDS.

So I raise with AK and get 3 callers. Flop hits 8 4 2r, I bet 1/2 pot get 1 caller. Turn is a 7, I bet 2/3 pot he calls. River is a J, I bet 2/3 pot he calls and turns over 98 and says, "I put you on AK".

the hypothetical example merely shows a situation that encapsulates why a lot of players hate AK . However, the key to playing these types of hands is found in understanding our villains and how our villains play and how they think and how they adjust.

In the hand, what would happen if Hero had a raising range that was wider than JJ+, AK? What would happen if Hero's raising range was T9+, 99+. Similarly, how does the hand play out if Hero KNOWS V is a station. Hero can bet standard c-bet, then shut down on turn then "if" hero hits river extract nice value from villain.

Yes, we can focus on an exact scenario of how to play AK. There is definitely merit in that. But if you truly want to understand how to play AK, you need to look at the totality of your game and how you play your other hands. Then you also need to factor in your villains and whether or not they adjust or are just level 1 droolers.

food for thought

In general, I also hate playing hands OOP, especially when stacks are deeper, especially if there are some tricky players in the hand, and especially if table / limpers are loose and a raise (even a big one) will often go multiway; at these tables, I'll often limp AK in EP (to limp/reraise) and just see a flop out of the blinds. If stacks are shallowish (i.e. we can setup an SPR where we can just stack off postflop with TP), opponents ABC, and table is tightish, I'll go the raising route with AK/AQ in both EP and blinds.

As for the hand in question, we managed to get this HU to an SPR of ~6ish. This is a great flop for AK as it is just so unlikely that Villain should have a 3 in his hand. So I would want to play for stacks here, and we easily can against worst Ax. I would probably bet more on the flop since board is slightly drawy. I don't think we necessarily have to reraise the raise as this can easily be a "where am I at" raise who is planning on trying to get to showdown cheaply (and we don't want to blow them out of the pot). If we call, the pot will be $155 with $224 left, so very easy to get stacks in over last two streets by donk/donking.

GcluelessNLnoobG

I actually think we have to make our commitment decision as soon as we see the flop. The SPR is ~6 and now that we've faced a flop raise that means stacks will be trivial to play for. We can't just be calling the flop raise with these stack sizes only to perhaps fold a lot later, imo.

GmakingcommitmentdecisionsasearlyaspossibleG

You have a king clubs?

Flatting is your best option in a vacuum. Would bet/fold most turns.

Big flaw in LLSNL is guys think they have to Jam or Fold. Calling is a powerful tool.

Examples:
-He is raising weaker Ace. (See where he is at)
-He is raising a 3. Wants to GII
-Raising a flush draw for free card.

3out of 4 of these possibilities. Want you to raise or fold.

I think calling the flop is fine if you are committed to calling the hand down, absent a club. Miller writes a lot about "being committed NOW" but being able to change your commitment decision if future cards/action gives you new info to change your commitment decision.

Like slim said, I am not raising here because I want to keep AQ-AT in the hand and if he has the club draw he's only 20% to get there OTT.

Oh yeah, I totally agree with this.

I'm also calling the flop, but it's just so I don't blow out worse hands; I'm still aiming to get all the chips in by donk/donking.

And I do agree that we can change our commitment decisions on later streets based on a bad run out, but this is an exception to the rule. With this SPR and low combos of realistic hands that beat us, and fact Villain is raising the flop (he's really raising with a flush draw?), I'm actually still feeling committed on any run out in this particular spot.

GcluelessNLnoobG

Flat the raise and lead turn.

Re-raise the flop. The villain would call and slowplay with a 3 or AA. You can put him on an A weaker kicker and should continue the action against a player who has shown significant interest in this pot. The call flop / bet turn line will fold out as many weaker aces as a flop re-raise. Why let them hit a 3 outer for free? If they'll call your turn bet, they'll call your flop re-raise.

Do you have the K of clubs? If not, it's even more important to re-raise to drive out potential Kx clubs combos.