Seems like I have trouble playing this hand out of position facing re-raise. Typical situation : I open 4-5 bb, someone in position 3bets 15bb. What do we do? Always 4bet and fold to 5bet/shove? How does your play changes when you are 100bb, 200, 400-500bb deep? I'm talking about standard TAG table at 2-5 or 5-10 tables

Does 3! represent JJ+/AK or 99/TT+?
I assume it would never be AQ or KQs?

+1, an accurate assessment of villains range is key. Don't be afraid to just fold. it might seem nitty, but nobody knows what you had.

No general answer because the exact situation changes things. If you opening UTG, everybody folds around to MP+2 and MP+2 raises then you generally have to give him credit for a good hand. He knows your raising range is at the tighter end and he reraised despite there being no dead money and there being possible action after him. Compare that to your raising in MP, getting 3 flat calls and the button reraising. Now your raise doesn't look as strong and there is money in the pot worth squeezing.

What you know about villain, how villain views you and history between you can make a huge difference. Compare being 3 bet by a know nit vs being 3 bet by a SLAG who like bluffing preflop. In the first case you can comfortably fold everything except QQ+ and even QQ may be a fold. In the second you might want to 4 bet close to 100% of your raising range.

You knew this answer was coming, but it depends.

First off, a general note: if you are scared of playing in big pots without the nuts, the answer is simple: flat and fold to a flop cbet if you miss. Being scared can create mistakes, so just avoid the situation until it feels standard.

But if you're comfortable playing big pots without the nuts, and are decent at reading players and assigning ranges, here are some thoughts.

This sounds rather obvious but the first thing that helped me play AK better out of position was to stay chill and remember the basics.

We know this, but usually at 2-5&5-10, you get 3b for different reasons by different players. So remembering those reasons, and profiling your players to put them on a range and a playing style, I'll respond accordingly to their 3b. Are they trying to iso in position, are they raising for value, are they trying to bluff and take it down, and so forth.

For instance, if I decide to just flat oop, I usually need to be willing to call a flop cbet if I whiff. Or if I 4bet pre, and check flop, I need to usually be prepared to call their bet (or raise to bluff etc).

Aggressive players at mid-higher stakes love to bloat pots with marginal hands and get weaker players to fold. Or they find ways to get these weaker players to make mistakes, since they know the weaker players are uncomfortable in big pots. The more you can ignore the $ and focus on reads, ranges, and playing poker, the fewer mistakes you'll make. There is so easy answer for me at least. Good luck

Edit: there is NO easy answer for me.

Way too difficult to describe a cookie cutter formula on how to play AK OOP to a 3bet. Depending on the exact situation, you want to consider all your options. Occasionally, folding is best if you feel that your AK is crushed. Call OOP works best in certain situations. 4bet OOP works better in other situations.

+1

Just don't fold too often!
Say it's 5/T & you open 5bb 5 seats from the BB with a 15% range. V is OTB & raises to 15bbs.

(6.5)(x)-(15)(1-x)=0=>
X=.6977

So if he gets folds from the blinds & you 70% of the time, he eeks out a slight win long-term. 4.55bb vs. 4.5bb

So, if V has your range pegged & goes after you, you have to call with your AK 31% of the time, which is 4.96 hands. All the suited AKs & 1 more will do the trick. Maybe the AK since they look so good together?

Then he wins 4.485bb & loses 4.65bb. However, you still have to win the hand! Now if he was attempting a 3! steal without even a small PP, you're in the lead going into the flop the majority of the time

OP, are you really playing 5/10? Or is this more of a question of, "I want to play for big stakes some day. What is it like?"

You've gotten as much of an answer as anyone can give already. General situation questions belong in the Beginners Questions forum.

Locked.