I keep seeing this..does every one always 3 bet with AK pre flop in cash games? seems +EV ...so yea J/w

Not always - its villain dependent like everything else.
If there is a rock who opens with only QQ+ and AK, then prolly not 3 betting him.

You know, up until now, I've never considered 3-betting AK (though I've been reading about it lately)....only JJ+ I guess I see now how exploitable that can be.

Dont need to make the thread in Caps :P

I always do

Opponent dependant - Vs a station, (Ft3B 0% say), Im 3Betting and making my sizing large. I will look to stack off on any Axx flop or Kxx flop. (By making it a large PFR, we make it much more likely he will stack off with say KQ, or worse).

Vs an aggro 3B and 4Bettor, Im 3Betting and looking to get it in PF with AKo.

If i'm OOP, im looking to 3B and evaluate. There are times ill fold and times ill 4B AI for value - again, depending on villian. I tend not to call OOP as it sucks.

If im IP, ill occasionally flat the PFR - keep all his junk in (IE, dominated Ax, Kx hands). And Vs a v.v.v tight player, im also flatting IP > 3Betting. But as a default, ill get the 3B ready in my mind... And then change my mind depending on the entire situation

(Oh, btw... if villian is a short stacked guy (Say 80bb or less), im stacking with AK all day long. If villian is a fish, im stacking all day long.)

OP, not always. Read Gutshot Dan's post, it gives some good cliffs on the topic.

I've actually folded AK preflop to a single raise a few times.

I tend to limp in AK from early position in Limit... this induces weaker aces to call behind. When it hits the Flop, it's powerful to check-raise, as your opponents won't typically put you on AK. And when you miss (which seems to be the case quite often with AK), you can just dump it.

This is not good...

yup i remember limping in AK ep thinking i was smooth.....until i kept getting bitch slapped by people hitting 2 pair with 83o

Minraising a regs flop cbet as a bluff isn't "good" either but it works like 90% so I'm keeping it in my repertoire.

AK is one of the top ten hands i npoker. why wouldnt you 3bet with it?

I like flatting AK about half the time. And 3 betting it the other half.

Villian dependant of course.

Sometimes villain has a worse ace, or worse king. 3betting blows a lot of those hands out of their continuing range and those are the hands we're going to win the most money from postflop.

i used to 3bet with Ak every time vs all opponents, but i have now learned that 3betting AK/QQ against a nit is not good strategy. you either take it down PF or you get into trouble postflop

According to HEM, AK is one of my most profitable hands, so I see no reason not to 3bet it. I've only gotten it in behind a handful of times, which isnt worth analyzing to find ways around it.

Because generally you can 3bet for value and if villain calls it plays fairly well postflop or if he 4bets you can flat in position or 5bet profitably. It's a very good, versatile hand.

Really liked this reply !!!!!!!! Probably the best answer and +++Ev way to play AK pre as I agree 100% I just needed it spelled out like you did haha

stack size has the most to do with it and then next the hands the opponent plays.
and how he plays them, like how far he goes with them.
if you are three betting and building big pots when very deep sooner or later you will lose it all on a hand.

cuz you call them with much worse

I never automatically do anything with any hand (apart from auto-folding junk in EP).
GutshotDan's post describes my thought process with AK.
If you're one of those people that always re-raises w/ AK, watch Nikachu's video (which recommends less aggression pre-flop) and find out why it's not always the best option. http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/18...-video-917150/

Eh, kinda nitpicking, but he's not so much recommending less preflop aggression as he his recommending a polarized range. It's easy to miss this though, as 45 mins are spent on "don't 3bet AK" and about 5 seconds on "think about 3betting A2o"

This. With ~100BB stacks, 3 betting is the only way to get a good (low) SPR for a TPTK/over pair type hand.