This article discusses how to play when you start out with an Ace-King combination. This combination is very strong whether you are dealt two cards of the same suite or off suite. There are only two starting hands in Hold’em that are stronger than AK - AA and KK. Other hands are at least the same strength as AK. However, though this hand is so powerful, it can cause problems for those who are inexperienced and don’t know how to play it right.

How to play with this hand:

1. It is not wise to play with the whole buy-in on the pre-flop if you are playing against an unknown opponent.

2. You should play your whole stack on the pre-flop if you are playing against an unknown opponent if he has stack no more than 60BB.

3. Raise on the pre-flop or re-raise if there has been a raise.

The following examples are all taken from real games.

Example 1. Standard drawing: top pair, top kicker (TPTK) and a flush draw on the flop.

NL50 Stacks: Hero ($51), button ($65)

Hero is in the first position with AKo, all black. You raise to $2, button calls your bet, the rest of the players fold.

Flop: Ad-6h-2h*, pot ($4.75)

You have a top pair on the flop, a top kicker and there are two hearts on the board. In this situation you should bet approximately the same size as the bank to protect your hand against a flush draw. If there is a rainbow on the flop, 2/3 of the bank is enough so as to not frighten the contender with an ace and lower kicker off.

Hero bets $4.50 and the contender calls.

Turn: 7h, pot ($13.75)

There is a flush draw on the turn, you have a bad position and it’s difficult to find out if your opponent has a flush or not. If you check, you show weakness. By doing so, your opponent, especially if he is an aggressive player, will easily win the pot, even if he has a weaker hand than yours. The best advice in this position is to bet a little more than half a bank. After a bet like this, your opponent, even an aggressive one, wouldn’t dare bluff. With that kind of bet, your opponent won’t be able to guess if you have a flush or not.

You bet $7.50 , your opponent raises up to $15 (Hero bets $7.50, Button raises to $15).

Your opponent made the minimum possible raise (this kind of raise is also called a flat raise). You only need to raise $7.50 in a pot of $43.75. You have very good pot odds now, but you have a bad position and you know for sure that the river will not improve your hand. If your contender is not bluffing, having two pairs will not save your game. You can also be sure that if your opponent is bluffing, he will continue bluffing on the river. You will have to fold whether he bluffs or not. You know that your bet on the turn reduces the possibility of bluffing. The best thing is to believe your opponent has a flush.

Example 2. WA/WB - way ahead/way behind

The example called WA/WB is a combination you’ll often see in poker. It means you are either strongly ahead or, on the contrary, strongly behind the opponent. In other words, the chance of changing one way or another is very small.

NL10 Hero - BB ($9.60), CO ($12.80)

You are on the ВВ (What does this mean?), everybody before the CO folded, CO raised $0.40, you re-raised to $1.20. CO called.

Flop: А-5-5, pot ($2.45)

You are not in the position on the flop. Judging by what happened on the pre-flop, your opponent most likely doesn’t have a better hand than yours. Your hand can be beaten by АА, А5 and 55 according to this pre-flop. Any other combination with a five is impossible. If the opponent also has АК, both of you will take the bank and all other hands wouldn’t stand a chance. There may be a pocket pair or Aхamong them. In the given situation there is no real necessity to protect your hand. The player with a pocket pair will most likely lay his cards down. The best decision in the given situation is to check/raise. Firstly, the check can provoke a bluff from a pocket pair as the contender can think that you also do not have an ace. Secondly, if the contender has an ace, you may win a great deal more from him since he’s more strongly connected to the bank. In the game the Hero has bet $2.50 on the flop and the opponent has folded.

Example 3. Pot control. How to pay less to stronger hands and get more from weaker hands.

NL50 SB (€55,10), BB (€55,77),Button - Hero (€132,80)

The hero is in button position with AcKc, all players before him folded, he raised €2, both contenders called.

Flop: 8h - Kd - 2c, pot (€6.00)

Here is how the game unfolds:

SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets €4.00, SB raises to €8.00, BB calls €8.00, next is Hero’s turn

SB is in a bad position on the post-flop. He checked, but after the Hero’s bet, he made a flat re-raise. You need to raise €4 in a pot €30. You have good pot odds and folding is not an option. Should you re-raise or not? The answer is simple. The Flop is not dangerous: no flush or straight draws. That is why you should just call and control the bank size. By re-raising you’ll knock out the weaker hands, but you will overpay stronger hands. You are in a good position and can observe your opponents’ actions on the turn. Hero calls €4.00.

Turn: 4d, pot (€30)

SB checks, BB checks, Hero ?

4d flopped and nobody’s hand was improved. This card is called a blank one. SB is out of the position on the flop and he plays check/raise on the turn. Playing like this is usually a sign of weakness.

Most likely he checked the strength of your hand with a small raise even though he is quite unsure of the strength of his own hand. If you were against SB on the turn, the best play is to continue the attack. But in the given situation, you are confused by BB. He plays passively, but called the raise from inside the sandwich (the position between two raisers–it is inconvenient for the player since he does not know whether players will keep raising or stop where they are). Most players tend to hold the same opinion that in situations like these it is necessary to keep control over the bank and check. Hero checks.

River: Jh, pot(€30)

SB checks, BB bets €29.00, Hero?

Most likely, it’s a slow play of a strong combination. ВВ waited the Hero and SB would enlarge the bank on turn. However it did not happen. The best in this situation is to call the bet of €15 with maximum €20. €20 is a good call if the contender is aggressive. But this bet of bank size practically never means bluff. That is why the best for the Hero is to fold.

Example 4. Playing against two contenders in a bad position.

NL25 CO($80.85), Hero - SB( $49.70), BB($28.51)

Hero is in SB position with AcKc, the actions on the pre-flop were as follows:

UTG folded, CO called, Button folded, Hero raised to $2.5, BB called, CO called.

Flop: Kd - 6d - 8h, pot ($7.5)

The flop gave you TPTK, but you have no position and there are two cards of the same suit on the board. The best idea is to bet $7 to $7.50 against two opponents. To prevent his contenders from drawing a flush, Hero bet a little more.

Hero bets $5, BB calls, CO calls.

Turn: 3с, pot ($22.50)

The turn produces nothing for you and hasn’t improved anyone else’s hand. Both contenders have just called your bet. It means either they have a flush-draw or a medium hand and they don’t want to take a risk. If they had a set, they would re-raise. That is why you should continue your attack with a bet of 2/3 the bank ($15), because, most likely, you are stronger. Keep in mind that there is only one contender with a big stack against us because BB should go all-in after your bet on the turn. However, Hero became nervous by the two calls on the flop and decided to check.

Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets $20, Hero folds, BB raises all-in $21.01, CO calls.

Hero showed his weakness so there could be a wide range of bets. He could also potentially give a free card to an opponent for a flush-draw. Thus, the Hero provoked the opponent’s bet and found himself in a situation in which he didn’t know what to do. He decided not to risk it and folded.

River: 3s, pot ($64.52)

The result: CO showed KsQd, BB showed 9dKh. CO won this pot with a pair of Kings and a Queen as a kicker.

You should not be afraid to make bets. It is very important to figure out why you’re making the bet and just do it. Always think before you act.

This may not always the best way of playing. If anyone feels, that it is necessary to play differently, please feel free to tell us your thoughts here. Most situations in online poker are not absolute. This is the complexity and beauty of poker. The ability to come up with the best possible decision comes with experience, which only comes from playing many hands.

• • Designation of suits:

d -Diamonds

h - Hearts

s - Spades

c - Clubs