PLAYER STRATEGY
POKER: Playing the Flop with A-K
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In this column we tackle the old problem in Limit Hold ‘em of how to play A-K after a bad flop. Since you will be putting in a lot of bets before the flop with a hand like A-K, you can usually play this hand pretty aggressively after the flop as well (because you have already built a pretty large pot, one that is worth going after). Even though we are talking about beginner’s strategy here, it is important to touch briefly on the historical significance of A-K in no-limit Hold ’em tournaments. The classic hand to come up between two players in big no-limit Hold ‘em tournament is A-K versus Q-Q. Many times one of these tournaments is decided because a great player has hit or missed his A-K versus a Q-Q for a mountain of chips. At the 2001 World Series of Poker, I had Q-Q early in one of the events and I was “all-in” against my opponent’s A-K. I put my last $2,000 in before the flop and my opponent called me. If I had lost this coin flip (actually Q-Q is about a 13-10 favorite), I would have been eliminated and would not have gone on to win the event and $305,000 for first place. This is a fairly common occurrence late in these events. It makes sense, considering that the hands J-J, Q-Q , K-K, A-A and A-K are the top five hands in Hold ‘em. The trick is to “finish the job” and go on to win the event if you are lucky enough to win a big coin flip like this! Following are some flop scenarios that might come up: THE SITUATION 1. You have A-K in the small blind in a $2-$4 game at your house. (Someone may win or lose up to $200, but usually $50-$100 is an expected win-loss at this limit.) 2. A jackal (plays loose and wild) named Joe makes it $4 to go in the third position. 3. An elephant (fairly loose and always calls bets) named Earl calls the $4 on the button. 4. You re-raise, making it $6 to go from the small blind. 5. The big-blind lion (fairly tight player not afraid to go out on a limb with a bluff…good player) named Leo calls the $6 bet. 6. Joe the jackal and Earl the elephant also call the $6 bet.
by
PHIL HELLMUTH JR.
THE FLOP INCLUDES AN ACE OR A KING (FOR EXAMPLE, A-9-4, K-10-7) You bet, raise and re-raise quite a bit because you have hit “top pair” with a “top kicker.” In every case where an ace or a king hits the flop, you will have top pair with top kicker (A-A-K or A-K-K) and this is a very strong hand in Hold ‘em! But let’s suppose the flop is A-9-4 and someone is holding A-9. Your A-K would be losing on this flop because A-9 now has two pair, Aces and nines. Still, for every time someone who plays a weak A-9 against your powerful A-K and beats you, you’ll beat them more than two other times given the A-K is more than a 2.5-to-1 favorite heads-up against A-9. The point I am trying to make here is that A-K becomes very powerful when you catch an ace or king on the flop, and you should put in a lot of betting and raising on the flop when this is the case. Fortunes have been won and lost with A-K! THE FLOP DOES NOT INCLUDE AND ACE OR A KING (FOR EXAMPLE, J-5-2) You bet out $2. Leo the lion raises, making it $4 to go; and Earl the elephant calls the bet. In this case you figure one of your opponents has you beat, but you call the $2 anyway, on the chance that an ace, king, queen or 10 will hit the board on fourth street. If an ace or king hits, then you should bet out $4 on fourth street, but if a queen or 10 hits call a $4 bet (check and then call the $4 if your opponents bet) because you have picked up a straight draw. Since you know you will call $4 when a queen or 10 hits, you may choose to bet out $4 attempting to win the pot right there (but right now we are talking about play on the flop). So, the play on the flop here is fairly simple, you bet out $2 and call the raise of $2. THE FLOP IS Q-10-2
Phil Hellmuth Jr. is a 13time World Series of Poker Champion, leading all other poker players in the world. He is the author of two New York Times best sellers, and his latest book, “Deal Me In” is also widely popular. Visit PhilHellmuth.com to check out his latest blog, clothing line and exclusive poker tips and stories. This tip column is an excerpt from his Best Selling book “Phil Hellmuth’s Texas Hold’em” found on Amazon and in bookstores around the world.
“FORTUNES HAVE BEEN WON AND LOST WITH A-K! ”
You bet out $2, the lion raises it to $4, and then the elephant re-raises it to $6 to go. In this case you need a jack for a straight or an ace or king for a pair. You have to call the $6. You have to figure that at least one of your opponents has you beaten, even though one may be playing a hand like K-J, an open-ended straight draw. (You may even consider raising it to $8, but that’s for a more advanced lesson!) The point here is that if the flop gives you a straight draw, then you need to play your A-K. Three available aces, three available kings and four of whatever completes your straight draw (in this case four jacks) giving you too many “outs” to fold right away. I hope you can use this beginner’s strategy to help improve your game.
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