question regarding ak in micros

[dannyof1992]

first off thanks for reading.
so, in microstakes, if im facing
a 3 bet with ak or aks, is it usually safe to
shove all in? the circumstance answer im looking for is a general onw, so please try to combine answer asuming 6 or 9 handed cash and stakes between 25-50nl
also as a bonus what might one do in the same situation in zoom type of poker? much apreciated, ak has been driving me crazy.
my usualy response has been a fold to 3bet.

 

[AlphaCentauro]

If you watch professionals play, you should realize that very rarely do they go all in preflop. There’s only very few types of scenarios when a poker pro will move all in

 

[Rockyfour]

U 4bet suited AK flat non suited usually.

 

[Rockyfour]

If you watch professionals play, you should realize that very rarely do they go all in preflop. There’s only very few types of scenarios when a poker pro will move all in

That’s because they are on TV playing for a lot of money and are trying to reduce variance or trap someone who’s splashing.

 

[Station_Master]

Assuming 100bb deep you shouldn't really be shoving with any hands. A typical 4bet would be 22 - 27bb. AK is generally ok to 4bet but can be flatted too depending how tight the configuration is. Also note I am referring to 25NL, I am not sure about 50NL but imagine the same. I would think of these stakes as 'low' rather than 'micro'. At microstakes e.g. 5NL or 10NL you need to be more careful as 3betting ranges are much tighter.

 

[dannyof1992]

yea, from hat ive gathered so far im not gonna be 4 bet or 4 bet shoving. since yes i do hover around 100bb
on the table. also ive learned that vs an early positioned start raise, i can and probly should just flat vs a 3 bet.
whereas, ill coninue what ive been doing from all positions til now, , when im in late pos, vs a standard pre raise of 2-3 bb, wheater there are other callers or not RERAISING (3betting 3x the preflop raise is the amt i usualyl do) .. and even perhaps throwing an extra bb if there are in fact callers of the late positioned villian's pre raise.

 

[Aballinamion]

first off thanks for reading.
so, in microstakes, if im facing
a 3 bet with ak or aks, is it usually safe to
shove all in? the circumstance answer im looking for is a general onw, so please try to combine answer asuming 6 or 9 handed cash and stakes between 25-50nl
also as a bonus what might one do in the same situation in zoom type of poker? much apreciated, ak has been driving me crazy.
my usualy response has been a fold to 3bet.

It’s not very good to be going all-in preflop with any hands, neither AA: the objective is to construct a way to play postflop and have edge over the opponents/field.
That being said isn’t a very good idea to go all-in preflop with AK, because most of times we are “flipping”, but this is not entirely true, it is not a fair situation where we own ~50% equity versus most of pocket pairs, for we must consider the rake and the recent “cap”, which I’m studying to understand how it would affect my gameplay.
Also it’s not a good idea to fold to 3-bet holding AK, we can even 4-bet AK, call 4-bets because it’s a hand with huge potential and playability postflop.
You say you are playing stakes between NLHE 25 and 50, but with all due respect, you shouldn’t be playing these stakes, you should have been playing NLHE 2 or NLHE 5 at maximum.
I tell you this by the confuse way you had written your post, even paradoxical, first you ask if it’s safe to jam AK preflop and second that you use to fold AK to 3-bet... kinda confusing at least.
If you are a beginner, no problem, I’m also another one, and I will recommend not to play Zoom Tables (Fast Play), because it increases the variance for one table of zoom is equal to three regulars tables, which also implies that we are paying blinds three times more often, so we must be very keen and accurate (a solid regular) to play at these tables.

 

[dannyof1992]

thank you. although i appreciate your post, in fact I'm not a beginner, ( its complicated- alcoholism stunted my poker growth, heh)) but a slow learner. after 10+ years of losing im slowly transitioning to being a wining player. i can't back this up with a graph yet , but this question is part of the last of my leaks that i will need to work on to beat micros (for minimum 2.5/100) and 1/2 live ( 6/100) which has been my long-term goal since i was around 19 , im 30 now. not saying i don't want to always be learning .

 

[Aballinamion]

thank you. although i appreciate your post, in fact I'm not a beginner, ( its complicated- alcoholism stunted my poker growth, heh)) but a slow learner. after 10+ years of losing im slowly transitioning to being a wining player. i can't back this up with a graph yet , but this question is part of the last of my leaks that i will need to work on to beat micros (for minimum 2.5/100) and 1/2 live ( 6/100) which has been my long-term goal since i was around 19 , im 30 now. not saying i don't want to always be learning .

It’s good to hear you have overcome hard moments in life and sorry if I have offended you, I never meant to. One thing I tell you, paraphrasing king Leonidas of Sparta: never retreat, never surrender if you have faith you are good in poker, put your life into it and let the bad stuff in the past.
It’s nice that you are opened to learning, this is the main reason that proves you are wise. Widows is the ability to be always learning, no matter in which level you find yourself.
Thanks for your reply

 

[dannyof1992]

you did not offend me cheers

 

[makisaa]

It is a strong couple but it is just a higher hand until an A or a K appears on the board. So I play it aggressively and if the board is as I like or if the opponents or the situation allows it I continue the aggressive game. In a different situation I just leave it.

 

[fundiver199]

Others have kind of said it already, but the effective stack size is far more important that game format or even positions. With 40BB effective, which is much more common in tournaments than cash games, you can rarely go to wrong by 4-bet jamming AK. But with 100BB effective, which is far more normal in cash games, you should either 4-bet to something like 23BB or just call, and defending on the configuration AK can be played in either of those ways. If you open it UTG at full ring, and the player next to act put in a 3-bet, then you should probably just call. But if you open from SB, and BB puts in a 3-bet, your main line should be to 4-bet and be villing to stack off against a 5-bet.

 

[dannyof1992]

ok.. hm quick question. i promise i wont fold to a 3 bet anymore but if i default call instead of EVER 4betting am i still gonna be +ev? ijust hypothetically, i know its probly beter to 4 bet sometimes but if i really wanna stay tight and leas varience even tho it may be less money in the long run?
quick reminder thank you for reading

 

[spectralwave]

If you have Ak and you made a wide tribet and the villain returned all win close to the bubble and you have the same amount of chips, this move is fold, you have to analyze everything in the short term and time, the position, who is the player, if you open all the hands, what stage of the tournament are you in, if you are a recreational player, if he has been winning several tournaments lately, what is the value of the tournament you are playing in and so on, all this in 30 or 35 seconds , and make the best possible decision that you don't go broke, it all depends on what you're playing.

 

[dannyof1992]

yes, and thank you as well for posting. the game im referring to is the cash game .

 

[0546474]

If you have Ak and you made a wide tribet and the villain returned all win close to the bubble and you have the same amount of chips, this move is fold, you have to analyze everything in the short term and time, the position, who is the player, if you open all the hands, what stage of the tournament are you in, if you are a recreational player, if he has been winning several tournaments lately, what is the value of the tournament you are playing in and so on, all this in 30 or 35 seconds , and make the best possible decision that you don't go broke, it all depends on what you're playing.

View attachment 326934

What bubble can be in cash game???

 

[Pokerpoet2]

Depending on the state of the game, (how long it's been played) then shoving all-in on suited AK is a possibility, but it is very dangerous, I find any 2 cards pre-flop can be beaten and AK suited or not are vastly overrated. Sure it is a nice raising hand but if you miss the flop completely then you may as well be playing 7/2.
Once in a Tournament I was heads up against someone when they pushed all-in and I instantly called without looking at my hand, the dealer turned the cards over and showed his AK and my 6/2, The other player laughed at my hand and said "why did you call with such Garbage?" I told him I hadn't looked at my cards, only his stack and as I was holding around 90% of the chips, I was not afraid of doubling him up.
The flop and Turn gave neither of us anything, then the River came 2 pairing mine and it was game over. So as I always say "any 2 cards can Win, and any 2 can lose, because it is never over until the River card is dealt".

 

[Igor Popadyk]

the strength of the hand AK is a little overrated - it just blocks AA and KK, then at the same time it is not a made hand and at the micro limits a lot depends on the opponent, on your position at the table

 

[BOXING71]

thanks for the discussion thread. I think it will be useful for the community. Thanks to everyone who commented, you help us think better and become better players

 

[dannyof1992]

to dreamer, i understand some people widen their opening 3 bet range as bluff or they are so good at every situation that they are Plus ev playing a bit on the laggy side. but it has been my dream to play ( and find out after years) the tightest format of playing poker that is still profitable at micros and 1/2 live. the thing is i prefer not to have to put myself in sticky situations where i have to think. this probably sounds lazy and ridiculous but at the micros i don't think bluffing is necessary with mediocre hands and that at these stakes ( up to .5 on softer pools) it's not worth it in MY opinion. cheers

 

[Gallarado777]

just press 4bet with AKs and see what your opponent will do if he goes all-in then you should know that he has AA or KK QQ if you are ready to stand against him and try your luck, you can call but it's better to reset it I think

 

[Poker Orifice]

If you watch professionals play, you should realize that very rarely do they go all in preflop. There’s only very few types of scenarios when a poker pro will move all in

not true

 

[yuriko oyama]

Everything in poker boils down to one word:
IT DEPENDS.

 

[Naked Flush]

Love AK

A little background, SB that 4bet was doing a lot of jamming all in and is basically a gambling maniac. When I 5bet jammed I was expecting (hoping) to just get it heads up with SB. But it turned into a 4way flip! This hand reminded me of the old days before black Friday. On PS and FT, sometimes you'd sit on a table and they'd say, "we're flipping on this table. If you sit here you have to flip." And they'd all sit there and shove all in preflop every hand.

I got lucky and binked the turn

Merge, Hold'em No Limit - $0.10/$0.25 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker - https://upswingpoker.com/replayer/6c1XedgTD

BlindPilot (UTG): $28.51 (114 bb)
Foldthem777 (MP): $24.75 (99 bb)
HotSauceStopcom (CO): $40.70 (163 bb)
zigzag143 (BU): $12.51 (50 bb)
TheCrusherrr (SB): $23.14 (93 bb)
PokerPro87aces (BB): $12.33 (49 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.35) Hero (BlindPilot) is UTG with A

K

BlindPilot (UTG) raises to $0.75, Foldthem777 (MP) calls $0.75, HotSauceStopcom (CO) 3-bets to $4.75, 1 fold, TheCrusherrr (SB) 4-bets to $23.14 (all-in), 1 fold, BlindPilot (UTG) 5-bets to $28.51 (all-in), Foldthem777 (MP) calls $24 (all-in), HotSauceStopcom (CO) calls $23.76

Flop: ($105.16) 2

4

9

(4 players, 3 all-in)

Turn: ($105.16) K

(4 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($105.16) 9

(4 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $105.16 (Rake: $4)

Showdown:
BlindPilot (UTG) shows A

K

(two pair, Kings and Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 28%, Flop: 24%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

TheCrusherrr (SB) shows J

A

(a pair of Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 8%, Flop: 2%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

HotSauceStopcom (CO) shows T

T

(two pair, Tens and Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 18%, Flop: 8%, Turn: 3%, River: 0%)

Foldthem777 (MP) shows Q

Q

(two pair, Queens and Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 46%, Flop: 65%, Turn: 3%, River: 0%)

BlindPilot (UTG) wins $101.16

 

[Atararo14]

The way to play AK depends on the opponent's profile.

Against a loose opponent, you always have to go all in.