Calling All-IN with AK

yubyub1978

MY friends and myself have been arguing whether or not to call all in with AK or just muck it in a tournament. Assuming your an average stack somewhere in the middle of the pack and your opponent goes all in pre flop and has you covered.
under what conditions do you call or fold?? I lean closer to the fold option.Every one else i talk to figures its a no brainer call!! I feel the the most likely cards for an all in pre flop are big pairs (or even small pairs) or a big ace. I dont like having AK against any pair let alone aces or kings, and the chance that they have AQ is just too small.
Dont get me wrong im more than willing to move all in with AK but not to call with it.
I would just like to hear some other points of view on this(im also fairly certain this subjet has been beaten into critical condition on a previous thread. sorry.)

Dave Scharf

I agree with you. A-K screams out for fold equity. Calling gives you no fold equity. In the circumstances you describe, fold. You are likely either a small dog or a big dog, neither of which tastes very good.

Late in the tournament agsinst a desperate small stack things are different.

ScottyZ

To me, it depends a great deal on the player and/or situation. I agree with the point that AK very much enjoys wielding the +3 Hammer of Fold Equity, but now and then I find it a useful hand to make a big call with. The most obvious examples of this would be:

1. Picking off a bluff or steal.

2. Calling a player who doesn't judge his hand values well, and may make big bets with hands you dominate. Basically, if I find myself against someone who seems to think that Ax is the nuts.

3. Short-handed or (as Dave mentioned) against someone who must make a move with weak hand values due to the tournament situation.

Of course, the common theme is that you're much more willing to call when you're much more likely to be the favorite. Sounds simple enough, but *knowing* when these kinds of situations arise is the real challenge.

Assuming your an average stack somewhere in the middle of the pack and your opponent goes all in pre flop and has you covered.

If the opponent is not a maniac, I would fold here. This is an example of primarily a situational read I think. The opponent is simply moving all-in for a *huge* amount of chips with no pressing tournament situation need to do so. (Normally, someone who covers an average stack has a lot of chips relative to the blinds.) Unless he's a nutcase, he's got at least AK himself.

Unknown

Moving in a huge stack preflop when nobody else (presumably) has entered the pot doesn't scream aces or kings to me. It is usually a pocket pair 99 to QQ, at least in my experience. So the question is: do you want a coinflip? Furthermore, do you need a coinflip?

In the situation you described, you have an average stack, so the answer is no. If you're on a shortstack, however... or even a stack that's not really short but is about to be (say, 16XBB and the blinds are about to double...) you have to take these kinds of risks. It's kind of sad to think that a tournament full of good decisions on your part can come down to one coinflip, but that's the way it goes.

My bottom line about calling all-in with AK is that you shouldn't do it unless you feel you need to. Small stacks have to take risks, and a coinflip isn't that bad. Similarly, small (but not desperate) stacks have to do other things they may not normally do, like limp with big hands to get action, slowplay a flopped 2 pair, etc...

I slowplayed a flopped 2 pair with a shortstack in last night's tournament and let my opponent make a straight. What you're reading is really me trying to justify my tournament-ending play to myself.

Regards,
all_aces

Irah

Take a glance at Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, Sklansky offers excellent insight into AK specifiically. In short he basically mentions it is a great hand for YOU to move allin with pre flop, simply because most of the time people will fold, and when they call, you still have a good hand. He likes playing the hand all in because when you call just to see a flop, you may miss and want to fold, when just under half the time you will make your hand on the turn or river. As for calling all in, you loose the most powerfull aspect of the hand, winning the pot before the flop.