Each and every one who plays holdem knows that a-k is one of the greatest starting hands. But, it’s just that, an opening hand. It’s simply two cards of a 7-card equation. In nearly every situation, you will want to jump out guns blaring with A-K as your pocket cards. When the flop comes, you must to reassess your hand and consider things completely before you just suppose your overcards are best.
Like most other opportunities in Texas Holdem, knowing your opponents will help you gauge your position when you hold Ace-King and observe a flop like 9-8-2. After you wager preflop and were called, you assume your competitor is also possessing good cards and the flop may have by-passed them as badly as it by-passed you. Your assuming will frequently be correct. Also, do not neglect that most poor gamblers wouldn’t know good cards if they fall over them and might have called with Ace-x and paired the board.
If your opponent checks, you might check and see a free card or place a bet and try to grab the pot up right then. If they wager, you can raise to observe if they’re in or fold. What you wish to avoid is basically calling your opponent’s bet to observe what the turn results in. If any card other than and Ace or King is shown, you will not have any more info than you did after the flop. Now let’s say the turn brings a four and your opponent wagers again, what do you do? To call a bet on the flop you had to believe your hand was the best, so you must surely believe it still is. So, you call a bet on the turn and 1 more on the river to find out that your opposition has a hand of ten-eight and only had second pair after the flop. At that point, it dawns on you that a raise the bet following the flop might have captured the pot right there.
A-K is a beautiful combination to find in your hole cards. Just be sure you compete in them wisely and they’ll bring you amazing cheerfulness at the poker table.