It is now time to tackle one of the most troublesome hands in poker, the venerable AK. This hand has probably gotten players busted more than any other, with the possible exception of JJ. Lately, it has acquired the nickname Anna Kournikova, because it looks so pretty but never wins. But it is my feeling that AK has gotten a bad rap, and it deserves its place as one of the top 5 hands in poker. Once you can accept AK for what it is, and learn how and when to play it, it can add big chips to your stack.

The first thing to remember about AK is that it isn’t a made hand. Even a lowly pair of 2’s is even money against AK suited before the flop. Furthermore, AK will only make a pair about 1/3 of the time, meaning in the majority of cases it ends up being merely 2 big overcards. For these reasons, I particularly dislike slow playing AK, even in heads up situations. There’s nothing worse than letting derelict hands like 5 7 offsuit make 2 pair in unraised pots, while you sit with AK in need of something runner-runner.

A better way to play AK is to get some money in the middle before the flop, for a whole host of reasons. Consider the following scenario two ways, with AK going up against JJ. In both cases, AK will make a pair.

Scenario 1 – JJ raises and AK simply calls. Flop comes out 8 K 10. JJ checks and AK bets. After a little thought, JJ folds.

Analysis – The K on the flop stopped JJ dead in the tracks. In general, when an A or a K comes out on the flop, it causes a player holding an underpair to put on the brakes. When you raise with a pair like JJ or QQ, and somebody calls, what are you generally thinking? How about, “Come on, no ace, no king!?" So even though AK made a pair, the minimum amount was won, as the pot remained small and JJ could get away fairly easily. The following scenario is a much better way to proceed.

Scenario 2 – JJ raises and AK reraises. JJ thinks for a bit and calls. Flop comes out 9 A 2. JJ checks and AK bets. JJ inevitably folds.

Analysis – Even though this hand plays out in exactly the same manner as before, there is one main difference. By reraising pre-flop, AK now wins a much bigger pot. And, due to the now larger pot, JJ might even get stubborn and try to make some kind of move, allowing AK to get all of their chips. AK is the type of hand that likes to get action going before the flop, as good things generally happen when it hits.

It is never a bad play to push AK hard before the flop. The reason comes from a little thing called fold equity. Fold equity refers to the percentage of times an opponent will fold when faced with an all in bet. The only time AK is really in trouble when it moves all in occurs when an opponent has either AA or KK, which isn’t very often. Against all pairs smaller than KK, AK is only a slight underdog, and with fold equity factored in it usually becomes a favourite.

AK also plays very nicely against hands like AQ, AJ, KQ or KJ. In fact, against any hand that contains an A or a K with a smaller second card, AK is a significant 75% favourite. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is a good spot to be in, and a player trying to run AQ through AK has lost many a tournament.

In closing, don’t get too cute with AK. Play it hard, and get a pot built before the flop. If you have to put it all on the line, so be it. AK is the type of hand that needs to see all 5 cards, and we all know the best way to make that happen.