As a starting hand A-K in the hole, Big Slick, is the best possible premium drawing hand. Catch an Ace on the flop, and you have top pair with top kicker, the King. Likewise, if you flop a King. What is the best way to play this hand?
Most players will unquestionably open with a raise. They make a big mistake when they do this. Here’s why.
A preflop raise is likely to force out the very players you want to stay in the pot. Any time your hand dominates an opponent’s you should welcome him to the pot and, certainly, not chase him out. Most poker players will play A-anything, even A-rag (where a rag is 7 or lower).
If an Ace falls on the flop, sure, he too has a pair of Aces, but your kicker, the King, has him outkicked. Your hand dominates his. He is likely to pay you off all the way to the river – helping you grow your chip stacks. The same applies to an opponent with a King in the hole. He cannot beat you unless he hits his kicker and you don’t. You are a huge favorite to win that pot.
Using logic: Let’s look at it from strictly a logic standpoint: There are five most-likely, possible conclusions for A-K versus A-anything (smaller than a King) when you both play to the river:
(1) Neither of you improves. Your kicker takes the pot for you.
(2) You improve your hand; he doesn’t. You win again.
(3) He improves – the board pairs his kicker, but you do not improve. He prevails this time.
(4) You both improve equally by pairing your respective kickers and/or the Aces. You win again.
(5) You both improve but the board matches his kicker as well as the Ace you both hold. His two-pair beats your pair of Aces. This is less likely than the other options. We give it a probability of half that of the other options.
So you win 3 out of the 4.5 possible conclusions. Your hand is a 2-to-1 favorite over these opponents. You can expect to win two out of three such hands. It is to your advantage to keep one or two such opponents in the hand. On this basis, your best bet is to just call preflop.
Also, were you to raise preflop, it would serve to put your opponents on the alert. Then, if/when an Ace (or King) falls on the flop, they would be more inclined to fold, costing you the bets they would likely have made or called holding a pair of Aces with a smaller kicker.
This same logic also applies even when an opponent has a premium drawing hand, including an Ace (or King). Once the Ace (or King) falls on the board, he is your “chicken” to pluck.
Of course, you can use all your other tricks of the trade, such as slow-playing and check-raising when your hand further improves and the board doesn’t offer a draw to a flush or straight.
Another plus for you: These days, more poker players, especially the younger ones, are prone to bluff. Hopefully, you have been evaluating your opponents at the table so you know which are deceptive.
When an Ace falls on the flop, such a player often will raise to represent an Ace in the hole. Little does he knopw you now have a big pair of Aces with top kicker. Let him do the betting and raising for you. If your hand improves further, you might reraise him on the river.
Sure, there is a chance an opponent has made a set or better; but that’s a longshot. In the long run, you will win that pot much more often than not.
Here’s how to handle Ace-King hand dealt in poker
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