Everyone who competes in holdem knows that ace/king is one of the greatest starting hands. But, it’s simply that, an opening hand. It is 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 hole cards. When the flop comes, you must to analyze your hand and consider things completely before you just suppose your cards are the greatest.
Like many other circumstances in texas hold’em, knowing your rivals will help you gauge your position when you hold A-K and observe a flop like 9-8-2. After you bet preflop and were called, you assume your opponent is also holding great cards and the flop may have by-passed them as poorly as it missed you. Your assumption will often times be right. Also, do not overlook that most lousy competitors wouldn’t know great cards if they happen over them and could have called with Ace-Something and paired the table.
If your competitors checks, you might check and see a free card or lay a bet and try to pick the pot up right then. If they bet, you might raise to see if they’re for real or fold. What you wish to avoid is simply calling your competitor’s wager to see what the turn brings. 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 us say the turn brings a four and your opponent bets one more time, what should you do? To call a wager on the flop you had to think your hand was the strongest, so you must surely think it remains so. So, you call a bet on the turn and one more on the river to discover that your opposing player was holding ten-eight and just a second pair after the flop. At that time, it hits you that a raise the bet following the flop could have won the money right then.
A-K is a gorgeous thing to find in your hole cards. Just be certain you play them intelligently and they will achieve you great happiness at the poker table.
