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Playing Ace-King

The Ace-King starting hand in the Texas Holdem poker game, which is also called 'Big Slick', is considered to be one of the best starting hands, but it is also one of the most controversial as well. Some poker players hate this hand because they have suffered big losses by playing it, others love it, as they win hands with it. But the players who play the Big Slick best are those, who play that starting hand according to the current situation, without strong feelings towards the hand, positive or negative. And that is the first advice for playing the Ace-King starting hand.

There is quite a difference in playing suited Ace-King and an unsuited Ace-King, and this is a difference that some Texas Holdem players do not even understand.

When Playing Ace-King In Texas Holdem, your play will depend a lot on the board cards. And even that an opponent of yours might have a pair in the hole, his chance of floping a set are slim - about 8 to 1 against him, while if you start with A-K, you can expect to flop either an ace or a king about 1 out of 3 hands. That is one of the reasons why the Big Slick is a great starting hand, and when you have got it in your hand, you just have to find the best way to play it.

If we consider that your Ace-King is not suited, is it reasonable to raise? Raising from an early position might force some of your opponents to fold their cards, that way reducing the the size of the playing field. By doing that you hope that you will get a big pair holding up to the end. But the Texas Holdem Odds are showing that you will not be able to improve your hand on the flop, so investing a double bet might not be the best thing to do - just calling is the preferred strategy here.

Raising from a late position will not force your opponents to fold, if they have already invested one bet. They will want to see the flop, even by paying a price for that, so here is once again better to just call. After you see the flop, if your hand has improved, raise the pot. Those who did not improve on the flop will most often fold, giving your possible Ace-Ace hand with a King-kicker, or K-K, with Ace-kicker a better chance of holding up and taking the pot. One more situation is when an ace flops, an opponent holding A-rag who now has A-A, but will lose on your King-kicker, will stay in the pot all the way, paying you off to the showdown.

The only time when it will be wise to raise when Playing Ace-King is when only one player has called, and you are on the button, or just before it. Here, raise to take out the blinds, trying to play heads up, or just take the pot if everybody folds. If your opponent calls your raise, most probably he will check on the flop.

When your Big Slick is suited, the situation is different in some way. Playing Ace-King suited could lead to the nut flush, and since this is almost certain to win, although not every time, you will want the pot as large as possible. So raising pre-flop is not that good, keep the other players in the pot to contribute if/when you make the flush.

If it happens that the flop bring four-to-a-flush, do not start raising right away. Just wait until the flush comes before raising. And if you are lucky enough to hit the flush on the flop, play slowly that hand, to allow the others to keep investing in the pot.

But if the turn brings a pair on the board, you could be in a bad situation, because someone could have a full house, although a made hand of trips or two pair is more likely. Be very careful in a situation like this, and remember to always Playing Ace-King according to the situation, and it will pay you off just fine.