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Ace King - Advanced Strategy and Tactics

“It’s funny to me how guys always end up with all their chips in the pot with Ace King. They get to be a coin toss against any pigeon with a stupid pair and drawing almost dead if the guy’s got a pair of Aces or Kings. Don’t even get me started on Ace Queen or Ace Jack, I scoff at Ace Queen.” – Tad regarding No Limit

Although this article is about the play of Ace King in Limit hold ‘em and the quote is regarding No Limit, there are many excellent points that Tad makes which apply to both versions of the game.

Why do I want Ace King?

Ace King is one of the best starting hands in poker. A winning poker player must limit his starting hands to those which have the ability to provide him the most value. This means that as a general concept you should only play the hands that if they hit (hit means that if the flop is favorable to your hand) (see poker lingo) will likely be the best hand or have potential to become the best hand. Ace King is a good example of a hand that if it hits you are likely to have the best hand. Consider that if you start with Ace King and if there is an Ace or a King on the flop you now have the top pair with the very best kicker possible. An opponent must have 2 pair or better to beat you. That's a good situation to be in.

General poker thoughts around Ace King

When your starting hand is Ace King you are drawing to only 6 cards (3 Aces or 3 Kings) preflop. You really only have about a 50% chance that you’ll beat any small pair. See Poker Probabilities for more details. The reason that you would prefer to start with Ace King rather than a small pair is because when the flop comes down those small pairs have no visibility to where they’re at unless they flop a set. Compare this to if you hit your hand with Ace King. Generally your hand is strong (top pair with best kicker). Your decision is much easier than the small pair who must decide upon calling down with a hand that can’t beat much (or anything) on the board (assuming they don’t hit their 2 card out for improvement).

I don’t like holding Ace King against more than 3-4 opponents since I might hit my hand on the flop and still lose if I’m up against 6-7 way action. There are many hands which may already have me beat (at the very least they’re getting great odds on their draws). However against 1 or 2 people if the hand is concealed I might even wait to check raise on the turn against an aggressive or bad player. Bottom line, when you hold Ace King you’re stronger with few opponents.

Preflop: To raise or not to raise

The answer to this question (as with all hands) is "depends on what kind of game you're in”. Always remember there are no absolutes. You have to mix up your game or players are going to get too strong of a read on you thereby deteriorating your ability to extract extra bets. I'll list a few of my thoughts here which really can apply to all types of games.

Early position in tight aggressive games: In this type of game I like to limp in with Ace King. I'm likely to get raised behind by weaker hands such as Ace Queen, Ace Jack or small pairs. If my starting hand hits, somewhere I'm going to stick it to these overly aggressive players, whether that's a check raise on the flop, turn, or end is highly dependent on the number of players (more players means I want to narrow the field down early) and how aggressive they play (more aggression means I can wait longer for the check raise since I know they're going to bet).

Mid to late position in tight aggressive games: I usually raise here since I might win the pot right away without having to hit anything. I don't want the blinds getting in for cheap or free as they might easily flop a better hand than mine. Remember that Ace King is one of the best hands preflop but if you don't hit anything on the flop you may easily be behind. Since it's further down the line it's less likely that I will be raised behind.

Loose games: I usually raise. Since these bad players are more likely to call me I want as few of them as possible. If there are too many of them I'm likely to lose the hand even if I hit. If a guys' going to call trying to hit gutshots, runners for a flush, or with a weak ace I want to make them pay every step of the way.

In the blind: If there are already players in I like to conceal Ace King and just check. After all, I don't have anything yet, and by raising and building the pot even if I do hit I'm making it more correct for bad players to call my flop/turn bets as they're getting better pot odds on their money.

An already raised pot: I've actually thrown this hand away preflop against my father and another known opponent when forced to call 2 bets cold. Both players are extremely tight and I was certain that one of them had Aces or Kings if not both. How do you like your hand to be Ace King against a pair of Kings or even worse against a pair of Aces. However against unknown competition there are just too many players out there in 2005 raising with weak hands to throw this hand away. In general I reraise or cold call depending on the competition and they're likely post preflop play.

Ace King – How to play it on the flop

Ace King is an interesting hand because if you have already shown aggression (ie. A raise preflop) and narrowed down the field to heads up action you may have the best hand even without an Ace or a King on the flop. Between 2 players it is often the case that neither player has hit anything on the flop. If I was the preflop raiser and there is limited competition in the game I may bet here without having hit anything. There's a good chance I have the best hand with Ace King high and may be able to take the pot right there. In a sense I'm bluffing with the best hand.

However if I am in bad position (perhaps the blind or under the gun) and there is multi-way action a bet here is often foolish. Look at the flop and consider if your competition is likely to have any of the hands that could have beaten this hand. In reality if there are many players you probably don't have the best hand. Don't get stubborn, a winning player is able to throw away Ace King if they think they're beat. This even applies to those times when you have flopped an Ace. Always remember the "read”is the most important element of the game.

One of my favorite plays is to check raise aggressive players when I've hit my hand with Ace King. Regardless of how you've played Ace King preflop many players will bet when checked to. A check and then a raise can be a useful tool against these opponents. In future hands it also may stop them from betting when you have checked.

If you've already shown aggression preflop and get raised once you bet how should you play? This is really going to come down to Knowing Your Competition). Elements to consider include: what is the flop. A flop that is Ace/Queen/Jack may easily have you beat even if you raised preflop. In fact, if you're up against a tough opponent what could they have that they would raise with that doesn't have you beat? Ace Queen or Ace Jack beats you, pocket Aces, pocket queens, pocket jacks. The only hand which doesn't is Ace King (a tie) or a pair of Kings. Understanding what your opponent raises with, 3 bets with, cold calls with, and limps in is obviously key here.

However, if the flop falls A, 7, 2, and you get raised on the flop you may want to actually 3 bet. If you were first in and raised preflop would your opponent cold call your raise with a pair of 7s? If he did, wouldn't he wait until the turn to raise you? How tricky is he? Would he really have Ace 7 and call your raise? Or, is it more likely that he has a weak hand that isn't worth calling a raise like Ace queen or Ace Jack? If this is the case, a reraise is certainly the best play.

Playing Ace King on the turn

All of the concepts I discussed in the "How to play it on the flop” section apply here. Another interesting point to consider is that the turn bet is the big bet, meaning it is 2x the bets in the prior rounds. In fact, I consider the preflop and flop bets to be ½ a bet and the turn and river full bets. So, many loose players will call bets on the flop hoping to catch something stupid (like a 2 card out for a set or bottom pair) but not call the turn as it gets too expensive. Thus, the turn bet can be effectively used to narrow down the field or take the pot right there.

Since the turn bet is the big bet you should be extra cautious if you bet and are raised on the turn, especially if you have led the betting this whole hand. Many opponents (including myself) if they flop a big hand (like a set) will wait until the turn to raise you. That way they get an extra big bet and if they can get another call out of you on the end they'll get 3 big bets. Again, reading your opponents is essential.

One of my favorite plays on the turn is to check raise with Ace King if I'm not up against many opponents. If I'm up against multi-way action I think it's too dangerous to potentially allow a free card. However, if it's heads up or 3 way action this can be a useful poker strategy. Consider that quite often an aggressive player will raise preflop and bet any flop if the contested pot is short handed. If they are called preflop and their flop bet they often check and fold the turn if their opponent bets. I'm one of these aggressive players. I've thus noticed that many players bet on the turn if I check thinking that I have nothing. This is why I like a check raise here. If they choose to "pay me off” on both my check raise and my bet on the end then I'm getting quite a bit of value out of my hand. This is in fact my favorite play which I incorporate short handed with Aces, Kings, and other strong hands. I've had large amounts of opponents simply become tired of my aggressive play and call me down after I've done this with hands such as bottom pair even after I've check raised the turn.

Play on the River with Ace King

The river is interesting because there are no more cards to come. Thus, a bet here is strictly for value. Therefore you should only bet here to get more chips in the pot and not to narrow down opponents.

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