Big Slick
No, not Bill Clinton. This is a poker post.
Played the 3/6 last night, and got to thinking about Big Slick (AK), and wanted to get some thoughts down. I'll probably be stating the obvious, but need to articulate as it helps me cement concepts and relearn what I should know.
OK, so Doyle says he likes AK even better than AA, and I tend to agree, for a few reasons. When I win with Big Slick, I tend to win bigger pots than with AA, because with aces, when you're ahead after the flop, you generally have the deck crippled, and your opponents dominated, which makes it difficult to get any action out of them. When I lose with Big Slick, I generally lose a lot less than I do with aces, mainly because it's easier to get away from when someone else connects with the flop and I don't.
Given all that, there some things to consider when playing AK... First, you really do need to hit the flop with it, especially in low limits. If you miss completely, be done with it. Especially if someone else shows aggression, and/or the board is coordinated. Beware of draws, too. If you raised pre-flop, chances are many draws have the proper odds to call.
If you do connect one of your cards of the flop, what's the best card to pair? I say it's the king. Here's why: You still have TPTK, and (again, especially in low limit games) your opponents will come along with ANY ACE, even for a raise or two. So, if you connect with your ace, then someone else has connected with their ace as well, and you have to be concerned about them spiking their second pair while you miss your king. If you hit your king on the flop, and the other guy hits his kicker on the flop, he'll still come along, but now when he hits his second pair (his ace) you have a BIGGER 2-pair, and can punish him for playing ace-little.
Here's an example from last night: In the c/o, I raise 3 limpers with AKs (spades). The button, both blinds, and all 3 limpers come along. Flop comes AT5 rainbow, and it checks to me. I bet. The button and small blind fold, the BB calls (she's the loosest player at the table, and will call down ANY ace the whole way) so I'm pretty certain right now she has Ax. The other limpers all (surprisingly) fold, so we're heads-up. Turn is a 6, and she leads into me. Yep, she has A6. Now, I'd have been better off had the flop come KT5, because she'd have called me with her ace anyway. Then, I if I hit the ace on the turn, I'm guaranteed to get two more bets out of her. Even better would be KT6, with an ace on the turn. If that happens, she will check-call me on the flop with her bottom pair, ace kicker. Then, when the ace hits on the turn, she'll get balsy and lead into me (because she's never really thinking about what I might have, only that she just hit 2-pair), and I get in a raise. Now, she probably check-calls the river.
Played the 3/6 last night, and got to thinking about Big Slick (AK), and wanted to get some thoughts down. I'll probably be stating the obvious, but need to articulate as it helps me cement concepts and relearn what I should know.
OK, so Doyle says he likes AK even better than AA, and I tend to agree, for a few reasons. When I win with Big Slick, I tend to win bigger pots than with AA, because with aces, when you're ahead after the flop, you generally have the deck crippled, and your opponents dominated, which makes it difficult to get any action out of them. When I lose with Big Slick, I generally lose a lot less than I do with aces, mainly because it's easier to get away from when someone else connects with the flop and I don't.
Given all that, there some things to consider when playing AK... First, you really do need to hit the flop with it, especially in low limits. If you miss completely, be done with it. Especially if someone else shows aggression, and/or the board is coordinated. Beware of draws, too. If you raised pre-flop, chances are many draws have the proper odds to call.
If you do connect one of your cards of the flop, what's the best card to pair? I say it's the king. Here's why: You still have TPTK, and (again, especially in low limit games) your opponents will come along with ANY ACE, even for a raise or two. So, if you connect with your ace, then someone else has connected with their ace as well, and you have to be concerned about them spiking their second pair while you miss your king. If you hit your king on the flop, and the other guy hits his kicker on the flop, he'll still come along, but now when he hits his second pair (his ace) you have a BIGGER 2-pair, and can punish him for playing ace-little.
Here's an example from last night: In the c/o, I raise 3 limpers with AKs (spades). The button, both blinds, and all 3 limpers come along. Flop comes AT5 rainbow, and it checks to me. I bet. The button and small blind fold, the BB calls (she's the loosest player at the table, and will call down ANY ace the whole way) so I'm pretty certain right now she has Ax. The other limpers all (surprisingly) fold, so we're heads-up. Turn is a 6, and she leads into me. Yep, she has A6. Now, I'd have been better off had the flop come KT5, because she'd have called me with her ace anyway. Then, I if I hit the ace on the turn, I'm guaranteed to get two more bets out of her. Even better would be KT6, with an ace on the turn. If that happens, she will check-call me on the flop with her bottom pair, ace kicker. Then, when the ace hits on the turn, she'll get balsy and lead into me (because she's never really thinking about what I might have, only that she just hit 2-pair), and I get in a raise. Now, she probably check-calls the river.
posted by MozMan at 9:12 AM
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