I wa just reading a back issue of card player with Gavin Smith on the cover and the article is basically about big slick possibly not being as profitable as it was in the past. Between the eduaction of players and fancy plays made on t.v. that AK just not be as bigh as it once was. If you guys read the article what are your thoughts?

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I didn't read the article, but the concept has been discussed often. It's not AK thats the problem, its how people use it. AK allows you to go on the offensive with a strong hand. It allows you to raise big PF and gets most of its equity from allowing you to drive people out of the pot. Too many people sit there and watch a raise, then a re-raise, and look down and say "oh my god, I have AK!" they then to proceed to call off all of their chips into a situation where they can't be anything better than a coin flip and quite probably are a big underdog.

I have revised my play to only going on the offensive.....not calling all ins unless its late in the tourney and the blinds are chasing me, and I have had much better results with AK.

I've learned to lay it down early on in tourneys facing raises and a re-raise. Twice thats happpened that I remember and several people ended up being all in pre-flop so we got to see the race. The first time I decided to lay it down there were 3 all-ins by the time it got back to me and I was the original raiser. I laid it down, cards were flip over it was a higher pocket pair like queens or jacks versus 2 other AK. Nothing came out the help the AK of course. Just the other nite I laid it down ended up being 2 people that were all in, it was AK vs mid pocket and AK lost. Home games I laid it down once and would have ended up winning the hand too after we rabbited. I just wasn't feeling it at that point.

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I read the article, and I agree with its observations and with what Anteye has written. AK has become one of those hands that I believe many people misplay both before and after the flop in tournament settings. As Anteye wrote, it is one thing to be the pre-flop raiser with AK, but quite another to be the person facing the pre-flop raise. In the latter case, I think it is extremely important to evaluate the action leading up to you before deciding how many chips to commit with the hand, if any.

Whatever mistakes people may make with AK before the flop, they are amplified after it. If a flop comes out all low cards, many players feel that AK gives them a license steal the pot post-flop no matter what kind of resistance they encounter. While AK may only be a slight dog to an underpair before the flop, it is a 3:1 dog to a pair after the flop and over a 6:1 dog to a pair after the turn. Thus, if you miss with AK and run into a stubborn opponent, you really do need to have a strong draw and good pot odds to make playing it to the river a positive EV play.

Finally, as a complete aside, if you recognize the limitations of AK, you can appreciate even more the deficiencies in hands like AQ and AJ. Nevertheless, I constantly see a large number of players raising and calling raises with AQ and AJ regardless of the circumstances. It is mystifies me, but who knows? Maybe I play way too tight.

Anyone interested in a detailed study on Starting Hand rankings and value should check out www..cs.cmu.edu/People/mummert/poker/
There is a significant section on AK and AKs and how well these hands hold their value in multi-way pot - that is, AK is one hand that significantly suffers from multi-way action and should be raised pre-emptively in an effort to weed out the competition.
Be forewarned the study is lenghty - 24 printed pages with graphs and pictures - but a worthwhile read for the serious student of Hold'em poker.

Edit; the web page wasn't responding when I checked this post but the address is correct. Perhaps a google search for the study title = "A New Guide to the Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em Poker"

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The article Pok mentions is:

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_maga...141&m_id=65578

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That is a bizarre article, he is saying that poker has gotten TIGHTER in the last few years?

Who the hell is this guy? It he talking about cash or tournaments?

TJ Cloutier rates AK about equal to TT and McEvoy says JJ.

It seems like a really disjointed and poorly put together article.

Man, what a great reason to play AK like you play AA and KK and QQ.

See I got the opposite impression, not that people have gotten tighter but they're more willing to to get agressive post flop against a raise without an ace or king on the board. From the article: "Years ago with A-K, even when you missed the flop, you often could make a continuation bet and take the pot. What a glorious time. Those were the “good old days.” Don’t count on that now."

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But he is saying that people are no longer calling with dominated hands, just pairs.

Incase people havent noticed removing one of the "."s after www.cs will bring up the correct site - new link:

www.cs.cmu.edu/People/mummert/poker/