Everyone who bets in holdem knows that ace/king is one of the best opening hands. But, it is simply that, a starting hand. It’s only two cards of a seven-card formula. In nearly every situation, you will want to jump out firing with Ace-King as your pocket cards. When the flop arrives, you must to reassess your hand and think things completely before you just presume your cards are best.
Like most other situations in hold’em, understanding your opponents will help you gauge your position when you have A-K and observe a flop like 9-8-2. After you wager preflop and were called, you assume your competitor is also holding good cards and the flop might have missed them as badly as it by-passed you. Your assuming will frequently be right. Also, do not overlook that most lousy competitors wouldn’t know good cards if they fall over them and might have called with Ace-x and paired the community board.
If your opposition checks, you might check and see a free card or make a wager and attempt to grab the pot up right there. If they wager, you could raise to see if they’re in or fold. What you wish to avert is basically calling your opponent’s bet to see what the turn gives rise to. If any card instead of the Ace or King is turned over, you will not know any more information than you did following the flop. So let us say the turn results in a 4 and your opponent wagers again, what will you do? To call a bet on the flop you must believe your hand was the strongest, so you have to truly think it remains so. So, you call a wager on the turn and one more on the river to find out that your opposition has a hand of 10-8 and just a second pair following the flop. At that time, it hits you that a raise the bet following the flop might have won the pot right there.
A-K is a wonderful thing to find in your hole cards. Just be certain you wager on them carefully and they’ll achieve you awesome happiness at the poker table.