Everyone who participates in hold’em understands that Ace-King is one of the greatest starting hands. But, it is just that, a starting hand. It’s just 2 cards of a seven-card formula. In just about each new situation, you will want to come out firing with A-K as your pocket cards. When the flop arrives, you have to check out your cards and think things through before you just assume your cards are the greatest.
Like most other opportunities in hold’em, understanding your opponents will assisting you in gauging your position when you hold A-K and observe a flop like 9-8-2. After you wager preflop and were called, you assume your competitor is also holding great cards and the flop might have by-passed them as poorly as it by-passed you. Your assumption will often times be right. Also, do not forget that most poor gamblers wouldn’t understand good cards if they happen over them and might have called with Ace-Something and paired the table.
If your opponent checks, you might check and see a free card or place a wager and try to pick the pot up right there. If they wager, you can raise to see if they are for real or fold. What you want to avoid is simply calling your opponent’s wager to observe what the turn gives rise to. If any card other than and Ace or King is turned over, you won’t have any more information than you did after the flop. Let us say the turn shows a four and your opponent wagers once more, what will you do? To call a bet on the flop you had to think your hand was the strongest, so you must surely think it remains so. So, you call a bet on the turn and one more on the river to find out that your opponent was holding 10-8 and only had second pair after the flop. At that point, it dawns on you that a raise the bet following the flop might have captured the money right there.
A-K is a wonderful combination to see in your hole cards. Just be certain you play them wisely and they can achieve you awesome cheerfulness at the poker table.