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I couldn't imagine this guy being on any kind of straight draw so I make a big bet.  They call or reraise.  Most of the time if I see a reraise here I'll lay it down because the person like has some kind of pocket pair.  But when they call, I figure them to just be holding overcards maybe with a possible flush draw.  Well the turn and the river come, some other betting takes place.  I may or may not have hit a pair by then.  I doesn't matter though because the guy shows a set of 7's or 10's.

Am I just being completely blindsided or is there something else I should be looking for.  I play a lot of NL so I really worry sometimes about losing my stack to one of these plays (especially if I happen to hit 2pair).

Thanks for the help!

Aaron

Answer: Playing AK post flop can be tricky. Let's make a distinction in how you play the hand -- when you miss the flop -- between what you do against just one opponent and against multiple opponents. With one opponent, you may actually have the best hand even though you don't have a pair yet. With more players in, that chance is severely reduced.

My approach in both situations for a flop bet is that if I am willing to call the bet, then I'll bet the money myself instead. This has the advantage of possibly getting someone to fold, as well as still keeping me in the driver's seat. For example, if a King hit on the turn, you might get more action from the player if he also has a King since you bet the flop. If you checked the flop then put in a bunch of action on the turn when the King hit, he might correctly read you as having AK.

There are times when you won't bet at all at the flop because it is so dangerous. An example of a really bad flop would be T-9-8 of all one suite, which you don't have. There is no point in betting this isn't more than one player since I most likely hit them.

Now, the next point about reading hands and how to play in marginal situations like this one is to put the hand into the context of the opponent. How does this guy play? Will he only call my preflop raises with strong hands? Will he call my flop bet with anything I can beat? Will he fold if he doesn't have anything? The more information you have about the single opponent, the better your decisions will be. Generally speaking, if your opponent has position on you and you bet the flop and he calls, you should check the turn and give up if he bets.

This is the problem with AK in no limit holdem; it is very difficult to play it well if you miss. You don't want to overplay it and hang yourself by betting a big turn bet only to get raised, yet you don't want to just make it easy for your opponent to bet you out either. One of the benefits of going all-in preflop with AK is that you get all 5 cards to hit an Ace or a King instead of just the flop and turn. When I first started playing holdem, I would raise preflop with AK, then bet it to the river like I had AA and hope that everyone would fold.

I don't do that much anymore. You can do this every now and then and get away with it, but you have to do it sparingly because it isn't solid play. Consider what it really means if you boil the moves down. You are raising with a strong hand preflop, fine, but then the rest of the hand you are putting in lots of bets with a weak hand. (No pair is a weak hand.) In the end, aggressive play won't trump a real hand. What I would suggest is you slow down some. If you think you have a chance that the opponent will fold on the flop or you think your AK is the best hand, bet the flop and see what happens.

A call on the flop in no limit is generally a sign the player has caught at least a little something. If you have position on your opponent, I would probably take the free card on the turn. If you don't have position, you'll have to give up more of these. To protect yourself from being bet off a lot of pots when you check the turn, sometimes check the turn when you do have the A or King on the flop. Then check raise them.

Part of the problem here is that you think that AK should win more often than it actually should. You'll make more money if you are selective preflop and postflop. A good preflop hand can go south after the wrong flop. Most of the money goes in postflop. Lastly, don't take the approach that someone is betting you off your hand like you have much. No pair isn't much of a hand. Reserve the right to occasionally call down with Ace high, the vast majority of the other time though, play it weakly if you miss.

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