ON THE BUTTON: Playing Big Slick

Ace-King is a great starting hand. Just remember to be disciplined if the flop misses you.

March 31, 2008

By Nick Lanteri
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

It might as well stand for (A)ss-(K)icker, because most often that is exactly what happens. You get your ass kicked after putting a lot of money into the pot, only to miss the flop and get reraised off the hand after making a continuation bet.
 
How many times have you heard this: “Ace-King sucks!” as the tortured soul angrily throws them into the muck after revealing the cards to the table. Sure, it’s a monster starting hand and you want to get as much money out of everyone as you can pre-flop, but Ace-King is called Big Slick for a reason.

If you spike the Ace or King on the flop then you have top pair, top kicker. Most of the time you’re ahead, and you rarely will face any resistance to a post-flop bet because the Ace and/or King is showing. Because you were the pre-flop raiser the table is putting you on a made hand and will either fold or call on a draw. Sometimes a flop with three cards of the same suit will also give you a re-draw for the nut flush or King-high flush, and that gives you outs in case someone has flopped a set and has reraised your flop bet. Like it or not, all the money probably has to get in more times than not when this happens.
 
Ace-King: When to Push

Some players will limp or min-raise with Ace-King, regardless of their chip stack or position. That is a mistake if your stack is roughly 10 times the Big Blind or less. Now is the time for a substantial pre-flop raise, or even an all-in bet, because most weak players holding Ace-rag are usually willing to double you up. In fact, one of the most common mistakes in sit-and-go tournaments is when the chip leader limp-calls an all-in with Ace-rag against the short stack.

Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em and know when to push those chips into the pot.

In this spot, your patience was rewarded and you got your money in good. That’s the skill part of poker. Unfortunately, it is now up to the poker gods, and remember: Your Ace-King is only a three-to-one favorite against a smaller ace. That means expect bad beats to happen from time to time. In poker terms, this is called "variance."
 
Short stacks, don’t be passive or sheepish pre-flop with Big Slick because Ace-King can easily be beaten if you let lots of players see the flop. When the blinds get high, you must play Big Slick hard before the flop. Get rid of all the players with low pairs, big draws and junk. With a big pre-flop raise you can be fairly sure the one (ideally) or two players left only have something high or decent pairs. Then you have the added advantage because you made the raise and took control of the hand.
 
Don't make the mistake of trying to keep more people in to make a bigger pot for your "great hands" - that’s how to make your own bad beats. With most of the players in to see the flop that’s as good as giving your chips away. Play it aggressively from the start.

Ace-King: When to Limp
 
Limping in with Big Slick is a preferred play of mine when the blinds are still low. You're going to miss the flop more times than not with it, so why not get away cheap. Limp-calling is OK because you’ll be disguising the strength of your hand if the Ace or King spikes. But why put too many chips into the pot pre-flop with minuscule blinds if you don’t have to? The hand can easily be beaten by any donk with ATCD (Any Two Cards Disorder). Ace-King is a hand that can make or break your tournament at almost any level, but don’t put it all on the line too early.

Limping with Big Slick isn't normally a good idea unless the blinds are small.

But consider this: What do you have when you’re holding Ace-King pre-flop? Nothing more than Ace high with a King kicker, and if you get action to a pre-flop raise with Big Slick remember that a pocket pair has the lead against you going to the flop. Top players know A-K is a great drawing hand but they also know it can cripple your stack. In the hands of a new player Ace-King has B-U-S-T written all over it. They mistakenly play it as if it were pocket aces, and usually pay the price for that.

Ace-King: When to Fold It
 
No hand is more overplayed than Ace-King, especially after the flop when it is checked to a desperate player holding Big Slick and trying take down the pot with an all-in maneuver. Yes, poker is about aggression and you should fire a bet to see what your opponent does, but if they come back at you then you probably got the info you needed and now it’s time to exhibit some discipline and pick a better spot to get your money in.

The reason so many people get into trouble with A-K is they don't have the discipline to fold after they miss the flop.

The most common mistake that weaker players make with Ace-King is the following: He’s one of the big stacks in a 10-player Bodog sit-and-go, and makes the standard three times the Big Blind raise with Ace-King with four players remaining. This is a bubble play, and the biggest key to cashing in a sit-and-go. One of the smaller stacks calls the raise with a medium pocket pair. The flop comes rags, no card higher than a 10, but the big stack holding Ace-King pushes all-in instantly. Doesn’t he realize that the small stack is already pot committed and has no fold equity? So why try to push a small stack off the hand after missing the flop?
 
Yes, Ace-King is one of the strongest hands in Holdem, but that's only before the flop and only if you hit an Ace or a King on it. If the flop doesn't work out, you have to maintain your discipline and realize that it's OK to fold it. Good luck!

PHOTO: Big Slick. It can be the best of hands or the worst of hands.