AK OOP vs huge 3b

[Kevin]

1/2 200 effective: I open UTG to $7 w AKo (been playing pretty tight), Player in MP (also been tight) 3b’s to $40. Btn (new to table) cold calls the $40. Back to me, whats the best plan going forward?

• This topic was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by Kevin.

[John S]

That’s very player dependent. In most 1/2 games I have played, any 3-betting is with QQ+ and AKs, and with some players it’s only AA and KK. And given the fact that the player made it nearly 6x your raise, I’d lean towards kings or aces, and in some cases only aces (this is a pretty big thing at this level, players hate getting AA and KK cracked, so they way over bet to win a tiny pot). So given that, and the fact that you’re unsuited, I would probably just fold. Plus with the cold caller behind I find it hard to believe you’re ahead or even have two live cards.

Now, I say this having only played 1 session of 1/2 in the past 5 year, so this may vary depending on the game and your casino.

If the game has a lot of 3-betting, or the player is capable of 3-betting light or reraising TT+ here, then you have some different options. Against 1 player, you can call and hope to hit and ace or king, or you can jam and try to win the pot, and if you get called you’re only really behind AA and KK which you block. The cold-caller in the button complicates things. Doubt he has AA or KK because that should be a 4-bet (but you can never tell at this level), so I’m less worried about him. But he could have AK or AQ and block some of your outs. He’s probably only calling if MP calls because he’s getting a better price. Worse case is button has AK and you have less outs, and if he has an underpair you probably still need to improve to beat MP.

So, like I said, this is very table dependent. But given the action and your description of the player, I’d just fold. I’ve seen way too many guys get stubborn with a big ace even though their opponent’s hand is virtually face-up and get stacked.

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