Playing A-Ko in the small blind

[Kevin S. Vann]

Alright, I know I played this terribly but I was trying to disguise the strength of my hand in the SB. This is more of a “don’t play AK in an early position like this” type of post. But any insights on how I tried to be cute with AK would instill better discipline is helpful.

My first mistake was
1. Not raising a raise from the CO position with AK in the SB
2. There were too many limpers to make this play, 5 to be exact after the CO raise to 15, I smooth call, and the BB and 2 other mid-position players calling price in.

Action:

The CO raises to 15, the button folds, I call with AK (but should re-raise; trying to be cute) the BB calls, and 3 other players call in mid-position.

The flop comes A-K-9 with 2 spades. I lead for 75 with 5 limpers, only one of the mid-position player calls.

The turn is a Queen of spade, putting a flush possible out there. I check thinking the mid-position player might be calling with a spade draw. He goes all-in for $250 or so.

I’m frustrated with how bad I let this hand play out and should just fold as I put him on the spade flush. Of course, with every bad decision, there’s just a compounding of even more bad decisions and I call and tell him, I need help on the river showing my top 2 pairs.

He goes, “I’m way behind” to my delight, which eases my concerns for playing this badly from the SB.

The dealer puts out another 9, for a board of A-K-9-Q-9 and he goes, “but not anymore!” showing me the K-9 for a rivered boat.

1. I played AK in SB so terrible with a small raise from the CO.
2. If I bet the flop, should I try to bet bigger on the turn, or did my check on the turn make sense when the Queen of spade hit? Yes, we got cooler on the river, but would he have folded 2 pairs in that spot?

[KitsuNoir]

You played a trapping game and it worked perfectly. Someone will always get trapped, but it isn’t always who you expect.

In a game with sticky limpers, there’s nothing wrong with calling to see a flop when you’re out of position. They’re coming along regardless, so save some money when you have to check and fold. As played, with top, top, and all those straight and flush draws out, I’d bet pot at the very least, maybe 120% pot, and hope no one hit a set. You have to charge those draws to make their chasing -EV.

Sometimes, it’s good to do something non-standard. If you have more astute, observant opponents, you have to keep ’em guessing. Are you speculating when you complete from the SB, or do you have it? Against fish who’re barely thinking about their own hands, let alone your range, then just stick to ABC: nothing fancy, and especially nothing that requires a thinking opponent as the basis of its strategy.

[Author]

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