Each and every one who bets in hold’em knows that Ace-King is one of the best opening hands. But, it’s just that, a beginning hand. It is only 2 cards of a seven-card formula. In nearly every situation, you’ll want to come out firing with A-K as your hole cards. When the flop arrives, you need to check out your cards and think things through before you just deduce that your cards are best.
Like many other opportunities in holdem, knowing your opponents will help you gauge your position when you have Ace-King and see a flop like nine-eight-two. After you wager preflop and were called, you presume your competitor is also possessing great cards and the flop might have by-passed them as poorly as it missed you. Your assuming will often times be precise. Also, do not forget that most poor bettors would not know great cards if they happen over them and possibly could have called with Ace-Something and paired the board.
If your opposition checks, you could check and see a free card or place a wager and attempt to pick the pot up right there. If they bet, you can raise to observe if they are for real or fold. What you want to avoid is basically calling your opponent’s wager to see what the turn brings. If any card instead of the Ace or King is shown, you will not know any more information than you did after the flop. Let us say the turn brings a 4 and your opposition wagers yet again, what will you do? To call a wager on the flop you must anticipate your hand was the best, so you have to surely believe 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 ten-eight and just a second pair following the flop. At that point, it dawns on you that a raise the bet following the flop could have captured the money right then.
A-K is a gorgeous thing to find in your hole cards. Just be sure you wager on them carefully and they will bring you great cheerfulness at the poker table.