Poker Tactics - How to beat the dreaded AK

The winners and losers in poker tournaments all have one thing in common, they play poker and the bet.  The winners are different from the losers because they know how to spot a trap before all their chips are gone.  Every player knows the rules to some degree and knows how to win.  But playing to win means playing more than just the AA or AK hand because even those will lose some of the time, and you need to win consistently with many hands to take enough chips away from the other players before they do the same to you. In fact, if you pick the right cards to play and you get a good flop you can win at AK-killing as I call it.  The trick is how to get as many chips from the other player before they fold or before they realize their top cards are the losing hand.

The better players know how to lay  a trap for better cards by playing unexpected hands.  The best players know how to see the trap and avoid it before the dreaded all-in call. 

One of the most feared hands is a player with the Ace King as hole cards. Ace King or AK  If you are going to win at a poker table you need to know how to take money from players who only play Big Slick or as I call it the dreaded AK. 

The first factor to understand is the psychology of a player holding a high probability hand like AK - if you have that hand and you

In the order of hands, straights and flushes beat all set combos except full house.  The best way to beat AK even with AK on the board is to combine a lower set of cards out of range of the AK.  Off-suit flushes work as well.  You need to strike with a higher hand he or she can't see coming.

The best way to beat a simple AK and if there is just an ace or a king on the board is with a two low pairs.  When the AK player looks at the board he sees no three of a kind scare and so bets with some confusion - betting not when you get a good card but on the next card turn is enough to confuse an AK holder into giving you more chips.