Everyone who competes in holdem understands that ace/king is one of the greatest starting hands. But, it’s just that, an opening hand. It’s simply two cards of a seven-card equation. In nearly every situation, you want to jump out firing with Ace-King as your pocket cards. When the flop comes, you have to reassess your cards and consider things completely before you just presume your cards are best.
Like many other circumstances in hold’em, knowing your adversaries will help you gauge your situation when you hold Ace-King and observe a flop like 9-8-2. After you wager preflop and were called, you presume your opponent is also holding good cards and the flop may have by-passed them as poorly as it by-passed you. Your assumption will frequently be right. Also, do not neglect that most poor players wouldn’t know good cards if they fall over them and possibly could have called with A-x and paired the board.
If your opposition checks, you could check and see a free card or lay a wager and attempt to grab the pot up right there. If they wager, you might raise to see if they’re in or fold. What you wish to avert is simply calling your opponent’s bet to see what the turn gives rise to. If any card other than and Ace or King hits, you won’t know any more info than you did after the flop. Now let’s say the turn results in a 4 and your competitor bets one more time, what do you do? To call a bet on the flop you had to think your hand was the greatest, so you have to surely believe it remains so. So, you call a bet on the turn and one more on the river to discover that your opponent was holding ten-eight and just a second pair following the flop. At that point, it hits you that a raise the bet following the flop could have won the money right then.
A-K is a beautiful thing to find in your hole cards. Just be certain you play them wisely and they will bring you awesome happiness at the poker table.