A-K baby - the Nut No Pair

It kinda has the ring of a race horse to it, wouldn't you say? I mean think about it – it always looks good in the paddock, it always seems to love the going, and it can routinely be found as one of the favorites among the punters as it's always located in the top five or six ranked starting hole cards that one can have.

Regardless of whether I'm playing at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Citywest in Dublin, the Falls Casino in Niagara, or the Vic in London, there is always a tap on the shoulder and a friendly face to ask me, "What is the best way to play A-K?"

Big Slick (as it is known in poker slang) is a hand that people seem to have trouble with or go broke with on a regular basis across the Emerald Isle and all around the poker world.

Ah…but why is that?

Well my friends, I think a closer look is warranted!

So, as I said above, A-K is a really strong holding preflop and is ranked among the premium hands that you can have to begin with. It's always a nice surprise to look down and see it. But hey, don't just take my word for it! Even if you were fortunate enough to tap into the mind of 11-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth's arsenal of knowledge, he would also tell you that A-K suited should be rated as the fourth strongest holding in hold'em preflop. Did I just say fourth? Yes I did!

That's right; basically it would go like this: A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-Ks, J-J, and so on. I know it might sound crazy to some, but it's true. I think there is an argument for either side.

I mean after all, you and I both know that all A-K really is to begin with is "the nut no pair", right?
However, why is it that Phil Hellmuth Jr. and a lot of other pros (Big C included) would sooner have A-K suited to start off with as opposed to J-J?

Interesting point isn't it? Read on…

Before you rush off armed with this way of thinking to your local card room or maybe to your next sit'n'go, you must first try understanding the general reasoning for this. You see, most of the stuff that you read should only ever be used as a guide line, as every scenario is different and no two players are the same. Only you know what you are up against at any given time. Having said all that, the reason for putting A-K above J-J in the ranking is actually very simple, and that is:

Of the two hands, A-K is the easier hand to play, and though A-K/J-J share the same strength when matched up against each other in the classic race, if you factor in that A-K is the easier hand to get away from both preflop and after the flop when you don't connect – it must be considered one of the main reasons for being the stronger of the two holdings.
You with me – I know, I'd confuse my own mother…just go back and read it again.

You see, if you have A-K and you decide to see a flop (but of course) the sad but true fact is that you're going to miss the flop almost seven out of 10 times, and therefore against two random hands post flop it would be an easy pass for you. But let's just say you have two jacks preflop … now over 50 percent of the time an over card to the jack is going to come on the flop, and against two random hands there is a chance you may have been outdrawn.

The point is you won't know for sure where you are as to the strength of your hand with J-J, which again makes it the harder of the two hands to play my friends.

Man, I love this game!

I'll leave you with this, a final note; think about what you are doing and never play the same hand the same way twice – sometimes you must be consistent in being inconsistent, and sometimes the best move is no move at all – it's just the way the game plays and that's why we will always continue to learn more about the game.

Regarding A-K, try not to go broke with it, the unfortunate catch-22 here is that you are only ever in a 50/50 race against an under pair providing you get to see all five cards, which is why we see as many all-in preflops as we do.

We'll be looking at it again soon, my friends, as there is a lot more to it than this.

Ciarán