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Extracting the Most
Value with Big Slick on the Flop and Beyond
Written by Haunted Poker for exclusive
use.
Many players have trouble maximizing their value with
A-K. While it is a powerful hand, beginners and
intermediate players often find Big Slick tough to play
after the flop. In this article, we hope to help you
make the most of this tricky hand when you have the best
of it, and keep your stack in tact when you’re beaten.
First of all, let’s cover a common situation: you raised
the hand to 4x the big blind preflop and got 1 or 2
callers. You made the right move in order to thin the
field and maximize your winning chances. With only 1 or
2 opponents, I will usually bet out on the flop
regardless of what it brings. If I have position in the
hand and I’m checked to on the flop, I’ll bet almost
every time even without pairing up.
You represented a big hand with your raise preflop, so
your opponent(s) will have a tough time calling your bet
if they didn’t connect on the flop. A raggedy rainbow
flop makes it even more likely that your opponent
missed. This type of bet is called a continuation bet,
and you should bet anywhere from 1/3 – 2/3 the size of
the pot. If you get raised, you can easily release your
hand. If you get called and don’t improve on the turn,
you should just check/fold. Note that I wouldn’t
recommend this against more than 3 opponents since one
of them likely did improve on the flop and will call you
down.
Another common scenario that I see online occurs when
players miss with A-K. Many inexperienced players just
get too attached to this hand and end up calling
pot-sized bets or more on the flop. They haven’t hit a
draw or a pair, but they just hate giving up this hand.
They end up calling until the river, hoping to hit one
of their overcards or catch a miracle straight. Remember
that A-K might be a huge hand, it’s still a drawing hand
that you need to play with caution. There is no reason
to throw more money into the pot with a busted hand that
has a very small chance to improve.
So, what do you do when you connect on the flop? It
depends what happened preflop and the texture of the
flop. If you raised preflop and saw a flop of K-5-8
rainbow with a couple of opponents, you should bet out
to protect what is likely the best hand. When you
connect your Ace or King (or both) and you raised
preflop, you’re usually going to have the best hand.
However, let’s say that you see a similar flop of A-5-8
rainbow but you just called preflop from early position
along with 5 others. You should still bet out, but if
you’re raised you should slow down or even consider
releasing your hand. Many of your weak opponents have
the “Ace-anything” mentality, and since the pot wasn’t
raised preflop it is likely that one of them stuck in
with A-8 or A-5. Of course, you could also be up against
pocket 5-5 or 8-8, in which case you’re thoroughly
dominated. I’ve seen many huge pots that pitted A-K
against A-trash with an Ace and trash on the board. Big
Slick is a premium hand, but don’t get too attached to
it if you only hit one pair against several opponents.
Finally, one situation in where you have a big hand is
when you’re holding A-K suited. If you hit another 2 of
your suit on the flop but don’t hit a pair, you still
have 2 overcards and a draw to the nut flush. I like to
push this hand to win it right there on the flop. If I
don’t, I’ll still stand a great chance to improve to the
winning hand. Times that you do hit the nut flush on the
flop, I would recommend slowplaying it since you have a
cinch hand at that point. Allow your opponents to take
control and you’ll be in an excellent situation is
another suited card comes off on the turn.
Remember, A-K is still a drawing hand that you need to
play properly in order to maximize your winnings. If
you’re only up against a couple of opponents in a raised
pot, consider taking a stab at the pot on the flop even
if you don’t hit. If you’re up against several
opponents, slow down and throw it away if you run into
action. When you hit your Ace, be wary of 2 pair in a
busy unraised pot, and think about pushing your flush
draw with a suited Big Slick. Call up these moves at
your next session and you’ll probably spook off the rest
of the table.
Back to Poker Strategy
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