Ace-King for Beginners - Learning to Play Big Slick

Big slick is one of the most powerful hands in no limit texas holdem. However, it also has the potential to get you broke… fast. Very few hands in no limit holdem are misplayed by beginners quite as often as Ace-King. This guide walks through some of the most common pitfalls to avoid, in addition to some general strategies for getting the most value out of big slick.

Why is this hand so often misplayed?

Big slick is often misplayed because it’s one of the best starting hands in the game. It’s a favorite against any random unpaired hand, and it’s not much worse than 50/50 against any paired hand (besides pocket kings and pocket aces). While it’s an excellent hand pre-flop, it can get tricky post flop if played incorrectly. After all, when the flop misses you, you’re just sitting on two high cards.

So how do I get the most value out of ace-king?

Big slick tends to provide the most value in the following situations…

1. When you flop top pair, you can extract good value when someone else has a worse kicker.
2. When the flop misses both you and your opponents, you have the best hand.
3. It gives you the ability to be more aggressive pre-flop without being too far behind when you get called

Let's take a look at some general pre and post-flop strategies for setting up these three situations.

General Pre-Flop Strategy

One of your primary goals in poker is to maximize the value from every situation. The strategies below are focused on that goal. The strategies also make the assumption that you’re at a full table, and aren’t in the late stages of a tournament. They are most effective under “normal” conditions.

First one into the pot
If there’s nobody in the pot yet, it’s a good idea to make a standard raise of about 3-4 times the big blind. Your goal here is to chase away the junk hands, but hopefully keep the decent hands around (like AQ, AJ, KQ) against which you’re a big favorite. If you find yourself at a loose table, you might try keeping your raise a little smaller to allow easily dominated hands like KJ into the pot.

Facing one moderate raise
If a player has already made a standard raise in front of you, I would suggest doubling or tripling his bet (if he bets 150, you raise to 450). This will accomplish a few things. 1) Tight players will sometimes lay down hands that might be ahead of you (like JJ or TT). 2) It helps you isolate with that player (chasing out other players behind you). This will give you position throughout the hand against your opponent. 3) It will save you a lot of money if the player has AA or KK, as you will typically be reraised all-in, and can fold if you think your opponent is too tight to make that move with any other hands.

Alternate strategy: if the initial raiser is fairly loose, and you’re in late position, you might try flat calling. If you both share an Ace or a King, and the flop hits you both, you stand to make some money because he will rarely give you credit for Ace-King.

Facing a moderate raiser, and one caller
In this spot, I would suggest raising a bit more (like 4 times the initial raise). You will again have position on both players, and need to find out how strong they really are. If your first opponent re-raises all-in, you have to give them credit for a premium hand (probably AA-QQ) because they have raised twice, and are unafraid of the player behind them. However, if the first player folds and the second player goes all in, I wouldn’t give them as much credit for a premium hand. Remember that they opted to flat call in the face of the first raise, which implies a decent hand, but not a premium hand.

Facing a raise and more than one caller
A strong case for simply going all in here can be made. By this point, there is probably quite a bit of money on the table, so simply taking it down here isn’t a bad move. Even if you draw a caller, you’ll probably be no worse than 50/50.

Facing multiple limpers
I would raise about 4-6 times the blinds. Your goal is to chase away most of the limpers and scoop up the extra money on the table. If you do get a caller, you’re likely a favorite, or at worst a slight underdog (to a pair).

General post-flop strategy

After the flop, the strategy for playing big slick gets a little trickier. While ace-king has quite a bit of pre-flop value, it’s behind even to hands like 10-2 when the board is 4-6-10.

If you’ve pushed hard pre-flop with your Ace-King and have gotten a caller, you really need to think about what your opponent(s) might hold, and how the flop might have hit them.

Against one opponent, when the flop misses you
If you’re in position and your opponent checks to you, you should be looking to stay aggressive here. Bet out about ½ the pot. If you get re-raised, it’s probably best to fold. Your opponent could possibly be bluffing, but he saw you re-raise pre-flop and bet post-flop, and he’s still willing to go all in…a sure sign of strength against all but the most maniacal of opponents.

Even if you’re out of position, I would still bet out ½ the pot. You always want to keep pressure on your opponent. Give them a chance to fold a better hand. If the flop is Q83, they will have a tougher time deciding what to do with their w/ pocket jacks or tens.

Against one opponent, when the flop hits you
Whether you’re in position or not, it’s usually a good idea to make a value bet of 1/2 the pot here. Trying to get fancy is almost always a bad play, and doesn’t work very often. Sometimes you will trap your opponent into making a bluff, but most times you’ll just be giving away free cards that beat you.

Alternate strategy: Against a hyper aggressive opponent, a check can be a good idea because he may bluff at you and you’ll make more money than simply betting and having him fold. However, this tactic should be used sparingly, and usually not more than once per session. Doing it too often will have people checking when you check, and you’ll be giving your opponents free cards that can beat you, which is always a bad idea.

Against more than one opponent when the flop hits you
You should always bet here. The standard bet is half the pot, but given the higher likelihood of somebody sticking around for a draw, betting more than half isn’t a bad play. Checking and trying to get tricky with your top pair and potentially giving away free cards is even more of a bad idea with multiple people still in the hand.

Against more than one opponent when the flop misses you
This is where most people lose their stacks with Ace-King, and where things get a bit tricky. If you’re in position, and everyone checks, you should bet out 1/2 the pot. You hand is probably the best at the table, and if it’s not, you’ll know pretty quickly. If you encounter serious action from any of your opponents, you should shut down.You're probably beaten at this point, and with a large pot, your opponent is not likely to back down. 

Traps to avoid with big slick

1. Ace-King is an excellent hand to raise all in with, but not all that great to call an all in with. What makes the hand valuable is that IF someone calls, you’re rarely a big underdog. However, you’re an underdog nonetheless. The value of raising all in with it, is that you gain the equity from the times when your opponent folds a better hand. However, if someone has gone all in for a substantial amount in front of you, it’s not the greatest hand to call with, as the best you can hope for is typically being a slight underdog. Winning poker is all about going in with the better cards, and having a mathematical edge. Calling an all in with Ace-King for a lot of chips goes against this principle, and is a losing proposition unless you’re getting favorable pot odds.
   
   
2. When you’re the pre-flop aggressor, and your opponent continues to bet into you, calling is about the worst play you can make. You should fold if you think your opponent is ahead and he’ll continue to bet. You should raise if you think he’ll fold. But calling will have you putting all your chips in the middle with only Ace high.

Final thoughts

Big slick is a powerful hand in no limit texas holdem. Playing it correctly and learning to avoid the common pitfalls will have you extracting more chips from your opponents and will lead to more positive results with it at the tables.