“The books” will tell you that you should always raise with AK. “The books” are not always right. Here’s why.
First, let’s make it clear that AK, suited or unsuited, is indeed a “premium” hand. But is it also, fundamentally, a drawing hand. It’s a favorite against any other single non-paired hand. But there’s a key concept here that many people forget–if they knew it at all–one that puts many people on tilt: Being a favorite does not guarantee being a winner.
So here’s what I say: You should sometimes raise with AK.
How often is “sometimes?” Like everything in poker, the answer is “It depends.”
Before I can fully defend this assertion, I have to explain the general characteristics of low-limit games.
A primary motivation of the vast majority of low-limit players is that they came to the casino (or cardroom) to play poker. They either don’t understand or don’t care about the very common fallacy that “playing poker” is equivalent to “tossing chips into the pot.”
It’s not. I “play” every hand I’m dealt, but for the majority of those hands, the best play is to muck the cards right away.
These players, they subscribe to the “any two cards can win” school of thought. Their calling standards are quite loose, not only the “standard” calling hands, such as pairs, big/suited aces, and Broadway cards, but any ace, frequently any face card, any connectors, no matter how many gaps, and (especially!) any two suited cards.
Add to this characteristic that these players will typically call any number of bets preflop. 2-5 suited? Capped? Go for it!
Many of these, if they hit the flop, no matter how marginally, will call down to the river.
Another characteristic is that these players typically hold to the belief that a river bet is a bluff, so they are calling.
Calling stations on steroids.
Add to this another characteristic: Some of these (but by no means all, in fact, the majority of these don’t raise preflop with premium hands, some not even with aces because “I’ve had them cracked too often”) raise for no reason other than it’s fun to do so. They are at the game for fun, and raising is fun. It creates bigger pots, which are more fun to win. (Never mind that every hour or so they are pulling new buy ins from their pocket.) Once they raise, they keep betting on subsequent streets. Why? Again, because it’s fun.
But these are (usually) not dumb players. Many have been playing for years and years. And if you come to the table and play a solid game, some will recognize that you raise with “premium” hands.
Not raising often with AK takes advantage of this type of player, which you’ll often find comprising half of your table in low-limit games. Especially against the raise-for-fun players, not reraising AK can make you a lot of money when you hit.
Not raising can also save you money when you don’t hit. If you raise in early position, pretty much anyone who would have called for one bet will call for two. And if you raise in late position, everyone who limped will call.
Which brings us to a fundamental truth of low-limit games: Preflop raises do not thin the field.
True, there are no absolutes in poker. But this is one you can generally rely on.
Yes, I’ve had cases where a loose table will suddenly all fold to a raise. But it just doesn’t happen that often.
So when you raise and get 6 callers, the chances that your top pair, top kicker standing up to the river are greatly reduced. Your raise has also created a much larger pot, so chasers are more likely to stay in, hoping to make their longshot draw.
By more frequently not raising, you control the pot size a bit. You’ll be more likely to take down smaller pots more often.
If you just call when the “for fun” raisers swing once again into action, you’re almost always a favorite, yet you’ve disguised the strength of your hand. If you hit well, you can sit back and wait for the turn to raise, when the bets double, and that’s when you’ll be most successful in earning the bigger pots. Let the maniacs do the betting work for you–right up the the time you haul in the pot.
Another good reason for not always raising is the few observant players. When you raise and miss (which will be most of the time), if they hit, they will pick off your continuation bets. When you limp and hit, your bets will be almost always called by weaker aces, who won’t think your ace is strong because you didn’t raise before the flop.
All this is not to say you should never raise with AK, just pull back the frequency. Depending on the people at the table, who has called already, your position, and your image, I’d say about half the time is correct. Just remember, you’re not doing it to drive players out of the pot. It just ain’t gonna happen.