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Introducing Poker's Big Slick

How Not to Go Broke with Ace-King

Erick Lindgren "I probably play A-K a lot more conservatively than most people. A lot of times, I'll just call with it, or I might even limp in and just play small pots. It doesn't really bother me any. If I ever play a big pot with it, it is going to be later, when the antes are big. It's treated me better than most, I think."

Robert Williamson III "I love big slick when I can get all my money in pre-flop, or a vast majority of the money pre-flop. Especially if I'm pretty positive they don't have aces. Aces are the worst-case scenario: If I'm against pocket kings, I'm not that big a dog, a 2-to-1 dog.

"I like it when I'm the bettor and not the caller. I don't like calling with A-K I hate calling with it. I almost would prefer pump or dump. I like to raise with it or fold it. I can't stand calling with A-K because now if it flops blanks and they lead at it, I've got nothing, and I can't protect the hand.

"How can I all of a sudden have aces if I just limped, especially if somebody has already raised? Because now I have significant money attached to this hand. It's even worse than if I limped in early position. If I don't flop it, I can get away from the hand and lose whatever the blinds are. If you lose and you called a big bet, then you've lost a significant portion of your stack on it.

"I think A-K is a trouble hand. That's why they call it 'walking back to Houston.' Many times a lot of people have to walk back to Houston. They don't have gas money to get home on!"

Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott "A-K is a lot better in late position than it is in other positions, because if you've got aggressive players behind you and you put a raise in, and you get called, and the flop comes down raggedy, really you've got to follow through with the bet, and if you don't like the situation, it's a tough situation. You've got to basically flop an ace or a king to like it. So it's a lot better in late positions, when they check around to you.

"Then you've got a choice. You can put a bet in, or you can check it and hope to catch the ace or the king. It's a tricky hand to play. It's a great hand to play when you've got a short stack. You are looking for A-K. When you've got a big stack, it's not a bad hand, either. It's when you've got the medium stack and you are under a bit of pressure… I'm in first position with A-K. I really want to come over the top. I'd sooner re-raise with A-K than raise with it out of position.