I was sitting in a $500 cash and already up a decent amount when I was dealt Aks on the button. For the most part I played this hand standard but also got a bit sneaky doing a min raise pre flop which is what led to this pot getting out of control. I sort of disguised just how strong my hand was. Little did I know I was up against pocket jacks.
Preflop – AK vs Pocket Jacks
Normally I would do a 2.5x raise on the button since everyone folded around to me, but in this instance, I just did a little min raise to see if I could get anyone to 3 bet me. Unfortunately, that did not happen but player 1 and 2 made the call and we took it to the flop.
The Flop – I Hit the Dream Board
So, yea flop comes QJ10 all different suited with a club which also gives me the possibility of runner runner cards for the nut flush if the board doesn’t pair. But I happened to flop the nut straight and I don’t think either of these players would ever be putting me on AK in this spot. I decided to check this one over and continue slow playing seeing if anyone would want to take a stab at this. It just felt like both players were probably weak in this hand so I didn’t want to scare anyone away just yet. Both players checked behind to the turn.
Turn – Why Slow Playing Made Sense
When the turn came in, I was now thinking we must build this pot. And the turn being a 3 of clubs was a great card because it didn’t really change anything and improved my hand in a big way. I led out for $14.25 and player 1 folded while player 2 made the call. This is where the hand got interesting.
Aks vs Pocket Jacks River
The river was a complete brick and didn’t change anything with 4 spades coming in. At this point I was just praying that player 2 had something big he was slow playing which happened to be the case. I raised to $41 and he immediately raised me to around $120. I was thinking it was possible he had a lower straight then me with something like K9 or 98. The K9 was less likely because I was blocking that hand holding the K. So, I then decided to just come over the top for my whole stack and without a lot of hesitation player 2 made the call. When I looked back at the hand history on Bovada Poker I realized he was holding JJ and slow played his hand the entire time. So, that’s what led me to taking down this massive pot and thank god the board didn’t pair at any point.
Was Pocket Jacks Played Correctly?
No, I don’t think pocket jacks were played correctly in this hand. The biggest mistake happened preflop when he decided to slow play JJ from the big blind instead of putting in a 3-bet. Pocket jacks are a strong starting hand, especially against a late-position raise, and this is usually a spot where you want to build the pot and apply pressure before the flop. By just calling from the big blind, he kept my range extremely wide and gave me the opportunity to see a flop with AK without having to make a tougher decision.
A 3-bet would have accomplished a few things. First, it would have increased the size of the pot while he was likely ahead. Second, it could have forced weaker hands to fold. Most importantly, it would have given him much more information about the strength of my hand if I decided to continue.
Instead, the slow play worked against him. Once I connected hard with the flop, he was playing a big pot out of position without really knowing where he stood. That’s the main lesson here: with a hand as strong as pocket jacks in the big blind, trying to get tricky can sometimes create more problems than it solves. Even though I was never folding this hand and we might have both ended up getting it all in preflop.
Should You Slow Play AKs?
In most situations, no, I don’t think you should slow play AK suited preflop. AKs is one of the strongest starting hands in poker, and I would rather play it aggressively than get tricky and simply call. The biggest reason is value. With AKs, you’re ahead of a huge portion of the hands your opponent can raise with. A 3-bet allows you to build a bigger pot while also putting pressure on hands like AQ, AJ, KQ and smaller pocket pairs. You can also occasionally get action from worse hands that might not put more money into the pot later.
Slow playing AKs creates another problem: you allow more players to see the flop cheaply. Even though AKs is extremely strong preflop, it’s still an unmade hand. If you completely miss the flop against multiple players, the hand becomes much harder to navigate. I’d much rather isolate one opponent and take control of the hand before the flop.
How Should AKs Be Played Against Pocket Pairs?
AK suited should usually be played aggressively against pocket pairs because you rarely want to let those hands realize their equity for free. Against hands like 88, 99, TT, JJ or QQ, AKs is often close to a coin flip before the flop, which makes building pressure important.
If I’m facing a raise, I’m usually looking to 3-bet rather than just call. That gives me a chance to win the pot immediately, while also building a bigger pot when I hit an ace, king, flush draw or strong combination draw. The biggest mistake with AKs is becoming too passive just because you know a pocket pair may technically be ahead before the flop. AKs has plenty of equity and plays extremely well postflop.
Final Thoughts
This was probably a cooler situation that player 2 might have been able to get away from if he thought hard enough about what I might be holding. But I also understand why folding a set based on the way the hand played was also unlikely. I’m not sure if I was on the other end of this hand that I would have been able to get away either.
Most of the time being aggressive the entire way with Aks is the better approach, but in this situation, I was up against a small bling big blind combo. Player 2 slow playing his hand not 3 betting pre flop with jacks was also a big mistake on his part even though we ended up flopping the nuts. Everyone, once in a while you get a dream setup like this and the hand holds. I will gladly take this outcome 10 out of 10 times.
Edward Pao is an online poker and casino affiliate marketer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. He has referred over 30,000 players to major poker platforms and specializes in reviewing the best online poker sites and casino bonuses.