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Author : Kevin Muldoon
Article Written : 18th September 2006
Ace King (AKA Big Slick) is the 4th best hand in texas holdem (behind aces, kings and queens). Big Slick is a premium hand, no doubt about it, however it remains a hand that a lot of people lose big pots with. I'll be looking into the odds of AK suited and offsuit making you some cash.
Odds of being dealt Big Slick
Here are the odds of getting dealt big slick (taken from the Odds Chart)
- Ace King Suited = 331/1 / 0.30%
- Ace King Offsuit = 110/1 / 0.90%
- Ace King (Suited or Unsuited) = 82/1 / 1.20%
Due to the higher possiblity of hitting a flush, ace king suited is a stronger hand that ace king offsuit.
Big Slick Versus The World
Using the THF Pot Odds Calculator, i have noted below the odds of ace king offsuit and ace king suited against some example hands. I have used the same example hands for both ace king suited and ace king offsuit. All of the odds below assume that both players are in a heads up or all in scenario seeing all 5 cards.
First up we have :
Ace King Suited Odds -
 
VS
 
= AKs would win 11.51% of the time, tie 1.26% and lose 87.23%
Example Review
First off we have big slick suited against aces - the best pre flop hand in poker. No doubt you will have seen this showdown in your home game or online. The aces are miles ahead. For ace king to win here it needs to catch 1) A straight, 2) A flush, 3) Trip Kings. It can also tie the hand with a made straight or quads on the board.
Due to all this, ace king suited will only win against aces about 1 every ten times.
-
VS
 
= AKs would win 33.69% of the time, tie 0.82% and lose 65.48%
Example Review
Pocket kings are the second best hand pre flop in holdem however ace king suited will still win around a third of showdowns against this monster of a hand.
-
VS
 
= AKs would win 46.02% of the time, tie 0.39% and lose 53.59%
Example Review
With the two best hands in poker out of the way, we now see Big Slick starting to hold its own against other hands in showdowns. Against queens ace king suited will win a little more than 9 out of every 20 showdowns heads up
-
VS
 
= AKs would win 49.77% of the time, tie 0.63% and lose 49.60%
Example Review
It may surprise a lot of people but ace king suited heads up against pocket twos is a fair fight....a coin flip. When the pocket pairs get lower the odds of big slick increase slightly due to the board pairing.
-
VS
 
= AKs would win 61.02% of the time, tie 0.48% and lose 38.50%
Example Review
Both of these hands may catch a flush to win the hand so the biggest reason that ace king suited is 61% favourite to win a showdown is simply because if neither hand hits on the board, ace king suited will win with the high card.
-
VS
 
= AKs would win 65.96% of the time, tie 0.53% and lose 33.51%
Example Review
I wanted to include the odds against a garbage hand such as 47 offsuit to illustrate that ace king is not a made hand and needs help on the board to win. It's worth noting that the odds of Ace King suited beating 47 offsuit are almost the same as kings beating ace king suited.
Ace King Offsuit -
VS
= AKo would win 6.80% of the time, tie 1.25% and lose 91.95%
Example Review
You will notice right away that ace king offsuit is not as good a hand as ace king suited. Against aces, ace king suited was a little over 1 in 10 to win. Ace king offsuit drops your success rate to a little over 1 in 15.
-
VS
= AKo would win 29.60% of the time, tie 0.79% and lose 69.61%
Example Review
You will notice right away that ace king offsuit is not as good a hand as ace king suited. Against aces, ace king suited was a little over 1 in 10 to win. Ace king offsuit drops your success rate to a little over 1 in 15.
-
VS
= AKo would win 42.66% of the time, tie 0.34% and lose 56.99%
Example Review
You will notice right away that ace king offsuit is not as good a hand as ace king suited. Against aces, ace king suited was a little over 1 in 10 to win. Ace king offsuit drops your success rate to a little over 1 in 15.
Once again, compared to ace king suited your odds of winning this hand have dropped by 4%.
-
VS
= AKo would win 46.67% of the time, tie 0.58% and lose 52.75%
Example Review
Just as before, this is more or less a coin flip however the odds are now slightly with the player with the pocket twos.
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VS
= AKo would win 58.61% of the time, tie 0.42% and lose 40.97%
Example Review
AKo is ahead but probably not as much as most people would think. The lack of any flush draw possiblities has reduced the strength of the hand.
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VS
= AKo would win 64.51% of the time, tie 0.46% and lose 35.03%
Example Review
If no player makes a pair, then the ace as a high card will save your bacon
Conclusion
Ace King Suited is the best non made pre flop hand (eg not a pair). If you hit a flush you've got the nut flush. You can see from the odds above that AKs gives you a decent advantage over AKo against many good hands.
Things to remember
- If you hit a pair you'll have top pair
- If you hit a straight you'll have the nut straight
- If you hit a flush you will have the nut flush with AKs
- If your against another non-paired hand, if no player hits on the board you will win with the high card a vast majority of the time.
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