AK suited vs. AK unsuited

[ChrisChip10]

I am interested to hear opinions and logic of my fellow HPTs on the differences pre and post flop for these two hands.

I tend to think they are about equal, but still feel that thrill getting AK spades.

I also like a suited AA... 

[Dr. Neau]

Hear's what I know, statistically speaking.

Going heads-up with random opponent hand...

AKs wins 66.22% of the time and ties 1.65% of the time
AKo wins 64.47% of the time and ties 1.70% of the time

[luckystraights]

Hear's what I know, statistically speaking.

Going heads-up with random opponent hand...

AKs wins 66.22% of the time and ties 1.65% of the time
AKo wins 64.47% of the time and ties 1.70% of the time

That surprises me, but I'll still rather have a suited AK and when I'm playing the way I should, I'll play it more aggressively both pre-flop, and if I make a back door flush on the flop as well.

[luka]

AK suited is much prettier and more playable than AK unsuited. 

[Dr. Neau]

Hear's what I know, statistically speaking.

Going heads-up with random opponent hand...

AKs wins 66.22% of the time and ties 1.65% of the time
AKo wins 64.47% of the time and ties 1.70% of the time

That surprises me, but I'll still rather have a suited AK and when I'm playing the way I should, I'll play it more aggressively both pre-flop, and if I make a back door flush on the flop as well.

Yeah.  I'd rather have the one that wins more too...

[TwoToGo-Grave]

Playing in a preflop situation, I really don't see it mattering at all, but it is certainly easier to play the flop if you are suited (obviously, few would dispute the difference between 76s and 76os for taking a flop, for instance), so that may influence a decision to call a raise or something at times, but typically, AK will be very playable no matter what.

[luckystraights]

Hear's what I know, statistically speaking.

Going heads-up with random opponent hand...

AKs wins 66.22% of the time and ties 1.65% of the time
AKo wins 64.47% of the time and ties 1.70% of the time

That surprises me, but I'll still rather have a suited AK and when I'm playing the way I should, I'll play it more aggressively both pre-flop, and if I make a back door flush on the flop as well.

Yeah.  I'd rather have the one that wins more too...

Just noticed how weired my reply looks, I misread your stats, thought they said 62 / 64 in favor of the un-suited, hence I was surprised... looks like I was just asleep lol

[Eralis]

If you have seen Howard Lederer's Secrets to No Limit Hold'em, you can see his preflop chart. He has divided some pokerhands into categories. Category A, B, C, D and E.

Category A: AA, KK, AKs
Category B: AK, QQ, JJ, and something else.

AKs is a stronger hand than AKo, because you only need 3 cards to a flush, while AKo needs 4, and that happens not that often. If the flop comes rainbow, then AKo have no chance of getting a flush, while AKs can make a backdoor flush.

So the bottomline is:
AKs > AKo

[Martini]

Or to generalize it...suited hole cards are favored over unsuited hole cards. Gasp! 

[Detroitdad]

Nothing beats   

[tb_bucc]

Nothing beats  

However, someone may question your deck.

[Dr. Neau]

A few years ago, I wrote a program to get the exact odds of winning with any two hole cards heads-up.

The top 15:
1. A-A - 84.93%
2. K-K - 82.12%
3. Q-Q - 79.63%
4. J-J - 77.15%
5. 10-10 - 75.66%
6. 9-9 - 71.67%
7. 8-8 - 68.72%
8. A-Ks - 66.22%
9. A-Qs - 65.31%
10. 7-7 - 65.73%
11. A-Js - 64.40%
12. A-Ko - 64.47%
13. A-10s - 63.49%
14. A-Qo - 63.51%
15. A-Jo - 62.54%

[maryfield]

AKs is a stronger hand than AKo, because you only need 3 cards to a flush, while AKo needs 4, and that happens not that often. If the flop comes rainbow, then AKo have no chance of getting a flush, while AKs can make a backdoor flush.

So the bottomline is:
AKs > AKo

Yabbut AKo is better cuz you can make flushes in 2 different suits.

[hockeygoon]

Nothing beats   

My Mossberg 12 gauge pump does, you big cheater you.

[Martini]

Nothing beats   

My Mossberg 12 gauge pump does, you big cheater you.

FYI: the guy "caught red handed" is not necessarily the one cheating.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE</a>

[ChrisChip10]

Nothing beats  

I think the     would beat it!

[hockeygoon]

Nothing beats   

My Mossberg 12 gauge pump does, you big cheater you.

FYI: the guy "caught red handed" is not necessarily the one cheating.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE</a>

He is if he plays it.

[maryfield]

Pokerroom.com has a table of actual results for all starting hands. I'm not sure if it mixes NL & LHE hands - it used to be more useful when the poker world was 90% limit, but anyway it's interesting since it shows results in the real world.

It's at http://www.pokerroom.com/poker/poker-school/ev-stats/total-stats-by-card/?sSortOrder=value&x=54&y=18

[Midnight Rose]

FYI: the guy "caught red handed" is not necessarily the one cheating.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/y-HvtfKJfYE</a>

I'm surprised Gobbs hasn't responded to this one yet.

In any case, Ricky Jay is not only a good card shark/trickster, he's also a pretty cool actor.

[Jaxen]

unless you're 4-flushing on the flop (or hit your flush), I really don't see the difference if you AK is suited or not. For the suited hand to be worth more, IT HAS TO HIT.

[bigstu]

Love Ricky Jay...I remember 20 25 years ago went to the Magic Townhouse ON the Upper East side  during a blizard with a friend of mine who was an amateur magician.

It was just us and Ricky Jay.. He gave us an opion of getting a show or just hang out and do some tricks...

It was absolutey amazing the way he incorporated the slight of hand (card tricks) into the conversation....

[Eralis]

AKs is a stronger hand than AKo, because you only need 3 cards to a flush, while AKo needs 4, and that happens not that often. If the flop comes rainbow, then AKo have no chance of getting a flush, while AKs can make a backdoor flush.

So the bottomline is:
AKs > AKo

Yabbut AKo is better cuz you can make flushes in 2 different suits.

If the flop comes 5 9 2 rainbow, you don't have a chance of making a flush ever, while if one of the suits are your suit, then you can make a backdoor flush. So AKs is a slightly stronger hand then AKo

[maryfield]

AKs is a stronger hand than AKo, because you only need 3 cards to a flush, while AKo needs 4, and that happens not that often. If the flop comes rainbow, then AKo have no chance of getting a flush, while AKs can make a backdoor flush.

So the bottomline is:
AKs > AKo

Yabbut AKo is better cuz you can make flushes in 2 different suits.

If the flop comes 5 9 2 rainbow, you don't have a chance of making a flush ever, while if one of the suits are your suit, then you can make a backdoor flush. So AKs is a slightly stronger hand then AKo

Dude, give it up. Phil Hellmuth says so.

[Midnight Rose]

AKs is a stronger hand than AKo, because you only need 3 cards to a flush, while AKo needs 4, and that happens not that often. If the flop comes rainbow, then AKo have no chance of getting a flush, while AKs can make a backdoor flush.

So the bottomline is:
AKs > AKo

Yabbut AKo is better cuz you can make flushes in 2 different suits.

If the flop comes 5 9 2 rainbow, you don't have a chance of making a flush ever, while if one of the suits are your suit, then you can make a backdoor flush. So AKs is a slightly stronger hand then AKo

Dude, give it up. Phil Hellmuth says so.

Ok, now my ribs hurt.