Donkey Test

[Fiepoto]

I admit, this question really confused me. when would you ever choose anything other than 88? The only reason to choose AK is if you put him on a 10, but then why go all in?

Now, if the question were, which hand would you like to have if the player calls your all in, well then obviously I prefer the AK, because my 88 is probably beat.

[willyc]

Why is your question any different? If he folds then you win the pot, so don't you only care about which hand is best if he calls?

Edit: Well I should admit the question really confused me too and I had the same thinking - 88 is the only made hand, but with the least chance to improve and beat something he's calling with. QJ seems to have the most outs (barely) with the backdoor straight draw and you might not be reverse dominated as you would with AK against someone calling with AT, or who knows? Maybe you want him to call with AQ? I'm totally lost as to why you'd ever go all in with any of those hands and only $40 invested in the pot.

[Albert Moulton]

[ QUOTE ]
I admit, this question really confused me. when would you ever choose anything other than 88? The only reason to choose AK is if you put him on a 10, but then why go all in?

Now, if the question were, which hand would you like to have if the player calls your all in, well then obviously I prefer the AK, because my 88 is probably beat.

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't want a call. So, you need a hand that will have the best chance of standing up against villain's hands that might actually call. That means Tx, JJ, QQ, and KK - all hands that 88 is drawing to just 2 outs with. But with AK, you have 3 times as much opportunity to suck out if he calls. Obv. if he has a set you're in trouble, but otherwise, you want to (1) make him fold, and (2) have the most outs if you're called by a 1-pair hand.

So, I said AK. Remember, you are LAG, he is reraising and betting light, so he could very easily have a weak hand that can't stand the pressure of a push. And he will also probably call with TP or better. So, I like AK.

If he folds, it doesn't matter what you have - even a set ends up the same as 88 if he folds.