Ranking of AK among best starting hands

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AK is definitely a good hand as long as you do not overvalue it after the flop. The problem often is that people get into a big pot with it and cannot let go even against poor odds.

My results with AK improved a lot after learning to control pot size.

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If you go back to basics, it should be pretty simple not to overvalue AK postflop.

What do you have really? If you don't hit the flop, you have two overcards. That's six outs, or 6.8:1 to hit on the turn, then if you miss, 6.7:1 to hit on the river.

And that's to get top pair, which probably is no good if there are obvious draws on the board.

If you think about it that way, it gets easier not to overvalue the hand.