I just read rhound's post "Frustration with AK" as well as "How do you play JJ in EP?" and "Setaphobia" and now I am very confused. My confusion stems from the fact that I have always had trouble deciding what hands to play for my entire stack. Everyone says that you don't want to play TPTK for your entire stack. If that is the case then how can you make money limping with A/K against A with lesser kickers?

Let me propose a hypothetical situation. You are playing $50 NLHE at a full ring, and are dealt big slick. You decide to mix it up and limp. The flop is A, 8, 3 rainbow. You bet pot. 1 caller. Turn is a blank. You bet pot and get raised all in. Obviously this is read dependant, so lets add a read on your hypothetical opponent.

If the player is a rock / calling station who is playing back at you, you have to lay it down. However, what do you do if the player is:
1) A maniac
2) A tight tricky player.
3) A fish who seems to call / raise on a whim.
4) Someone who you don’t have a great read on

It seems like I get into this situation a lot against hypothetical players 3 and 4 and have been losing my stack more often then I have been doubling up.

Thanks in advance.

I think it depends a lot on what position the bet came from, no matter how fishy or good the player is. If the flop was check-called I'm more likely to lay down when raised all-in. If the bet came from the blinds then it's a debate again. Obvoiusly, the fishier/more maniacal the player the raise is coming from the more likely I am to call this. Even if the player is a fish, if I've never seen the player make this kind of move before, that sets off some signals.

Speaking of fish and of maniacs, against the type of fish who like to min raise before the flop with any two Broadway, or other types of fish who raise to 4-5 BB with any ace, I like to limp pop or go all in behind them with AK. It's risky but fun and you are generally getting it in there with the best hand if they call. Make them make their decision to get it in there with inferior holdings before the flop, when they can't get away. I haven't lost one of these encounters yet.

Especially given the scenario that you described, that you've limped in with AK, another player may not put you on it and think his AQ/AJ is good and he's protecting from some draw he thinks you might have. So in that scenario I would call almost every time. You have the best one pair hand made already. Let your opponents pay you off by overplaying their hand. You will lose these sometimes, but I would think that you should be good there more often than not.

I busted a guy in just such a scenario with TPTK... I had a $60 stack and he a $50 stack at the $25 table... I bring AK in for a raise UTG and he quickly calls. We take the flop heads up. Flop is A86. I bet pot, he min raises me. I think a bit and call. On the turn the board pairs 8's. Now I'm thinking it's even more likely I have this chucklehead beat. I bet 3/4s pot. He min raises again. I don't see him min raising on two streets with a boat, I think he's got an ace. I push in. He thinks and calls. He called me with just a dry ace in his hand. Good gravy.

Like I said in the other post, playing the $50 NL tables on party I am ok playing TPTK vs a weak player for my whole stack. $50 is such a short buy that if I lose it oh well I rebuy. The gray area is when PT has some labled as a rock, or TAA, then i might be less likely to take my TPTK all in. What scares me playin AK like this is in a B&C casino, where I have $500 in front of me and its $2/$3 limits, where I know I won't be playin TPTK for all my money.