88 v AK
By Brian Wills

Remember that preflop in a 9 handed tournament game a medium pair, 88 is of far less value than AK, especially if you are out of position. 

Yes I know that heads up they are virtually 50/50, but if you stop to think about it, you are not playing heads up. If you have two callers and they hold different high cards you are against four over cards – you are a big underdog. 

So in early or middle position I just call the blinds, hoping to hit trips or represent high cards on the flop if I have position. In late position I raise because normally I will not be facing more than one player with over cards. 

PLEASE don’t ever go all-in with a medium pair. I see this all the time. Players try to protect their hand by raising all-in with 88. They either win a small pot (the blinds), lose their stack to a bigger pair or get in a 50/50 race with big over cards. It’s simply not a good play and very poor stack protection. 

Just make the normal raise with them & if you dont see any aggression, simply represent the flop. 

Brian Wills