How to Play AK When You Miss the Flop

There is no single answer: it depends on the board, and in the solves below the same hand moves from betting most of the time to checking most of the time. With AKo on the button, after the big blind calls and checks, the solver checks 23.1% on Qs 7c 2d, 40.5% on Qs Jh 4c, and 70.6% on 8s 7s 2d.

So "always c-bet because you raised" and "give up because you missed" both fail on these three boards. The rest of this page shows how the checks and bets divide, which size the bets use, and how far the results can be trusted.

The spot

Every number here comes from one setup: 6-max cash, 100 bb stacks, the button opens to 2.5 bb, and the big blind calls. The flop pot is 5.5 bb with 97.5 bb behind. The big blind checks, and the button acts.

The button can bet 33% or 75% of the pot. The solver's screens and CSV files show those sizes as 2 bb and 4 bb, so this page uses those labels.

These are averages for the AKo hand class. They cover all 12 offsuit ace-king combinations together. They do not describe a particular holding such as ace of hearts, king of diamonds, and this page has no data on how individual combinations differ.

What AKo does on each board

The 97 bb bet stays in the tree. Its AKo frequency rounds to zero in the CSV on all three boards, which is not a claim that the action is impossible.

Qs 7c 2d: mostly the small bet

AK has two overcards here and no direct draw. AKo bets 2 bb 73.8% of the time and rarely uses the bigger size, at 3.1%.

Qs Jh 4c: more checks, and more of the bigger bet

AK now has a gutshot, since any ten makes a straight. Compared with Qs 7c 2d, AKo checks more often and uses the 4 bb bet far more often: 18.2%. The 2 bb bet falls to 41.2%, which is close to the check frequency.

8s 7s 2d: mostly checks

AK again has two overcards and no direct draw, on a low board with two spades. Checking becomes the main action. When AKo does bet, it nearly always uses 2 bb: 27.9%, against 1.5% for 4 bb.

Does the whole button range bet less on 8s 7s 2d?

Yes, compared with these two queen-high boards. The button's whole range checks more on 8s 7s 2d than on either Qs 7c 2d or Qs Jh 4c. Between the two queen-high boards, Qs Jh 4c uses the 4 bb bet more than Qs 7c 2d, while their total betting is close, so this page does not rank them.

Those two statements are calculated from the CSV files in this study, not read from the solver's screen. Each hand class's frequency is multiplied by the number of combinations still possible on that board, once without preflop weights and once with them. Both methods point the same way. The percentages shown on the app's own overall display do not include preflop weights, so they are not the same measure.

Why you can't name one cause

It is tempting to say "the gutshot made AKo bet bigger" or "the draws made it check." These results don't show that. Moving from one board to the next changes card ranks, connectedness, suits, and how both ranges connect with the flop, all at once. Treat the three boards as representative examples, not as an experiment that isolates one variable.

For the same reason, a new board is a new question. If you hold AK on a flop that isn't listed here, this page does not give you its frequencies.

How to use this in your study

Use it to review hands after a session. It is study material, not assistance for decisions while you are playing.

1. Confirm the spot first. These numbers need the same positions, preflop action, stacks, ranges, and bet sizes.
2. Compare the board to these three, then solve it if it matters. The comparison gives you a question to investigate, not a frequency to copy.
3. Check whether you only ever do one thing. If you always bet or always check AK when you miss, these boards are evidence that the choice is worth reviewing.
4. Keep the sizes in mind. A bet frequency alone hides the difference between the 2 bb and 4 bb lines on Qs Jh 4c.

If mixed frequencies are new to you, start with What Is GTO in Poker?. The glossary defines terms such as range and EV.

What this doesn't cover

These solves only cover the button in position after a single raised pot and a big blind check. They don't cover playing AK out of position, 3-bet pots, other stack depths, multiway pots, or later streets. Each of those is a different model, so don't carry these frequencies over to them.

Inputs and results

Downloads

• Qs 7c 2d: node CSV (10,040 bytes) and setup record (5,644 bytes).
• Qs Jh 4c: node CSV (10,010 bytes) and setup record (5,644 bytes).
• 8s 7s 2d: node CSV (9,981 bytes) and setup record (5,644 bytes).
• Download MelaGTO Direct v1.1 (10).

Each CSV has 92 BTN hand classes for the node after the big blind checks, with frequencies as 0–1 fractions and action EVs in bb. It is not a complete tree or a per-combination result.

The setup records were not written by the app. We read both ranges back from Direct's Bulk edit fields, checked the tree settings by eye in its setup screens, and arranged those values in the app's setup format. The thread count, print interval, and isomorphism switch are not shown in the interface, so they carry the source code's default values.

Convergence is unknown. The 0.5% target is a setting, not a result. The capture exposes neither a final iteration count nor measured exploitability, so we don't claim the target was reached or that these are complete equilibria. Observed completion took at most 209 seconds on Qs 7c 2d, 203 seconds on Qs Jh 4c, and 144 seconds on 8s 7s 2d. Those are upper bounds from when completion was first seen, not exact solve times.

Ranges used

These are the 6max_RC_100bb_200NL ranges, artifact version 2026.08.12-v1, with their mixed weights, as read back from Bulk edit. A class with no number has weight 1; unlisted classes have weight 0.

BB, out of position (90 classes)

ATs:0.949,A9s,A8s,A7s,A6s,A5s:0.03,A4s:0.366,A3s:0.917,A2s,KJs:0.699,KTs:0.521,K9s,K8s,K7s:0.829,K6s:0.801,K5s:0.978,K4s:0.967,K3s:0.675,K2s:0.896,AQo:0.238,KQo:0.639,QJs,QTs:0.68,Q9s:0.771,Q8s:0.885,Q7s:0.952,Q6s:0.922,Q5s:0.767,Q4s:0.903,Q3s:0.752,Q2s:0.673,AJo:0.765,KJo:0.584,QJo:0.75,JTs:0.567,J9s:0.169,J8s:0.922,J7s:0.414,J6s:0.702,J5s:0.498,J4s:0.605,J3s:0.577,J2s:0.259,ATo:0.833,KTo:0.643,QTo:0.709,JTo:0.758,T9s:0.116,T8s:0.599,T7s:0.79,T6s:0.479,T5s:0.275,A9o:0.844,K9o:0.711,Q9o:0.889,J9o:0.845,T9o:0.866,99:0.588,98s:0.742,97s:0.925,96s:0.9,A8o:0.935,K8o:0.341,T8o:0.301,98o:0.082,88:0.814,87s:0.693,86s:0.824,85s:0.808,A7o:0.723,87o:0.019,77:0.887,76s:0.63,75s:0.969,74s,A6o:0.375,66:0.902,65s:0.58,64s,63s:0.688,A5o:0.765,55:0.909,54s:0.504,53s,52s:0.592,A4o:0.575,44,43s,33,22

BTN, in position (92 classes)

AA,AKs,AQs,AJs,ATs,A9s,A8s,A7s,A6s,A5s,A4s,A3s,A2s,AKo,KK,KQs,KJs,KTs,K9s,K8s,K7s,K6s,K5s,K4s,K3s,K2s,AQo,KQo,QQ,QJs,QTs,Q9s,Q8s,Q7s,Q6s,Q5s,Q4s,Q3s,Q2s:0.629,AJo,KJo,QJo,JJ,JTs,J9s,J8s,J7s,J6s,J5s,J4s:0.974,ATo,KTo,QTo,JTo,TT,T9s,T8s,T7s,T6s,A9o,K9o,Q9o,J9o,T9o,99,98s,97s,96s,A8o,K8o:0.923,J8o:0.526,T8o:0.929,98o:0.32,88,87s,86s,A7o,K7o:0.247,77,76s,75s,A6o,66,65s,A5o,55,54s,A4o,44,A3o:0.84,33,22:0.692

To rerun a board in Direct, create a Custom spot with the settings above, paste both ranges with Bulk edit, choose CPU solving, and compare the node after the big blind checks with the downloaded CSV. Version, hardware, and stopping conditions can all affect an exact rerun.

Explore preflop ranges