POTD #120 Final Table Friday: AK Wraps up In London

I make top pair at a FT? Can I fold.

As AK week reaches a close, it’s dawned on me that I’ve yet to write about a hand where I made top pair (well, technically I turned top pair in POTD #119). The hard part of how to play AK is when you don’t have a pair; playing top pair top kicker should be easy-peasy. This is especially true when you are shortstacked, where top pair top kicker is usually enough to stack off even on the ugliest of boards. In today’s hand, we return to the British Poker Open, where I previously found myself in a sticky situation with AK at a FT. Mikita Badziakouski is also at this final table, but at this FT I don’t give him my chips, just a £9,200 payjump.

Since this will likely be one of the last hands I write about at the British Poker Open, and I highly doubt any major poker stop will return to what was at the time the Aspers Casino and is now the Genting Casino, I will use this introduction to give a shoutout to Passyunk Avenue, a surprisingly decent Philly cheesesteak spot in the food court as the same mall as the Aspers Casino London. A cheesesteak that even Philadelphia native Steve O’Dwyer declared was “pretty good.”

PokerGo Video Link: Hand starts at 26:37

British Poker Open Event #3: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em
(25k/50k/50k) (SB/BB/BBA) 5 remain and we are in the money
5th: £36,800 4th: £46,000 3rd: £69,000 2nd: £101,200 1st: £156,400

I (615k) am UTG with A♥️K♥️ and make it 100k, Sam Soverel (1.6M) folds, Mikita folds (385k), Elio Fox (570k) folds in the SB, Paul Newey (1.1M) calls in the BB

Flop (275k) A♦️7♦️6♦️: Paul checks, I check

Turn (275k) 4♠️: Paul checks, I bet 90k, Paul makes it 225k, I call.

River (725k) 3♣️: Paul shoves for my final 290k, I call and lose to J♦️9♦️