Igor G
Legend
Loyaler
You think that literally every time you have AK or AQ, your ponent must have AA. I assure you that this is not the case, you have the wrong impression
Chebchoub
Poker is one of life's mysteries
Loyaler
Try playing Omaha to see that even strong hands and Ace-King pairs can sometimes be ineffective.
Poker is a sea of surprises, hands, wins, and losses.
Good luck
sandy358
Rock Star
Platinum Level
Depends on how exactly you lose chips. Do you lose them preflop, postflop? In what scenarios? It's not that easy to answer without enough info, as you can lose money here in many different ways that require different fixes.
eetenor
Legend
Loyaler
2 Points
1 post some of the hands so we can know when you are going all-in. It will help to give you exact advice
2 What you want to learn to do is read a Villain's range. When we have AQ and we 4 bet preflop and they shove 5 bets what is their range? do they really have worse than AQ? You are saying they do not, if so start folding AQ when you get shoved on by players shoving AA KK AK and QQ only.
antonis32123
Legend
Loyaler
Sometimes you cannot avoid it , ot just happens . I have seen 2-3 times villains winning my AA with AK or AQ suited , hitting flush or straight on the board . It happened in zoom cash game . Usually you have AK only ho see opponent with AA , then uoj know it's game over , miracles font happen everyday ))).
Hospedar
Rock Star
Platinum Level
I could say that you are facing coolers in this situations, but, actually, it depends on how you are playing the game: I can't see if you are doing stupid or correct moves (as both players choices can say a lot about their range)...
If you are playing stupidly, you will need to study and apply your new knowledge on the table until you completely absorb it. You said about hitting the top pair with A, K or Q, but single pairs are weaker than most part of the players think (even two pairs are). So if this is you case: just try to learn more about range perception and this will help you a lot (even if this is not your case, learning more about this is always welcome)!
But if you are sure that you are playing correctly, there isn't to much you can do: this is part of the variance, don't forget about this. For example: how could you avoid an A quads when you have a K quads exactly on flop, especially against a maniac player?
F
fundiver199
Legend
Loyaler
Depending on the effective stack size, positions and action its sometimes correct to stack off with both AQ and AK preflop, and other times not. AK of course more often than AQ and the suited versions more often than the offsuit ones.
Example 1
Its a tournament, and you are sitting with 18BB in CO. MP makes a raise to 2,2BB, you rejam with AQo, and he call. MP flip over AA and bust you from the tournament. This is just a cooler. You did, what you are supposed to do, and you just happened to run into the top of his range. This is part of the game and happen to everyone.
Example 2
You are playing a full ring cash game and open AKo from UTG to 2,5BB with a 100BB stack. UGT+1 3-bet to 9BB, and now UTG+2, who is a tight player, comes in for the cold 4-bet and makes it 25BB. Both players have you covered. You jam, UTG+1 fold, and UTG+2 call. UTG+2 flip over AA and stack you. In this example you overplayed your hand. Given the action, which is all in early position, there is a very high risk, that UTG+2 has exactly AA or KK or at best maybe QQ or another AK. You only had 2,5BB invested in the pot, so you should have folded and saved yourself a lot of chips.
Example 1
Its a tournament, and you are sitting with 18BB in CO. MP makes a raise to 2,2BB, you rejam with AQo, and he call. MP flip over AA and bust you from the tournament. This is just a cooler. You did, what you are supposed to do, and you just happened to run into the top of his range. This is part of the game and happen to everyone.
Example 2
You are playing a full ring cash game and open AKo from UTG to 2,5BB with a 100BB stack. UGT+1 3-bet to 9BB, and now UTG+2, who is a tight player, comes in for the cold 4-bet and makes it 25BB. Both players have you covered. You jam, UTG+1 fold, and UTG+2 call. UTG+2 flip over AA and stack you. In this example you overplayed your hand. Given the action, which is all in early position, there is a very high risk, that UTG+2 has exactly AA or KK or at best maybe QQ or another AK. You only had 2,5BB invested in the pot, so you should have folded and saved yourself a lot of chips.
Mig32
Rock Star
Platinum Level
Yeah… I’ve been in that spot, and it’s honestly one of the most frustrating things in poker.
When I hold AK or AQ and run into AA, it always feels like I got tricked by the deck. I hit an Ace or a King and start feeling confident — then boom, they flip over Aces and I lose a big chunk of my stack.
Here’s what I started doing to avoid losing too much in these situations:
These adjustments helped me stop losing big in those tough spots. I’m still learning, but now I feel more in control when facing big hands like these.
When I hold AK or AQ and run into AA, it always feels like I got tricked by the deck. I hit an Ace or a King and start feeling confident — then boom, they flip over Aces and I lose a big chunk of my stack.
Here’s what I started doing to avoid losing too much in these situations:
1. Pay more attention to betting patterns
If someone is 3-betting or 4-betting aggressively preflop, especially early in the tournament or when we're deep stacked, I get cautious. That kind of action often screams AA or KK, so I don’t always go crazy with AK or AQ anymore.2. Try not to overcommit preflop unless the stacks are short
With 20BB or less, I don’t mind going all-in with AK or AQ — it makes sense. But if we’re deep stacked (like 50BB+), I usually just call and play it more carefully postflop.3. Avoid getting too excited when I hit top pair
I used to assume I was ahead whenever I hit an Ace or King. Not anymore. If the other player keeps showing strength, I start questioning if I’m really ahead — and sometimes I just let it go to save chips.4. I’ve accepted that sometimes it’s just a cooler
At the end of the day, if I get it in with AK and they have AA, it’s just bad luck. I don’t beat myself up over it — I focus on making solid decisions over the long run.These adjustments helped me stop losing big in those tough spots. I’m still learning, but now I feel more in control when facing big hands like these.
RodrigoMartins
Enthusiast
Platinum Level
AK and AQ are strong, but not unbeatable. If you keep running into AA, try to slow down when facing big 3-bets or all-ins, especially from tight players or early position. Remember: they’re great hands, but they only make one pair most of the time. Sometimes, folding is the right move — especially in tough spots. Don’t worry, we all lose chips like that now and then. Keep learning! 💪
BillyR23
Legend
Loyaler
"How to stop losing so much with AK/AQ when villain has AA?"
That's too little information and it depends a lot on how you lose: preflop or postflop, the type of your opponent, the sizes in BBs of your stacks... AK and AQ are both premium hands and are especially strong because when you have this kind of hands you block a lot of strong combos you don't want your opponent/-s to have(like AA, KK...), but that doesn't mean your opponents can't have this hands... in many situations(for example in some late stages of mtts when your stack is like 15BBs or less) there's not much you can do and you're just 'supposed to lose' - there's a poker term for this- cooler... but if you play mostly CGs and you lose often 100 BBs+ stacks, mostly because of preflop plays, you should try to be less aggressive preflop and see more flops and make decisions postflop- just calling an open and/or a 3bet preflop with AK/ AQ and folding when you don't connect with the board, while winning big pots when you hit monsters(like trips, straights...) will be great for your bankroll 💸💰
That's too little information and it depends a lot on how you lose: preflop or postflop, the type of your opponent, the sizes in BBs of your stacks... AK and AQ are both premium hands and are especially strong because when you have this kind of hands you block a lot of strong combos you don't want your opponent/-s to have(like AA, KK...), but that doesn't mean your opponents can't have this hands... in many situations(for example in some late stages of mtts when your stack is like 15BBs or less) there's not much you can do and you're just 'supposed to lose' - there's a poker term for this- cooler... but if you play mostly CGs and you lose often 100 BBs+ stacks, mostly because of preflop plays, you should try to be less aggressive preflop and see more flops and make decisions postflop- just calling an open and/or a 3bet preflop with AK/ AQ and folding when you don't connect with the board, while winning big pots when you hit monsters(like trips, straights...) will be great for your bankroll 💸💰
F
fundiver199
Legend
Loyaler
Thats a very commonly used poker terminology. The player sharing a hand history is referred to as "Hero", and the opponent is referred to as "Villain". If it was a multiway pot, where Hero ended up playing a big pot against just one opponent, then this player is referred to as "The main Villain". You are free to dislike this terminology and not use it yourself, but its so well established, that you are fighting a bit of an unhill battle, if you want to convince everyone else to abandon it
Uncloggie
Legend
Platinum Level
I know it is only my opinion
Thats a very commonly used poker terminology. The player sharing a hand history is referred to as "Hero", and the opponent is referred to as "Villain". If it was a multiway pot, where Hero ended up playing a big pot against just one opponent, then this player is referred to as "The main Villain". You are free to dislike this terminology and not use it yourself, but its so well established, that you are fighting a bit of an unhill battle, if you want to convince everyone else to abandon it