Hi all!

How do you guys play AK and AQ from the blinds?
Many players don't like raising these OOP, but perhaps that is a decent move if there are just 1-2 limpers in the pot. Logic: you'd possibly drive some limper off and be able to take the pot on any flop with a continuation bet (often likely to be a value bet).

Alternatively, with more limpers having entered the pot, a limp (SB)/check(BB) might be better since weak players tend to limp into pots with AJ and worse Ax hands. You'd dominate these hands and stand to win nicely.

Thoughts on these situations appreciated!

/
Snok

Yup both ways are good ways to play it and good reasons why to limp AK.

I don't mind taking down the blinds and limps with AQ AK OOP. Larger the field I might raise if my continuation bets are working and it will thin down the field a little, otherwise I'm fond of limping and trying to trap up a dominated pair or quietly folding. If the table has two muppets already in the pot that won't let me get away with winning on the flop because they can't fold bottom pair, I limp them from near every seat and especially the blinds when both of them are in the hand.

Sometimes I limp in a smaller field if I know the button is going to try to steal every hand and play the turn hard too if he actually has something and slow down if he doesn't. I'm not overly fond of passive play and like raising as much as possible, but limping has some sort of value against those two types.