18 replies to this topic

[AK33]

I have heard many opinions on how to play poket jacks. I like to play them very aggressivly pre-flop and then depending on the players that call, act accordingly. The problems I see with playing them aggressivly preflop is that if I get called I'm usually way behind in the hand or it's an even money situation (eg. against AK). Most of the time I'll fire out another shell on the flop when I'm up against a tricky player and I'll slow down if a K or an A flops against a tight player. I have also heard of people just flat calling and hoping to catch a set but from my point of view JJ seems like too strong of a hand to just call the BB or make a minimum bet in NL.Any thought are greatly appreciated.

[Vade]

I raise JJ along with almost all of my big hands to 5x BB If an A or K flops and someone bets out before me, then I foldIf it's checked to me, I bet the potIf I'm called and I have position, then I will check behind my opponentIf however, I don't have position, then I'm betting the turn again 2/3 of the pot. I think a check on the turn basically is an immediate white flagNow if two overcards fall, then I just check fold

[Rocketwadster]

I hate jacks (and to a lesser extent queens). I am by no means an expert in Hold-em (neither Limit nor No-Limit), but I play them differently in Limit than I do in No-Limit. Pre-flopLimitIf I am first to act - raise. If I have one raise in front of me - re-raise. Two raises in front of me - depending on my position to the raisers, I will either call or fold. Three raises to me - fold (unless I am in late/dealer position, then call).Play after the flop is too varied to explain.No-LimitIf I am first to act - raise 3X BB. If it has been raised once in front of me less than 3X BB, I re-raise (size varies on stacks, position etc.). If it has been raised twice in front of me less than 3X BB - call, more than 3X the BB, I may call or I may fold (depends on stacks, positions, etc).It is hard to say exactly what someone does with certain cards, as there are so many external factors that guide what we do and when we do it. What I have indicated in this post is what I MAY do in general... :wink:

[Vade]

Also folding jacks to a preflop raise isn't a bad idea either, especially if it's a tight player doing the raise

[tskillz187]

You answered your own question about playing them very aggressively, you are only getting calls from better hands, the only ones calling big raises preflop are ak aa kk qq, so you are a huge dog overall if you get a caller. Limping is far too passive because hands like k10, kj, kq, qj,q10,ax are just getting too much an opportunity to beat you, those are the hands that JJ plays well against, you want to put in your standard raise and hope you narrow the field, no overcards you make your standard bet, mine is usually 2/3 pot, if you get played with over the top and they are a straight up player you should drop them. If the board brings one over I make my standard bet and react to how they play, usually if im called here it really depends on the player, I either try to check it down, or I fire one more bullet. Overall JJ is indeed the 4th or 5th best hand, but it plays horribly against those other 4 hands, you want it up against the rest of the stuff, so make your normal raise between 3-6BB.

[allinbluff35]

Vade said:

I raise JJ along with almost all of my big hands to 5x BB If an A or K flops and someone bets out before me, then I foldIf it's checked to me, I bet the potIf I'm called and I have position, then I will check behind my opponentIf however, I don't have position, then I'm betting the turn again 2/3 of the pot. I think a check on the turn basically is an immediate white flagNow if two overcards fall, then I just check fold

if you are only raising AA,KK,QQ,JJ, and AK to 5xBB in NL holdem you are a typical NLHE player. You need to change up your game constantly to keep your opponents guessing. You also need to develop better than avg. post flop skills than your opponents to make money.

[Vade]

I'm also raising 1010, 99, 88, AQ, AJ, KQEdit: I'll also raise A-10o in mid or late position, and often KJ suited on the button or late position

[Snowman22]

I play NL almost exclusively now, so my thoughts are biased towards this.For me, it depends on position and if other people on the table have a perception about how I play.Because I prefer slowplaying AA's, KK's, AK etc IE small raises or just calling, and I also limp with pocket pairs, A10, KQ etc, then that doesn't leave a lot to raise with!!! So it used to smell fishy when i raised 4-5x BB w/ QQ, JJ, AQ and sometimes 1010. However, given a perfect table where people don't know wat im raising with, thats wat i'd do.Now, I'll only raise with JJ if i'm acting early, to limit the field. Otherwise, raising just alerts people to the fact I'm holding a fairly decent hand + puts pressure on me after the flop. If a raise can't scare people out of the pot before the flop, which it's much less successful in doing from a late position, its better to keep a low profile and come in for a re-raise when the flop isn't too scary (A/K), and has the added bonus of getting to slowplay a v. premium set on occasions, which takes people by suprise (most people automatically raise JJ given their limit beginings - my theory at least)

[jack24bauer24]

There is no set way to play JJ...when there (should) be many ways to play AA, there should be even more ways to play JJ. There are so many factors to be considered...position at the table when you get them, flow of the table, chip stacks, types of players, etc.When I raise with JJ its usually from late position....a bunch of limpers and i raise 5X to try and win the blinds and limpers, and anyone who calls me I'm likely ahead before the flop. If i'm reraised I'm folding...a reraise by someone when you lead out for 5X means you are losing, unless they have ak and they are overplaying.I limp with jacks most of the time...if the flop comes down 8 high you have a very deceptive hand, as no one puts you on jacks. I'm really trying to win preflop with a raise or go heads up against someone. I treat jacks more like 33 than most poeple would, as I'm usually trying to hit a set with them.Depends on your table positon, the raise, and who's raising, i'll fold JJ preflop, its like AK...if there's 4 or 5 people in for 4 or 5X the bb and I'm in late position with AK i'll fold it if its not suited.

[AK33]

Thanks for all the help, I recently joined this forum but I've been reading it for quite some time, the advice is really good and it is good to hear different perspectives on things as there are more than a few ways to play any hand in any situation. I've typically raised big preflop, 5-6x BB but that usually leads to picking up the blinds or being up against something bigger. I think I've been overplaying it.It was good to hear what hands JJ plays well against and I like the idea of sometimes limping and playing deceptively. I don't like limping with big hands because I don't like giving the BB with 3 8 a chance to out draw my hand. I can see how it would be a profitable play when no one out draws you. Thanks for all the replies.

[augmented]

no way guys. limping?!?!!i know that its a bad idea, but often times i just stick it all in and hope for the best. but instead of that, i think the best play is to absolutely jam it preflop. raise, reraise, maybe even rereraise. i mean, your hand is good. its nothing like threes. your hand wins if it doesnt hit a set. i think a pair of jacks are something of an equivalent to a straight flush draw on the flop. they end up winning about 50 percent of the time, so the way to play it is to jam jam jam so that they might fold too. jacks are really strong, but you need to protect them. limping with jacks just allows people with A7 and K10 to beat you. if those hands are gonna draw out on you, make em pay for it. come on, grow up everyone.

[Nutcracker]

raise? yes. reraise? possibly. rereraise? say goodbye when kings or aces hold up as the 4:1 favorite.

[Smasharoo]

If an A or K flops and someone bets out before me, then I fold Why you don't lose money with them in NL like most players do.Really not that good of a hand when an overcard flops.

[jack24bauer24]

Smasharoo said:

If an A or K flops and someone bets out before me, then I fold Why you don't lose money with them in NL like most players do.Really not that good of a hand when an overcard flops.

amen to that

[BigRob]

i mean you have to change the way you play them no matter which way you decide to play them..for instance last week i was in the BB with JJ and i had a raiser with no calls and i called 2/5 for 25 now i figured him for a AK or AQ the flop was AJ4 so he raises 100 1/2 his stack i put him all in with a AK and he loses...i had JJ again on the botton 2/5 8 handed i raised 30 and had 1 caller when the flop was a rainbow 259 i bet 50 and he folded and showed a AQ so i took it down and kept goingbut if you dont raise with JJ then why play them just dump them the 4th best pair and you just limp and when an A K Q flops you run and hide sorry i wont play like that... i always have the saying that you have to pay to play there are very few times that i am limping in a hand i like to raise the hands i am in...just because a A K or Q shows doset mean your beat.....but if lay out a feeler bet then the fold then great if they come over the top the you will at least have some indication where you stand

[Lorax]

BigRob said:

but if you dont raise with JJ then why play them just dump them the 4th best pair and you just limp and when an A K Q flops you run and hide sorry i wont play like that... i always have the saying that you have to pay to play there are very few times that i am limping in a hand i like to raise the hands i am in... just because a A K or Q shows doset mean your beat.....but if lay out a feeler bet then the fold then great if they come over the top the you will at least have some indication where you stand

I agree with this in alot of respects.....You are not playing the board - you playing the other players(s)......You cant just cower cuz a K comes on the flop....If someone is raising you - then its different....Players betting & responses to your bets are FAR more important than the board itself.

[bobbytheo3]

AK33 said:

I have heard many opinions on how to play poket jacks. I like to play them very aggressivly pre-flop and then depending on the players that call, act accordingly. The problems I see with playing them aggressivly preflop is that if I get called I'm usually way behind in the hand or it's an even money situation (eg. against AK). Most of the time I'll fire out another shell on the flop when I'm up against a tricky player and I'll slow down if a K or an A flops against a tight player. I have also heard of people just flat calling and hoping to catch a set but from my point of view JJ seems like too strong of a hand to just call the BB or make a minimum bet in NL.Any thought are greatly appreciated.

i disagree that if you are called you are probly behind. i actually think the opposite is true. since you are only behind to aces kings or queens, if you are flatcalled, you are probably ahead, as most players would re-raise you with those 3 hands....a trickly player mioght smooth call you, but most will re-raise your standard raise if they have Q's K's or A's

[aboyd98]

I agree JJ is a tricky hand. Can someone give me advice on this hand:In a tournament last night a guy in early position raised to 3x blinds for about 240 chips. I was in the small blind with JJ (about 1700 chips left) and I decide to just call the raise, everyone else folded. Flop comes 3 low cards like 943 rainbow. I make a bet of something like 400 and the other guy then goes all in for about 2200. I decided he must have a set or higher pair like QQ, KK, or AA and folded. Was I correct to fold here? and should i have played it differntly preflop? thanks.

[Rocketwadster]

aboyd98 said:

I agree JJ is a tricky hand. Can someone give me advice on this hand:In a tournament last night a guy in early position raised to 3x blinds for about 240 chips. I was in the small blind with JJ (about 1700 chips left) and I decide to just call the raise, everyone else folded. Flop comes 3 low cards like 943 rainbow. I make a bet of something like 400 and the other guy then goes all in for about 2200. I decided he must have a set or higher pair like QQ, KK, or AA and folded. Was I correct to fold here? and should i have played it differntly preflop? thanks.

In my opinion (what do I know?) I would have eitherraised pre-flop, to see where you were at, or fold. :wink: By calling, you know nothing about what your opponent could have. Your bet after the flop was good (right around pot sized), but your opponent did exactly what he should have after you put in that bet, in putting you all-in. Because you had no idea what he had, he basically scared you out of the pot with his Ace X suited, Ace king offsuit, Ace Queen offsuit, etc. 8)