Whats the best strategy to playing these? normally i try to narrow the hand down as much as possible by raising enough to get the garbage hands out...Yet it seems that if someone calls I am usually in trouble going into the flop. Just today I had a big stack pushin people around so i push on him and of course he shows kings and im gone. Whats a good strategy to play these trouble cards. I dont have poker tracker to give exact stats but i do believe that i have lost more with this pair then ive won and i tend to lose large amounts and to win smaller amounts. Maybe i am overplaying them but its just hard to let the hang go preflop

I don't know about everyone else here,
(and it's probably -EV in the long run) however
I've started playing them the same way as I would
with 7's 8's, 9's & 10's...

I may put in a raise pre-flop, and will bet/raise if
3 undercards are on the board, however
with multiple callers and anything higher on
the board, in most situations I'm folding...
Damned things cost me too much money...

THen don't play big pots with them unless you hit a set or have decent reads on opponents when you have an overpair (i.e will they jam with just top pair?) If all you have is what amounts to be a middle pair, why get involved in a big hand?

I have no idea how to play jacks, and to a lesser extent, queens. Tens down seem easy, but for some reason jacks are my bane...my fiance says they are her favorite hand though, and she wins a ton with them and hardly loses anything at all with them, so go figure... :wink:

I agree completely. I hate it when I get dealt pocket Js because I feel I should really be playing them more aggressively. Like stated though I seem to lose more often than not with them.

Generally now in cash games online I usually try and limp in from EP / MP and hope nobody behind me picked up a bigger hand. Then I play based on how I like the flop. I'll only really raise with them in late position and depending on what occured in front of me.

I have a theory why people complain about pocket jacks so much. The Jack is the lowest face cards, and face cards are supposed to be exciting. But Jacks are almost the same as tens and you should play them pretty much the same way.

In limit, playing jacks is usually straightforward. Raise or reraise preflop. Bet flops where you have an overpair, better than mid pair, a set, or where it is checked to you in position. But don't get carried away. Just fold them if there is a lot of action and you have to call two bets when you are pretty sure you're behind.

In no limit, there's an even easier way to play jacks. Play them for set value. Sure this doesn't get full value out of a good hand, but if they freak you out, maybe that is how you should go. If you can handle more, than raise preflop and bet the pot when the flop is favorable. Maybe the problem with jacks is that people overplay overpairs in no limit, but that is a different issue. Remember that lots of hands can beat overpairs, and in most games you play in you will find much better situations than having an overpair to put all your chips at risk.