How do you play pocket jacks?

Question

I would raise pre flop if i was first to bet granted.

But what do you normally do when somone has raised already? just flat call to see a flop, then fold if flop is no good?

Do you Re-Raise to try and take pot down pre-flop and risk getting Re-re-raised?

i find JJ a troublesome hand and am never too pleased to look at my cards and see Jacks.

Answer 1

this decision depends on a number of factors...what kind of player is the raiser, how many people are in this pot, how many chips do you have, how many chips does your opponent have, how many players at the table

at a full table, against an early position raise from a standard player with no one else in, i don't think you should re-raise unless you are short on chips...against a looser player, then you can re-raise, but against most people it is better just to call and take a flop

against middle or late raisers i would probably re-raise and try to win the pot right there, they probably can't beat jacks, and i don't want to have to see a flop with this hand...too many dangerous flops will beat jacks and you don't generally want to see a flop when they're good pre-flop

if there are callers in between, however, i'd be more likely just to call and try to flop a set...there is a smaller chance that you can win the pot outright, and if you just call and do flop the set then you can win a lot of money...i understand the dead money in the pot would be tempting, but i think it's a little dangerous to try to just take it if there are a couple callers between you and the raiser

at a short table, i'd re-raise pretty much no matter what, because it's much more difficult to beat jacks and then, even if there's already a lot of people in the pot, you should go ahead and re-raise and look to take the dead money because it's that much less likely that they can beat your hand

the other big thing about jacks is that a lot of players can't fold them when they meet a lot of resistance...you have to be able to throw them away sometimes, if there is a lot of action you can be sure that you're not better than even money, so you have to have the discipline to fold sometimes

jacks are a very tricky hand to play, and playing them is not a hard rule, it depends on many things...but often it's best to be aggressive, but at the same time somewhat cautious

Answer 2

I myself like to play them pretty Strong pre-flop, but i also know that if i make a raise and another player comes over the top i will throw it away most times. If im out of position i will most times come back over the top to try and take down the pot pre-flop, this does depend on who is at the table, as well as what kind of players are at the table, and the chip size of other players in front and behind me, and how many other players have come into the pot before me. But If I'm in position i am more willing to see a flop, only if I'm heads up. Also if it's a cash game or tourney makes a difference in how you play the hand as well. You will get over-cards on the flop over half the time, but the good thing is pre-flop only 3 hands have you beat, and hands like A-K, AND A-Q are 50/50. So knowing how others play is key to winning. Your jacks will be good most times you see a flop, but with so many over-cards on the board can leave you wondering if your jacks are any good, i like to make the pre-flop raise, and if i am called i will always fire a continuation bet on the flop, unless it comes out very bad. So they should be played aggresive, but it still is only one pair, so if you see a lot of action it is best to fold them.

Answer 3

JJ is the hardest hand to play, and i could write a 20 page book and then i would have a lot of factors in play, so a large summary is this.

Position: What are the chances anyone before or after you has QQ, KK, AA. If it increases a bit a flat call or fold could come into play

Do you think you are good to the correct percentage: Say the blinds are 1,000-2,000 and you have 26,000 and a player before you raises to 5,000.

Say you think he is raising with the following pairs:
88 and higher
Ace all the way down to nine and KQ

88 (6 combos) 80%
99 (6 combos) 80%
TT (6 combos) 80%
JJ (1 combo) 50%
QQ (6 combos) 20%
KK (6 combos) 20%
AA (6 combos) 20%
AK (16 combos) 55%
AQ (16 combos) 55%
AJ (8 combos) 70%
AT (16 combos) 75%
A9 (16 combos) 75%

18 combos at 80% - 14.4 w, 3.6 l
18 combos at 20% - 3.6 w, 14.4 l
32 combos at 55% - 17.6 w, 14.4 l
8 combos at 70% - 5.6 w, 2.4 l
32 combos at 75% - 24 w, 8 l
65.2 WINS..... 52.8 LOSSES

This puts you in the positive play to move all-in

However there are so many factors. The chances he has of laying hands downs and the +/- it has as you will not get any more money from hands like AT if he folds or 88, however you do grab all dead money.

When you throw in the dead money, this lets you make plays at other pots.


GO FOR THE SET

Man, im sure he has Aces, kings or queens and maybe AK.

Now if i call and hit my jack im dinimite. It's costing 5,000 to call the 1k/2k bets and i have 89,000 and he has 77,000. If i spike my jack i will have a good shot.

7 times i miss my set i lose 5,000 = 35,000
1 time i make my set i get (5,000 bet plus blinds and antes) + implied money. You need to make 30,000 more to justify this play, but if you are very certain he has those kind of hands a flop with JQ7 will have KK and AA losing and you lose to QQ.

Remember if an over card comes it is less likely he has that pair and more likely the other ones. With JQ7 the chances of him having queens knowing he had either AA, KK or QQ is low. AA = 6combos, KK = 6combos, QQ = 3 combos. thats a 20% chance of defeat and 80% chance of win.

Hope this helps your analogy, good luck at the tables.

Answer 4

Well you would no better how to play them given you have been playing your oponent and have an idea about his betting patterns. But I like to take down the pot pre flop with JJ so re-raise would be a good play I think.

Answer 5

I almost never raise pre-flop at anything, since then no one will play with me.

I like to wait until the flop so I can get heavy on the bidding. If the flop shows a jack or no over cards, I would bit the snot out of pocket jacks.

Answer 6

OK listen up I wont say this twice Re raise with pocket Jacks
This will Isolate you opponents Get the Draws out and will possibly win the pot If not see the fop and Make a good play there

Answer 7

I usually just flat call in that case, but it depends on my opponent, my stack, etc. If he's a tight-aggressive type in early position, I'm probably going to call, but be prepared to get away from it if I don't like the flop.

Then again, I've found that I can push a tight-aggressive player off of a smallish pair, suited connectors and a lot of other good drawing hands with a smallish re-raise.

I hate that one too. Good luck with it.

Answer 8

I would never not raise with Jacks. If you get re-raised then you have something to think about. Remember the 4th raise always means ACES!

Answer 9

Generally, I play them just like a regular small pocket pair. Early position I raise about 2x the bb, late position I limp. If I hit the set or the straight then I continue on. If not, I'm looking to muck.

Answer 10

I would do a big re-raise, take it down. Odds are they don't have QQ+, it's worth having to fold to a re-re-raise, since I usually take it down. Calls are tough though.