Playing Pocket Jacks in Poker

January 2, 2010

Pocket Jacks are one of the trickiest preflop hands in poker, because they’re right between a middle pair and a premium pair. On one hand, players may consider playing Jacks aggressively because they are a solid hand, but on the other hand, players may consider treating Jacks like a smaller pair, and either hope to hit a set or get out of the hand. This article will look at a few different situations that Jacks run into, and the best way to handle them.

Preflop Play

When I get Jacks I like to play them just as aggressively preflop as Queens, Kings, or Aces. As long as no one has entered the pot before me, I’ll put in a standard raise of 3-4x the big blind. This will knock out players behind me who have hands like KJ and could possibly make a pair higher than mine once the flop comes out.

If there are multiple players who have limped in before me, I’ll bump the raise up to 5-6x the big blind to force them out. If I only make a 3x raise here, it is all but guaranteed that the other players will see the flop based on pot odds, so by bumping the raise up to 5-6x I give my hand a chance on the flop to still be the best.

If, after making my raise, someone behind me re-raises me, I’ll call to see the flop. However, this is a spot you need to be very careful in, because you could easily lose your whole stack if the flop is undercards and your opponent has QQ or better.

If a player has come in before me with a raise, I’ll put in a re-raise of 3-4x the initial raise to find out where I’m at in the hand. If he/she comes over to the top and three bets me, I’ll fold because it’s clear that my Jacks are no good. If the other player only calls the re-raise, then I’ll play the flop very carefully based on what comes.

Playing the Flop

The flop is where Jacks get really tricky. The reason for this is because it is very likely that a Queen, King, or Ace will flop, thus making your overpair an underpair.

First, we’ll talk about the simplest situation. If you have JJ, raised preflop, and the flop comes down as undercards (meaning there’s nothing higher than a Jack on the flop), you have an easy decision. Go ahead and bet out, because as of now your hand is still good unless someone made a set or a weird two pair. Make a bet of ½ to a full sized pot bet, as this will force out players with hands like AK that could outdraw you.

The tougher situation is when you raise preflop, and the flop comes out Queen, King, or Ace high. In this spot, I almost always still make my bet of ½ to the full size of the pot. If there is only one overcard out there, my hand is still likely to be good, so I want to continue being the aggressor. However, if someone behind me calls, I’ll slow down on the turn, and if they raise, I’ll fold the hand right on the flop because it’s clear they’re representing a bigger pair.

Mike Wittmeyer is the owner of PokerSite.org, which is an online poker guide that rates the best poker sites and poker games.

Written by admin · Filed Under Poker Strategy