Playing JJ

For low states multi-table tournaments in the early rounds...

How to play JJ before the flop...

early?

button?

Thanks,

Carlthalion

How to play JJ before the flop depends of the table, and of course your position.
Beggining of the tourney:
Early position: I will raise 3.5 to 5 times the BB.
In Late position: I will raise the same amount used on early position, but i will call sometimes if nobody has already entered in the pot.
Late in the tourney:
Depends of your chip stack, if im in the red zone i will go all in with the jacks at any position. But if you have a stack in the yellow zone your play now will depends of the table, if the table is loose and has a lot of raises before the flop and u are at early position with your jacks, the best thing to do is just call and wait to push when someone raises at you. At a tight table u need to play this hand agreessive, so raise 3 to five times the BB with them.

Deciding How to play pocket jacks depends on the situation.

1.What's your stack size relative to other stack sizes and the blinds?
2. What other action has there been before the betting got to you?
3 What are the stack sizes of people who've already put money in the pot?
4. What kind of reads do you have on the other players at the table?

Like I've said time and time again in this forum, there is never any set right or wrong way to play any hand, including pocket jacks - it always, ALWAYS depends on the situation.

I hate playing JJ
But i would raise 4 times early position and about 3 times in late position
But it depends on your stack size and your situation

any mid pair is just a pain sometimes, especially in low limit mtt's since there are so many that love the phrase "its only 5 bucks, who cares".

but yea, I'm with everyone else, 4-5 times the bb depending on you stack but since its early i'm assuming you still are about average. and depending on your position depends on how many others have come in and if you can just pick up a bunch of blinds by raising bigger...as was already said, depends on your table and their stacks

I would over raise. I want to win now and not see the flop. Most people probably will probably read you for AK or AQ and lay down the weak Ax.

This is wrong, raises amounts should very rarely (I hate the word never/always) be based on the strength of your hand. It is to tranparent if you over bet JJ but don't AA or KK it is very easy for people to figure this out and exploit you.

Early in a tournament i would play it like any low pocket pair. Try to see a flop as cheap as possible and try to hit a set. You do not want to commit too much of your chips early without a big hand so I would avoid pushing too hard preflop. After the flop you should play it cautiously if overcards come or if too much money is going in the pot. Try not to go broke with one pair especially early.

There is a saying that there are 3 ways to play JJ and they are all wrong!

The reason is that JJ is between mid pairs and big pairs. Basically decide whether in the current situation it is more like a big pair or mid pair.

It is big pair when you are short-stacked. It is medium pair when your stack is deep. Don't ask what it is if you have a medium stack. No one knows.

disclaimer: generic answer

JJ, no matter when, where, or even how to play it, is a hand that you can't get married to. If the over comes. You must lay it. Your pre-flop raise has to be big enough to eliminate junk hands at your table. Therefore, you have to know the players at your table. Proceed with caution.

Lefty

i agree with santos...the first one to reply..u need to play it strong out of the gate to get a read on players right away....maybe to get rid of ppl playing KJ or QJ, get some of the overcards out of there...and if its low..play strong, do NOT slow play

JJ EARLY :
i call if the stakes of my opponents are up to 2 times the big blind

in the BOTTON i call to see the flop until 2 or 3 times the big blind

in the late position: if no opponent increase the betting I bet 3 times the
big blind, otherwise, someone bet up to 3 times I give call.
if someone gives in all I give fold.

EVIL! EVIL!! Pocket Jacks ar EVIL!! There are 3 ways to play 'em! And they're ALL WRONG!! FOLD! FOLD!! RUN AWAY!

i dont know if this is right by the book, but i have found that in early position you should call, get some people in the pot and you dont have to double up on them, just get someone with top pair ( if the board is low) and get some chips. EVERY HAND YOU PLAY IN A TOURNEY DOESNT HAVE TO BE A DOUBLE UP!!!

JJ is a nice cards to double up, i would all-in on preflop on late position (if no raises before me)

In my opinion calling with JJ at early position will just induce some players to call with marginal hands like 65suited,98off and when the flop come just with low cards u dont know if your pair is good anymore,for example: at a tight table u are under the gun and you just call with your JJ, the cuttoff seat player just call too as the button and the blinds.The flop come with:9s7h6s and you are the first to act with four players in the pot with you, so right know your jacks arent so good anymore...thats why i prefer to raise at early position, cause jacks could be very difficult to handle after the flop.

i would flat call in early stages as your only going to get called by people with over cards and then when u see them on the flop you will put the brakes on and lose alot for no reason!

It depends on the state of the tourney. I you only have 10 big blinds left, then all in isnt a bad play. If its the beggining, then you should play it like any other medium pair. Remember, THE HAND STARTS ON THE FLOP! So if overs hit, you need to be cautious.

That is true, you could be out flopped, but that is the same risk you take when you raise. If it is a dangerous board you have to be careful, like i said i would never go broke with just jacks no matter what the board looks like

When you raise with your jacks before the flop, you will have an idea about your opponents cards, thats why i like to play this hand very agreessive before the flop with the objective to play against just one opponent, of course that everthing depends of the situation...

T.J. Cloutier says it best when talking about JJ. Its not a premium hand, so you're going to have to be careful with it. If you get all this money in preflop and an ace, king or queen hits the flop what do you have? A hand to muck.

I think you have to be careful with it and play it like any other middle pair. 8-10 times when Im out of position I'm going to raise if first in. If I'm in position and theres a standard raise in front of me I'll reraise 70/call 30. I want to know right away if I'm going to have to get away from the hand.

The question you have to ask yourself is if you want to put your whole tournament on a middle pair when you are most likely going to be at best a coinflip against AQ, KQ or AK, and completely dominated by the big three.

Are there times to push with JJ? Sure. Against a scouted player, or depending on your stack to blind ratio, or a multitude of other factors. But its still just a middle pair. Especially in a multi player pot.

you have to be careful with JJ...in early stages maybe a 4 times raise in early position to test the strength of the other hands behind you, if you get a big reraise chances are you're already beat or you're in a coin flip situation.

if an over card hits the flop and you're facing a raise, remember that it's okay to lay it down...when you're beat, you're beat

before- decent raise but don't overcommit
If i'm big blind I may raise as well because some may think you are trying to steal.
If I don't hit on the flop and there are overcards i'll still bet something and see who calls. The problem is the guy who raises- Then I think you have to fold.

id play real tight before the flop mayb raise a little..

once the flop came out and there were no over cards no matter what id be a little more aggressive..pocket J jjust askin for someone to catch a rag K or somethin

Definetely raise at least three or four times the big blind if no one els raises. But if some one else raises I like to just call and see a flop that way if A K or Qs hit the flop I can make a feeler bet to try to figure out what they are sitting on, but as everyone else stated it does depend on stack sizes and positions

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL, & everytime Rick fails to follow his own advice he loses.

haha..JJ sucks fold it..Thats what i think based on personal experience..

it's a good question and there have been a lot of good answers, many quite similar

jacks are plain scary, evil if you will; i'd almost rather have JT suited to play