$5.50 NLHE MTT: so many options for how to play these JJ

Jacki Burkhart

Jacki Burkhart

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Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - 100/200 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 64.48 BB
UTG: 71.3 BB (VPIP: 57.14, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, hands: 14)
UTG+1: 59.08 BB (VPIP: 24.00, PFR: 12.00, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 25)
MP: 81.28 BB (VPIP: 14.29, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
MP+1: 34.02 BB (VPIP: 21.43, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
CO: 132.87 BB (VPIP: 21.43, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
BTN: 91.73 BB (VPIP: 35.71, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
SB: 38.34 BB (VPIP: 7.14, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)

8 players post ante of 0.1 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.3 BB) Hero has J<font color='black'>♣</font> J<font color='red'>♦</font>

fold, UTG+1 raises to 3.48 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 2.98 BB, Hero calls 2.48 BB

Flop: (11.23 BB, 3 players) 2<font color='red'>♦</font> 8<font color='black'>♣</font> 3<font color='red'>♦</font>
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG+1 bets 8.42 BB, SB raises to 16.84 BB, Hero raises to 60.9 BB and is all-in, fold, SB calls 17.93 BB and is all-in

Turn: (89.18 BB, 2 players) A<font color='red'>♥</font>

River: (89.18 BB, 2 players) 4<font color='black'>♣</font>

[spoil]Hero shows J<font color='black'>♣</font> J<font color='red'>♦</font> (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 68%, Flop 76%, Turn 5%)
SB shows A<font color='black'>♣</font> 2<font color='black'>♣</font> (Two Pair, Aces and Twos)
(Pre 32%, Flop 24%, Turn 95%)
SB wins 89.18 BB
[/spoil]

There were a lot of different ways I could have played these JJ given how deep we are. Thoughts?
 
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Gerb

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Most of the openers range whiffed this flop, SB knows this, so his check raise could be light trying to buy the pot. SB also likely plays sets this way, and opener is potentially calling with QQ+, so i think you'll get a decent number of folds but you should be prepared to get called by sets or over pairs from opener too. This line likely gets the biggest pay off but also gets you busted occasionally. Riskier than betting the flop, but i think its the right play. Not sure what he was doing calling with his hand, that should have been an instafold for him. Lucky fish.
 
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MrGreen13

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I think that preflop we can make a squeze in order to isolate vs only one opponent and take the iniciative that is important because we will not have position postflop vs the initial raiser.

In the flop the raise of the SB looks like a set, trying to protect his hand of the flush but I think that you know that this player is too loose I guess, because you are who was playing with him, so nice shove at the end .
 
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drazak

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I think we should probably be 3-betting the flop and then playing aggressively until we see that ace. We might just win the pot on the flop that way.
 
Jacki Burkhart

Jacki Burkhart

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I think we should probably be 3-betting the flop and then playing aggressively until we see that ace. We might just win the pot on the flop that way.

did you mean 3betting preflop?

I cannot 3bet on the flop, I can either donk or check raise because I'm OOP vs original raiser.
 
Jillychemung

Jillychemung

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Being OOP and multiway, I'd prefer a preflop 3-bet here. UTG+1 appears to be a bit active and SB is tight/passive (yeah sample size is small but still) UTG+1 will prob float you but SB is likely to get out of the way.

As played, SB cold calling and then check-minraise for half his stack really puts my radar up for a set. But a FD with like Ad4d/Ad5d/Ad8d is also a possibility.

It'd be nice to know if you had any reads on the SB.
 
Jacki Burkhart

Jacki Burkhart

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Being OOP and multiway, I'd prefer a preflop 3-bet here. UTG+1 appears to be a bit active and SB is tight/passive (yeah sample size is small but still) UTG+1 will prob float you but SB is likely to get out of the way.

As played, SB cold calling and then check-minraise for half his stack really puts my radar up for a set. But a FD with like Ad4d/Ad5d/Ad8d is also a possibility.

It'd be nice to know if you had any reads on the SB.

I didn't really have any specific reads.

So usually I always would 3bet with JJ here. But I'm trying to get out of the habit of being on autopilot and instead critically think through spots and how ranges interact.

My preflop thinking was that since he is UTG JJ will be plenty strong to flat and play an underrepped hand, but not strong enough to play for stacks at 60bb vs an UTG opening range. and if he 4bets, 3bet/folding a hand as strong as JJ seems like a terrible plan. So, I had planned to flat.

But then the SB called and that started to get me to seriously consider 3betting. I tanked for a while then ultimately decided I'd play a lower variance line and look at the flop since I was less likely to make post flop mistakes than these guys.

in retrospect, I think the presence of the SB made 3betting pre-flop a better decision, and not just because I ended up losing....but now that I've had time to think about it, some spots the edge gained by playing higher variance is just too big to pass up. Forcing out the SB, and potentially the UTG raiser is just too valuable and if I'm flipping vs UTG at least the dead money really sweetens the incentive.
 
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drazak

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did you mean 3betting preflop?

I cannot 3bet on the flop, I can either donk or check raise because I'm OOP vs original raiser.

Apologies, I meant 3-betting pre-flop, somehow I missed the pre- :)
 
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