Jacks in a weird spot. (when aren't they)
1-2 nl 400 max 8 handed.
UTG Main Villain. MABG who asked a lot of beginner questions. I think this was his first time playing in a casino. He seemed to know how to play poker. At first I thought he played online. But he was not a skillful player. Busted a lot and would rebuy in for small. Limps
Hero in Cutoff with wired Jacks. raises to $12.
Button calls Both blinds call.
Back to UTG who raises to $25.
Normally I'm worried about 3 bets. But Villain only min raised. I asked myself" if he had a hand to protect, wouldn't he raise bigger to chase out some players?' There were 4 other players in this hand, taking it to $25 would do nothing but bloat the pot. I figured he must be button clicking. Decided a 4bet was in order. After all some players consider jacks a premium hand.
Hero makes it $100. Only the UTG calls.
Flop($230) 10 5 4 rainbow. Villain checks. What should hero do?
10 Replies
What’s the effective stack?
Assuming he is short, simply putting it all in here could be justified if you think he’d call with any lesser pair
Has he been stabby at pots before? If so, you could justify a check back to give him rope on the turn
I like a 4bet - you really don't want to go multiway with JJ - but would just go to a size that is likely to knock the other players out. JJ is not a powerhouse hand against a typical limp-reraise range and 100 just seems like you're burning money when behind, which you will be fairly frequently. I'd make it 70 or so.
What were the stack sizes? You don't want to be in a position where you're priced in to call if you get jammed on. (Jamming yourself could be an option depending on stacks)
As played things worked out nicely, you absolutely can't rule out QQ+ but whether you play for stacks here depends partly on stack sizes. I'd probably go small, but you need to decide what your plan is facing a check-raise/jam.
Stack size?
unfortunately I don't remember. Pre flop I was worrying about chasing players out. On the flop I just made a mistake not to look. I was calculating pot size and determining bet size on flop. I guess there's something else I need to work on. When I played online this wasn't an issue.
I just can't remember. He could have had anything from $150 - $400 to start the hand. I know this doesn't do much to help here on the forums. Sorry guys.
Pre is fine. Stacks really do matter, as do his post-flop tendencies. Is he aggressive, passive, sticky, tricky (slow plays), etc.?
W/o more info, once he checks, I'm betting. I'd go $100 - $125. Actually, this is one spot I might down bet, which I usually hate, and go $75, but again, need some reads.
I flat pre but that's just me.
He l/rr'd UTG, someone who's classified as a weak/rec/beginning player.
I'm happy to have odds to call so I don't have to throw them away just yet.
As played I would most likely bet then plan to c/b the turn if he calls (unless we turn a set ofc) but I don't mind checking the flop either, since he's probably checking and expecting us to bet.
ps weak bad rec players have no idea how to size bets, so I wouldn't use the small raise as a tell that he's weak.
Hero decides a 2/3 bet is necessary. I guess you could call this a bluff. I'm trying to win the hand on the flop. Hero also is bad at math and makes it $180 into a $230, a lil larger than 2/3 pot.
After making this bet I realized that I am now pot committed, But I thought I was stuck here on the flop. Going small or checking back allows the Villain to catch up. I don't want an Ace, King, Queen, or a ten to come on the turn. Also it would suck if Villain spikes a set on the turn.
On the flip side what weaker hands are calling big bets on this flop? I can't find any.
Action back to Villain who hems and haws then folds.
You still haven’t told us what the effective stack size is.
Your reasoning for your flop action is flawed. You can’t “bluff” because you can never make a better hand fold. Betting large simply folds out weak hands and gets value-owned against better hands.
The reason to bet here is for value and/or equity denial and that warrants a smaller bet.
You still haven't told us what the effective stack size is.
I'm sorry, I made a mistake here and didn't look for Villain stack size. My Stack would have been at around $400.
Your reasoning for your flop action is flawed. You can't "bluff" because you can never make a better hand fold. Betting large simply folds out weak hands and gets value-owned against better hands.
I referred to this bet as a bluff because I didn't want to get called. Should I be thinking to value bet in this spot instead?
The reason to bet here is for value and/or equity denial and that warrants a smaller bet.
How much would you have bet here?
I'm sorry, I made a mistake here and didn't look for Villain stack size. My Stack would have been at around $400.
You do realize your stack size is irrelevant if your opponent had less than you?
Stack size?unfortunately I don't remember. Pre flop I was worrying about chasing players out. On the flop I just made a mistake not to look. I was calculating pot size and determining bet size on flop. I guess there's something else I need to work on. When I played online this wasn't an issue. I just can't remember. He could have had anything from $150 - $400 to start the hand.
With a hand like JJ you shouldn't be worried about chasing other players out as this hand almost always plays best HU, especially vs a weaker player. We don't want to be going 4 way here.
As other said you can just go like 60-70 if you want to 4 bet.
I would also isolate to a bigger size preflop. Your opponent seems very inexperienced and is very likely to call up to like $20+ so we should take our premiums and see how big we can go.
The fact that you got called in 2 other spots is also an indication that you can use bigger sizes on this table with the top of your range preflop.
