How To Play A Pair Of Jacks
Pocket Jacks are among the top
starting hands in poker. Playing pocket Jacks in
a tight aggressive manner will help you maximize
profits while playing online poker.
Deciding Whether to Raise
Pre-flop with Pocket Jacks
Playing a pair of jacks in a
tight aggressive manner, you should usually
raise preflop when you have pocket Jacks. Jacks
are a top tier hand, and tight aggressive
players want to build big pots with big hands.
Most players tend to identify jacks as their
problem hand preflop. When they begin play with
Jacks, they tend either to play them too
strongly, or play them too passively, relying on
an ace-less flop. We will look at early position
thoughts, as well as our later position thoughts
- and then look at how jacks should be played.
Thoughts on Jacks in Early
Position
With Pocket Jacks in early
position, we should usually raise, especially if
we are first to open the pot. Limping or
limp-calling from early position with Jacks can
get us into trouble; as well allow any old weak
ace into the pot without paying the premium.
Late Position Thoughts for
Pocket Jacks
Jacks in late position can
allow for play that is more flexible. One can
get creative and limp or call with jacks from
the button or cutoff, with intentions of playing
post flop, or we can raise/re-raise
and even represent an ace on the flop if
necessary. Having a strong hand such as pocket
jacks in later position allows us the benefit of
playing with additional information than the
rest of the poker table.
Consider the Probable Flops
and Post-flop Actions with Jacks
Statistically, the most likely
situation after the flop is that we flop second
pair. In fact, 57% of the flops will contain a
Queen, King or Ace over the course of our career
when we are holding Jacks. By the river, we will
encounter at least one over card over
three-quarters of the time. In planning for the
most likely flop, we will usually make a
continuation bet on the flop, representing top
pair. In the event we actually flop top pair, we
plan to value bet in most situations.
That being said, we will take
the following actions based on the following
scenarios:
Pocket Jacks Scenario 1:
Early Position
We are first to open the pot
with our pocket Jacks. We want to play this hand
and wish to raise. The average table raise has
been anywhere from $6 to $10, and our average
raise has been $8-12. In this instance, because
we are out of position, we want to raise a
decent amount, in hopes of being two to three
handed going into the flop. We decide to raise
to $8 and get a call from the cutoff, as well as
the small blind.
The pot contains $26, our
stack is $192 and the flop comes out King,
Seven, Three.
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Action and thoughts on the
flop: We encountered the “average flop” by
seeing one over on the board. Our plan was to
continue the betting here. The small blind
checks. We make a continuation bet of $24 -
representing the King, which is roughly the size
of the pot. The button and small blind both fold
and we take down the small pot.
Pocket Jacks Scenario 2: On
the Button
Early position player raises
to $6 preflop with one caller from the cutoff.
Calling here could be acceptable; although wee
are on the button. In the spirit of tight
aggressive play, we re-raise
to $20, and end up heads up with the original
raiser.
Heads up with a ~$50 pot and
stacks of $180, the flop comes Nine-Seven-Six.
Action and thoughts on the
flop: We have flopped an over pair, which is
the ideal, but not most likely of flops. If
checked to, we will value bet our jacks. If the
early position player bets out, we will usually
raise to both build the pot and gain commitment
of our stacks. Additionally, we have in mind
that an over card by the river is likely. The
early position player bets out $25.
We ponder momentarily, and
decide to raise to $60, which is roughly 80% of
the pot. The villain calls. We begin to think of
a hand range for the opposition. He could be
holding a pocket pair, which in the event it was
nines, sevens, or sixes, he would have a set. We
would be behind Aces, Kings, or Queens. Ace King
through Ace Ten are likely holdings for this
player as well. In checking our player notes, we
have not observed him smooth call when holding
an over pair or set when someone played into him
(rather straightforward player). This player,
however, does have a tendency to overplay Ace
King and bigger Aces in situations where over
cards fall. Additionally, pocket eights might
make sense here, as he may be hoping for a
straight and feels he has the outs to call.
$170 pot, stacks of $120. The
turn card is a Queen.
Action and thoughts on the
turn: Well, the opposing player calling our
raise on the flop really committed us to this
pot. We had an over pair and know he is likely
to overplay Ace King or Ace Queen. We are
committed to calling any bet he makes, and
similarly, he “should” be committed to calling
any bet we make. Our plan is to move all-in if
he checks or bets, and to call if he decides to
push all-in.
The opposing player checks.
This may be a trap, but there is little to think
about, considering we are committed to this pot.
We move all-in. The opposing player calls,
showing us pocket eights. The river card is a
Four and we rake in a nice sized pot.
With a hand such as pocket
Jacks, we want to raise to narrow the field a
bit, and take control of the pot from the flop
on. We plan to commit in the event we flop an
over pair, and look to gradually control the pot
in search of information if an over card occurs.
By playing pocket Jacks aggressively from any
position, we minimize the risk of getting our
Jacks outdrawn or cracked by playing them
incorrectly and we maximize the value of this
premium starting hand.
Now that you have
studied how to
play pocket jacks it is time to put the lessons
to use. You can do that by playing for free or
real money in any of our recommended online
poker rooms.
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