How to play JJ

As is getting to be my typical Scottsdale afternoon, I did my morning house chores then headed out to the Talking Stick for a few hands of $2-$3 Spread Limit $3 to $300 Hold'em.  Some of that experience is detailed in an earlier post.

I had won a couple of big pots and was feeling quite good about things and a new player sat down to my left.  The lady won the first hand she played.  "Welcome to the table!"

A little friendly table talk led to a discussion of the hands that are just horrible for us.  She declared that pocket jacks were just the worst and I countered with pocket kings being the hand I have lost the most money with in cash games over the years.  It is because they are so strong!  I told her that I lose a lot less with pocket jacks because I feel I can get away from them when they are losing.

A few hands later, here I am on the button again with another pocket pair again and it limps around to me again and I raise again (to $20) and the same guy that went in all in when I had 99 goes all in again, this time with over $100 and a fairly tight player in front of me calls him.  Now what?  I looked at the lady to my left, told her that I was doing this just for her and I showed her my pocket jacks as I tossed them face down toward the dealer.

Wouldn't you know it, the tight player was just sitting there with pocket kings waiting to see a raise he could re-raise.  He won the pot.  The guy that kept raising all in before the flop lost his third buy-in.

I think it's kind of funny that I had to fold those jacks when a tight player called the all in.  I would have been just too embarassed after having told that lady that I didn't mind pocket jacks because I usually didn't lose a big pot with them. I just couldn't get into a three way all in huge pot and lose with pocket jacks.

In the spirit of pocket jacks being a tough hand to play I thought I would share this video by Marty Smith demonstrating how to play pocket Jacks.