How to Play the Pocket Jacks on Texas Holdem Poker Game

Of all the possible starting hands in holdem on the playable list jacks are the one which top professional Daniel Negreanu seems to like least. It may be the fourth strongest starting pair but that makes things even more difficult. Pocket jacks is a hand which cries out play me but doing so often leads to disaster.

Daniel goes so far as to devote a chapter to the hand in his recently published book Holdem Wisdom for All Players. Says Daniel: Many players hate getting dealt jacks because they feel theyre unlucky with them. Well the chances are it isnt that they are unlucky, they are simply over valuing the hand and misplaying it.

He points out that there is a significant difference between pocket jacks and queens and this is that while only two over poker cards can cause a problem there are three over cards which can make jacks difficult to play. But this is not the end of the problem. If an over card doesnt flop you will still have a whole new set of potential worries such as coordinated boards like 4-57, 3-4-5,6-7-8. If an opponent is playing a little pair, slow playing a bigger pair or is lucky enough to flop a straight you are doomed.

Pocket jacks is the one hand that seems too strong to fold yet not strong enough to hold if there is much action ahead of you, he says. In a no limit game it is not difficult to picture situations where you should fold them before the flop. Lets sayan early position player raises the blind and then a very tight player reraises all in. You have to ask yourself what in the world could they have. They could both have A-K in which case you would be getting good odds for your money. More often than not though one of them will be holding a pair bigger than yours. There are countless dilemmas youll face when holding a pair of jacks ... unless a jack hits the flop you will never feel too safe. That is not to say that you should automatically fold on the flop if you dont catch a third jack. Instead try to protest your hand with a good size bet. But if someone does call you had better be Willing to abort mission. FAST.

Daniel gives several examples one of which is playing pocket jacks to a 9-6-2 flop. It is tough to fold, he says. The only playable hands that can beat you are 2-2,6-6,9-9,0-0, K-K or A-A. In this scenario bet your hand aggressively but if your opponent raises now you have a much tougher decision. The key here, as with most poker problems, is sizing up your opponent. If he holds aces, kings or queens would he have raised big before the flop. Is he the type of player who calls with small pairs before the flop? When he flops three of a kind does he usually bet it aggressively or play it slow to suck more people in? In the end you will have to make a judgement. Playing pocket jacks makes for some of the toughest decisions you will ever face in poker. But hey - no one ever said this game would be easy.