Without a doubt, queens and Jacks cost me more money than any other starting hand -- I just never know how to play them, especially with overcards in multiway pots.
What usually happens is this:

I raise pre, get about 4 callers. 9 bets.

Flop comes K or A with XX (if both are there, I just fold), I not knowing what to do, bet, get raised, and often fold on turn or even on the flop.

alternatively (any 3bet pot pre-flop), I call down and, unsurprisingly, lose yet more.

How do you guys play these cards? (please refrain from saying mean things -- if I knew what I was doing I wouldn't be posting this as a question)

Thanks,

Amir.

1. There's going to be no universal answer.

2. It would be helpful if you posted an actual hand, as there are many variables.

- Are you in position or out of position?
- Will people donk (bet into the preflop raiser) with top pair, or check/raise?
- Are your opponents loose or tight? What will they do with AXo?

3. As a comparison, AA vs. 9 random hands wins like 35% of the time, but that 35% of the time, it wins 9x its investment, so it's insanely profitable. QQ vs. 4 loose ranges may lose 60%+ of the time but all you need is to be good 20% of the time. Don't be shy.

Amir-

Pretty sure there will be no mean answers in this forum. (If there are, they'll likely evaporate.) Re-posting along Calli's guidelines would be quite helpful.

QQ overpair:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53...wn-qq-1440794/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...ction-1396923/

One overcard:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/22...-flop-1337014/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/53...e-bet-1226488/

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks, Bob!!

I might not bet if an ace shows up with multiple callers. Depending on the situation i won't always bet if a king shows up either. You don't have to bet in every situation on the flop. On the other hand, I'm not recommending that anyone play scared the moment the board looks threatening either. It's hard to say exactly how I would play these hands because every situation is different.

You don't need to win a majority of the time with these hands to make a profit. Sometimes you will have an overpair or make a set and win large pots against those players who will call you down.

Pay their cab fare.

Generally speaking it depends on their preflop calling ranges. Like if an ace flops and you have two guys that never ever fold any ace preflop then you can probably just check/call one bet and try to bing um or get to see the river for free. If their ranges are all super duper weak and a king flops you can usually bet til raised and then decide if you have odds to bingum. But as already stated there is no universal answer.

Nugget: being intensely focused and not autopiloting hands like this is extremely important. Watch the action as it goes around the table and you can generally figure out what's going on and get a sense of what the other players want and therefore what you should do.

I can't really add anything to the conversation from a technical level. I would just say: remember that being results oriented is a mistake. Make the best decision possible at every street. If they suck out on you, accept that it happens and move forward. I know that's easier said than done, but it's important.

Also, consider reading "low stakes hold 'em" by Sklansky, Malmuth, and Miller. I'm working through it right now. It covers a lot of these situations.

just my thoughts.

The most simple situation is heads up against the BB.

In this case I bet any flop even with an A and a K.

If they call I check the turn and call the river.

This way you avoid being check raised on the turn and can catch someone bluffing on the river.

I actually play this way most often against any single opponent I have position on whether they called the raise or raised and called my re-raise.

If an ace flops against three or more opponents I don't put anything more into the pot assuming at low stakes that someone has an ace (low stakes players will play many "aces" regardless of the kicker and whether they are suited or not).

Against two opponents exactly I would make the decision based on player tendencies relative position. If they are both tight I bet the flop and even if they are both loose or tricky I think most often you have to bet the flop because they also each have two opponents.

A single opponent is much more free to bluff at you but even loose and tricky players will behave more against multiple opponents.

This way, if you get check raised you can have a higher confidence of being right when you fold.

Why are you checking the turn against loose passive opponents on a KT3-7 board, hoping that they'll make a betting mistake on the end?

I guess my main question is, say you open MP fairly tight (66+, A8s+, KTs+, QJs, ATo+, KJo+). What %age of your range fits in each group?

Strong-plus (top pair or better)
Medium strength (pair below TP but above third pair)
Weak showdownable (crappy pair and Ace hi)
Bluff

I'll tell you:
1) KK/TT/77/AA/AK/KQ/KJ/KT = 53 combos
2) QQ/JJ/AT/99/88 = 36 combos
3) 66/AQ/AJ/A9/A8 = 38 combos
4) QJs = 4 combos

Since the name of the game at low limit is exploiting the calling station, we must absolutely bet queens. They won't adjust to our strong range and fold A3 here. Hell, even when you do barrel QJ and get called down, he'll now just call down forever, even when you nut peddle the next three dozen times.

Like this:

UTG opens. UTG +2 calls. Folds to SB who 3! Hero cold caps QQ. All call.

Flop 10-6-2r. SB bets. Hero raises. UTG folds. UTG+2 makes the smooth. SB 3b all in for 2 more. Hero caps for more money on the side. UTG+2 calls.

Turn 6. Hero bets. UTG+2 raises. Hero calls.

River: A ck,ck.

UTG+2 scoops with k6 s00ted.