I know there are a million posts about JJ but dang! I still find it hard to play.


1/3 nl

Hero in mp with $550 behind
Villain in SB with about $155.
The tough players to my left happen to be up walking, leaving a couple of weak/tight players between me and the button.

Villain just sat down. I assume he's a typical player for this venue: loose, cally, trappy.
UTG, who has posted a straddle, is loose in position and a skilled, aggressive post flop player who is definitely capable of c/r or bluff raise.

Dead money = $7

Hero draws JJ and leads with $17
Villain in BB calls.
UTG calls.

Flop Kxx rainbow. (Pot = $61)

SB checks, UTG checks.

Hero finds himself in a pickle.

I think the less interesting question is what hero does now. The more interesting question is precisely what is the nature of the pickle, and how I found himself there. I think I know what I did wrong but was hoping for some input before I go over my thought process, and move on to the next fricken pickle I found myself in.

Whats the pickle? With 1 other in the hand I dont mind a bet/fold of $35, maybe a check behind. How much does UTG have?

And if i check behind i have the intention to call down UTG on blank turns and rivers

Don't really see your problem. Looks fine to me. Bet the flop, check behind on the turn if called, and play poker on the river.

A lot of pps will still call, maybe even some ace high's if you're lucky, though many will fold putting you on AK.

Don't be too scared of an overcard- your hand still has value. Don't let them get free cards.

I'd raise to $22 or so pre, a pot-sized raise. As played, I agree with B/F on the flop.

Since this is straddled I would treat this as a $3/6 game and raise preflop to $25-30
As played, I agree with B/F $35-40 seems about right

I'm always torn in these spots.

On the one hand, a bet is rarely going to get called by worse hands (so there's not a heckuva lotta value in it, and at the very least certainly no more than checking and calling/betting future streets), plus better hands are rarely folding (a weirdly played QQ?), so the two main reasons for betting don't seem to apply.

But I'm guessing there are other reasons for betting, one of them being just to simply end the hand now with a mediocre/vulnerable holding before things get sticky on later streets in a big pot vs tricky players; if we don't mind those tricky spots, then maybe there's more value in checking here vs aggro players?

I'd lean towards bet/fold (especially against straightforward players) with my backup plan to check/calldown (especially against aggro players).

GcluelessNLnoobG

Preflop raise is too small, make it $21-24.

Bet/fold flop around $35.

Pretty standard spot here.

Will the UTG player raise his straddle a significant % of the time? Where I play you can count on players who straddle to raise their option almost all of the time. I'd give serious consideration to calling the straddle and 3 betting pre, but only if I can count on the UTG player to raise a significant % of the time.

Pretty much right here with ya.

Fwiw, preflop, I pump to $20 minimum. As played, I'm betting $40 on the flop.

I wasn't all that happy being in a $60 pot with a so-so hand. I wasn't against investing a little more money but I'm sure no one would have bought a weak cbet.

UTG would almost certainly 3-bet any premium hand. He was most likely playing hands like 66, JTs, and ATo. I figure I'm doing well against his range.

SB is more of a problem. Around here, the average player seldom 3-bets. They almost always 3-bet AK and usually AA. They always flat QQ. If villain had a set, 100% guaranteed he check raises.

I don't think I wanted a caller. There's no draw on the board and I figure if I get called I'm crushed.

Hero: checks. UTG snorts and rolls his eyes.

Turn: T

SB all in for $140. UTG folds.

Hero bangs head on table repeatedly.

All of your reasoning suggests "scared money" to me. Sometimes, we just have to grab our balls tightly and do what we know is the correct play....and hope it works out. If you have a tighter image, that a lot of us here on the forum carry, it should work out often when you get active in a pot.

Example from today....new guy sits to my left and is a loose cannon of a player. Player to my right is stabby at orphan pots to say the least. I'm sandwiched, but at the 2nd best seat at the table when it comes to getting information most times before I act.

I am UTG with QQ. I raise to $15 in a 1/2NL game. Villain to my left calls. Folds around through the nit pile to the BB who thinks for a minute (really about 5 seconds). I'm already forming my plan to cbet or not on certain flops and I'm certainly expecting a c/r or raise some of the time.

Flop is T96hh. I puke since it's so wet and the villains are aggro players capable of trying to take me off a hand. But, I do what I have to do anyway. I BET! I'm still ahead of most of what they hold vs my raises.

I bet close to pot and if they raise, I'm in a spot for sure. But, they fold.

Sometimes you just have to play the hand correctly and go from there.

There are plenty of worse hands that can call a flop bet, and plenty of drawing hands that can hit the turn if you give them a free card.

And honestly, without knowing the texture of the board beyond the K that you obviously are very scared of, it's hard to put opponents on any kind of reasonable range.

Raise bigger pre yes.

I know it's dependent on where I play, but I c/f here way more than I b/f.

Nobody is raising your cbet here with a K and you'll probably get a light peel here a fair amount of the time too. So you'll have to be prepared to fire again on the turn when that happens. And even then you don't know **** about villains hand( having a king or lower pp). So you'll be guessing again on the river. Kind of a ****ty spot.

HU I'd b/f this 100%

I revealed to my analyst today that I'm paying his fees out of my poker money. He took it as well as can be expected.

I appreciate all the replies. This is seriously the best website ever. (I was up all last night reading about the guy living out of his car).

which one? lol.

It's already been said before, but raise more preflop, as played bet flop, check turn... blah blah blah...

The shove on the turn into a pot of 60 is pretty gross, but it's folding time.

OP please link the living out of car thread...

As played if people are 3betting or c/r you those hands only...man you got it made. Ez game.

Agreed. If your "action reads" are this strong, you should be dodging bullets with JJ all day long....and getting value from it when not dodging.

I think the identity of other two cards on the flop are very relevant to the affect on our flop action. 6h and 7h are very different from 2s 4c.

I also don't think this is an auto-cbet at all, assuming the other two cards are small.

Like gobbelygeek said, we really need to consider what worse hands will call us if we're cbetting for value. This is especially important based on the player types in the hand. HU vs. a reg I have history with I'm probably betting this close to 100%. 3ways against two weak-tight players, I'm checking it back a lot.

My default would probably look something like 60% check it back, 40% cbet.

Without really knowing what the flop is (KXX) this is hard to say whether or not draws will call your Cbet. I'm guessing the board was pretty damn dry though since u can't remember it. In which case this is the perfect time for a delayed CBet, especially considering your up against Trappy weak tight LPs. If the majority of these villains Cbet calling range are Kx, then seeing there action on the turn will give you more info about the strength there hands. And possible get them to look you up light.

This depends SO much on what the xx are on the Kxx. While hero found the xx to just be xx, something like K84 could get called by 78s, 98s a bunch or even 99. If the Kxx becomes K23, then I tend to agree that not too many hands call worse, but what about 44-TT?

b/f here for value and protection against something like AQ.