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With pocket pairs, call _ you want to draw a bigger field
Published: 2005-12-31
 Chicago TribuneYou are dealt pocket 4s. You raise because you are hoping to eliminate the many hands with overcards that can beat you. At least that's what many poker books and many big-name professionals tell you to do.
But not Phil Gordon.
With pocket pairs, especially small ones, you just want to call because you have the chance to make a lot of money if the field is bigger, said the author of "Phil Gordon's Little Green Book."
"Before, I might've raised to limit the field," Gordon said, "but what I realized through some mathematical study is that you want as many people as possible when you have the middle pocket pair, and you want to get in cheap. You want to flop a set, and you want as many people in as possible so someone else flops something too."
The retooled Gordon found himself with pocket deuces in the small blind in a $1,000-buy-in World Series of Poker no-limit hold 'em event.
"A tight player raised from middle position," said Gordon, a prominent member of the FullTiltPoker.net Poker team. "I had to call about one-12th of my stack with pocket deuces."
Gordon called. It was heads-up. If the flop hit him, he could play the hand aggressively. If the flop missed him, he could get away from the hand. The flop came 2-Q-K.
Gordon led out with his set of deuces.
"He raised with his A-K all in," Gordon said. "I called. He was drawing nearly stone-cold dead. The only way he could win is go runner-runner full house or runner-runner straight. There's almost no way he can win."
The turn came a king, giving Gordon a full house of 2s over kings. Gordon's opponent was dead to the case king or one of three queens, which would've given him a better full house.
The river came a blank. Gordon busted his opponent and went on to finish eighth in the event, collecting $66,055.
Gordon would've liked a bigger field against which to play his set. But his point -- what made his newfound respect for calling with pocket pairs instead of trying to run people out of the pot -- is that it takes advantage of the way many novice players overvalue their hand when they hit top pair.
"When they flop top pair/top kicker, all the money's going into the pot," Gordon said. "When you flop a set and they have one pair, they're about 2 percent to win. In hold 'em, pocket aces vs. 7-2, that's 13 percent, so you're five times better off when you flop a set against one pair than any other situation in hold 'em."
Table talk
Tight player: A player who plays few hands, preferring to bet with only premium holdings such as A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K.
Case king: The last card of any rank in the deck.
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Drawing pocket jacks is no walk in the park
Published: 2005-12-31
 By DANIEL NEGREANU
Many Texas Hold 'em players hate getting dealt two jacks because they feel they're unlucky with them. Well, chances are it isn't that they're unlucky with these cards. They're simply overvaluing the hand and misplaying it.
In Hold 'em, the best hands you can get are A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and then J-J. However, there is a significant difference between the strength of the jacks and the queens.
With queens, there are only two overcards — cards higher than a queen — that could hit on the flop and make Q-Q vulnerable.
With J-J, there are three overcards that could flop, making the hand more difficult to play.
If an overcard doesn't flop, you still have a whole new set of potential worries, such as a coordinated board: 4-5-7, 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're doomed.
The J-J is the one hand that seems too strong to fold yet not strong enough to hold if there is much action ahead of you. If you're playing a structured Limit Hold 'em game, the impact isn't as severe, but in No Limit Hold 'em, where your entire bankroll is in jeopardy, pocket jacks must be played carefully.
Know when to fold
In fact, in a No Limit game, it's easy to picture situations where you should fold them before the flop. Think about it for a second.
Let's say an early position player raises the blind, and then a tight competitor re-raises all-in right behind. As you look down at your pocket jacks — the fourth-best pair in the deck — you have to ask yourself, what in the world could they have?
They could have a hand such as A-K, in which case you'd be getting good odds on your money. More often than not, though, one of them will be holding a pair bigger than yours.
It's not a stretch to imagine that the first player might have a hand like A-Q, and the all-in raiser is sitting with a pair of kings in the hole. In this case, you'd be a 4-to-1 underdog to win the pot, and that's not a good thing.
You will face countless dilemmas when holding a pair of jacks, and it's the reason so many people despise the hand. Frankly, unless a jack hits the flop, you'll never feel too safe.
Now, that's not to say that you should automatically fold on the flop if you don't catch a third jack. Instead, try to protect your hand on the flop with a good-size bet. But if someone does call, you should be willing to abort the mission.
Flop makes it, breaks it
For example, if you bet and the flop comes A-9-4, make one stab at the flop, trying to gauge information about your opponent's hand. If he calls or raises in this spot, what do you think he might have? Chances are he's holding an ace, which only gives you a 7 percent chance of winning the pot.
However, if the flop comes 9-6-2, it's tough to fold your pocket jacks. The only playable hands that can beat you are 2-2, 6-6, 9-9, Q-Q, K-K, or A-A. In this scenario, bet your hand aggressively. But if your opponent raises, then you have a tougher decision to make.
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'll have to make a judgment call. Playing pocket jacks makes for some of the toughest decisions you'll face in poker. But, hey, no one ever said this game would be easy.
Daniel Negreanu writes for Card Shark Media. Questions should be directed through an e-mail link at cardsharkcomments.com.
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