Question about Pocket Jacks (JJ) in Early Position

Hey everyone. How do you usually play JJ from UTG when facing a 3-bet from a late position player? Do you prefer to call and see a flop, or do you 4-bet for value and protection?

This is one spot where you have to play the player. When playing micro stakes, Villain's tendencies can vary widely. If you're playing against a splashy aggro guy you could 4-bet. But against most players who 3-bet at micro stakes they have overpair or AK, at worst AQ. Population's 3-bet range at micros is extremely tight unless you are up against a lag, so watch their 3-bet frequency. Against a maniac, it's an easy call. So you probably just flat and check-fold to any A or K on the flop. If you hit a J though, you can check-call check-call.

Stacks will matter. If you have him outstacked say 3 to 1 or more you can just put him in. If you're short JJ might be your best chance? You also want isolation here but with this many chips throwing down pre it will be difficult to not get that. : P

The size of the 3-bet as well makes a difference. If they raise min it's a call because you're not laying down those pot odds with a prime hand, no matter how vulnerable JJ might be. Once it gets up near 3x raise it certainly makes you sweat, but again, player type. Splashy player is going to raise this 3x fairly wide, right? Maniac could even have A-rag or lower pocket pair, right? But if Villain basically has a history of no previous 3-bet frequency and suddenly jacks you up 3x, it's probably flat or fold. Remember, it's a tournament, right? Cash game might be different.

It is a tough spot though. I'm sure that someone with more experience and skill than I can give a better answer.

It's a great question because I'm not always sure of the answer myself. At the stakes I play there really isn't much 3-betting and I'm just starting to try it with some confidence myself since I find that 3-betting fish is rarely all that profitable. It often folds out value or gets called/jammed by AA KK, so I only really use it against min openings when I'm strong or against super loose cally guys when strong.

I'm never gonna four-bet jacks in a cash game, but that may be a flaw in my game. I want to see a flop. In a tournament, it depends....

Depends on the effective stack size. In tournaments this will often be a fine spot to 4-bet jam for something like 30-40BB. But in cash games (100BB) or early in an MTT, its pretty much a square call, unless the opponent is some kind of maniac.

brazil said:

Hey everyone. How do you usually play JJ from UTG when facing a 3-bet from a late position player? Do you prefer to call and see a flop, or do you 4-bet for value and protection?

Click to expand...

This is a great question that can be answered by getting the free version of GTO WIZARD. All your preflop questions can be answered by the WIZ--as long as you know to adjust the Villain ranges. You do this by changing the position of the V in the solver vs their actual seat. For the V who are tight with their 3 bet range. For a tighter 3 bet range for the BTN player, you would move the V in the solver to an earlier seat. It is not perfect, but it is a great place to begin.