4:04 What would YOU do with J♥J♣ on the flop? Your Stack (CO): 40,549 Their Stack (BTN): 89,540 Pot: 10,430 Board: 8♥ 6♠ 5♣ BB & UTG+1 check, you bet 5,215, BTN raises to 14,830, BB & UTG+1 fold A) Fold B) Call C) Raise to… ?
What is villain's range? He elected not to squeeze preflop, so we can discount or eliminate QQ+, although vs a tight UTG raise he may not have a 3-betting range. But we will discount those. For value he can have 97s, 88,66,55, and occasionally some AA. He might raise TT or 99 for protection. For bluffs, he may elect to turn a hand such as 44, 76, or 87 into a bluff, hoping to make us fold a weaker over-pair on the turn. Or he could have complete air such as ace-jack. Since we beat some of the worst hands he could raise for value, and we beat all the bluffs, I think we should continue here unless we have a specific read that this guy isn't going to raise one-pair holdings after the flop. However, I will probably X/F to some big turn bets or bad turns. ...oh, I didn't see the stack size. Never mind, fold.
I can't see myself in this spot in the first place. I would have deincentivized a wide button call behind me by 3betting pre flop (to drive out the button and the blinds) to play the hand post flop heads up in position. I'm not interested in playing the hand this passively and encouraging the players to act behind me to enter to pot and play the pot multiway. But... If I did call pre flop, (and know that I am going to bet/fold my overpair to a raise), then I'm not betting my hand. But... If am betting my hand, I'm not betting 1/2 pot. It's either a larger size to better define their hands (making a fold to a raise much clearer), or I'm betting smaller because the burden of defense is spread between multiple players and will elicit the same response as a 1/2 pot bet. This would allow me the option to continue when faced with a raise, from the button or a check raise from anyone else in the hand. *Betting after the pre flop aggressor checks the flop opens you up for attack. Betting 1/2 pot leaves you vulnerable as a field bettor. But... If I did bet (smaller or larger than 1/2 pot, but not this "no man's land" sizing) and get called, I plan to size up on the turn on good cards. As played, having to fold an overpair on a flop texture that is full of draws/pairs + draws was a terrible situation to be putting himself in to begin with.
Fold, not only because I watched the video, but because the BTN's check-raise range here is really polar and no decent player is going to want to bet their best bluffs here into multiple players. So at the bare minimum I'd want a hand that at least can make the nuts, so any continues I have here would have to have a 7 or maybe a 9. The overpairs don't really make great continues here because they can't necessarily improve, and TT-JJ are especially bad because even if the villain has a weird bluff like Qh7h they can still have outs to beat us. I think flatting or 3-betting pre are probably both ok, with early position raisers I'd be way more inclined to call JJ here simply because if we 3-bet here and get 4-bet jammed we probably are getting the right price to call but it's pretty marginal.
This is teaching so much more than just how to play jacks. It’s teaching how to analyze any hand. Really happy it reached the 1000 likes so we get parts 2&3! And ima say 8s9s fav hand.
I absolutely LOVE how Alex teaches. He includes the folds that you need to make that the other coaches skip. I can't really put my finger on everything else he does right, but he's got something that no one else does.
For me the best part of his quizzes is how decisive he always is. He's never really wishy washy, even when he says there's an alternative option, it's like "ya, I guess doing this is OK but really you should do this instead." Always insightful, straight to the point and very clear with the messages he's sending.
I think the first hand is wrong. If you assume the button is a good player- the raises he has there are sets (9 combos) and straights (maybe 4 of 97s), and 2 pair 65s(2), that’s 15value bets. His draws are 67s (3), 87s(3) A7s (4), 77 (6), that’s 16. And that’s assuming he’s never bluffing with something like A8/A5 with a back door flush(4 together) or A4 with a back door (3). You’re getting 3:1 on a call. This is a call. Now this depends on the player profile. If you think she’s not raising with these hands, yes, fold! But then what you are doing is exploiting an unbalanced range. Which maybe is his point. Like, the average player in mid/low stakes might not be raising with those hands. But if it’s a good player, this is a call all day. Edit: adding - this is definitely a raise pre as well. Particularly if the button has a tight preflop range.
So glad you put this video out man I literally had that AH HAA moment. Felt like this was meant for me to see and i'm so happy I did. The way Alex Explained the reasoning behind it just made so much sense.
@1:20:17 Asking "is a 10 ever good here" is sort of a misleading question. An A-10, Q-10, 9-10 can all be playable hands here that would call your 4.9k open. All 10x hands with nutted or semi nutted draws are "good" here for the purposes of realizing equity on future streets.
Alex is the best. He isn’t afraid to go against the grain. He backs up his teaching. Jonathan little- you hit a home run hiring him. And BTW he always follows up with questions/ answers.
1:02:51 Imagine if agentTetris jammed the flop. Does JJ continue there? Losing to any Q, any 4, and random KK AA too? If villain wasn't so worried about pot control or "trapping" opponents, then the JJ doesn't get to see the turn, doesn't get to realize the boat, and the pot goes the opposite direction. What is A4s scared of on a Q44 rainbow board? Literally only losing to exactly QQ or Q4, but beating all other pairs, beating all AQ KQ QT, beating K4s J4s T4s 54s 43s... if everyone folds to a flop jam, then agentTetris wins the pot uncontested. If anyone calls agentTetris, then he has better odds against them. Great video. I love the format with quizzes interspersed. Active learning is the good shit. Thank you Mr. Fitzgerald!
I mainly play HU and 6 handed, but that first example is a play I might make at least half the time with 87, 67, 77 ... take out something like 89 810 suited, or the marginal over-pair such as yours. Would more depend on feel of opponent, but doesn't seem at all clear cut unless he's definitely a solid player.
Ah Ad. Great video and content. This has to be the best poker youtube channel out there for poker strategy information. I have no idea who even comes close to this channel? If you have ideas please post them.
Disagree with “checking jacks caps your range” if you play your checking range differently. For example I’d probably slow play top set esp with a spade. I tend to bet larger on these types or flops with a more polar range so I’d play jacks as a bluff catcher and/or value bet if the turn checks again
It depends on the board. Just because you have the best hand currently, doesn't mean that your range isn't "capped". If its a board that you'd bet with Aces or Kings etc or maybe a draw that could complete, you lose those hands from your range. Therefore on the river, the opponent might be able to make a better decision due to ruling certain hands out depending on the runout.
I pretty much agree. If you have any sort of balanced checking range at all… you shouldn’t be completely “capped”, you can still have at least a handfull of value hands. Sets of Kings and Tens, AK of Spades, maybe AK off with the Ace of Spades, or AA with the Ace of Spades… Thats the whole reason to be balanced. So when we check Jacks on a King high board, our opponents can’t just automatically put you on QQ or JJ and always be right.
Whats the idea of cold calling with the 4th best hand from the CO" Wouldn't it be substantially better to utilize our position & aggression more frequently and isolate then not? Feels like we are laying a red carpet for the Button and Blinds to either tag along with their widowmakers or perhaps a Squeeze! PRECARIOUS BALANCE I SUPPOSE!
Big chout out to Alex. I saw the picture is Name and though my kay... But i really like your humor Alex and omg i miss this simple but pure gold content and how you transvers it in a really simple and logical way. I not heard one time GTO (damm you did it on 1:22:50 xd). Some sounds so simple and we agree yes makes sense easy game but next hour one the table we check back JJ on K Flop. Beste Grüße und Danke ;)
Answer to first question: I think I would just call and then check/call or check/raise on the turn expecting to trap. Button could have a few hands that crush us (bigger pocket pair, sets, 97s), but statistically he's going to be betting here with top pair/mid pair or smaller pocket pairs (7's, 9's and 10's), draws (87s, 76s, ...), or even with 2 overcards (AKs, AQs, KQs, ...) etc. I think we're good here much more often than not. I would NOT reraise because we don't want to force weaker holdings to fold and stronger holdings will just call or shove on us, which we don't love because we are losing to sets, 97s (unlikely but they have been called loose, so not beyond the realm of possibility) and larger pocket pairs.
Is the preflop flat in the cutoff during first hand to induce a squeeze jam by the short stack in the BB? Also a slight error - we aren't check-raised, the player who raises us is the button, not the small blind. A raise in position with 2 players to act and the players to act and the continuation bettor all have stacks that are jam sized, is still strong so I tend to agree it is a fold.
If you’d have re-raised pre, and the player is reasonable, I would think that a call on the flop would have been good (basically behind 88 and 66), the action as it is isn’t fun for you, could be a fold.
7:45 Call. Possibilities of overpairs, sets. But check-raising presents strength. Solid player. Gotta just call and take a more conservative line given the stats presented.
I played the second had pretty much exactly the same as Alex so I’m good with that my thought process was very similar too The first had I played completely wrong and in the back of my mind I said why would he bet so big into 4 people with a bluff and still called def learned from that mistake tho great video
I think your favorite starting hand is As As... you just didn't know until I just told you... because you've never had it... and you never know your favorite until you do, but if you were dealt that things just got real interesting and you have a hell of a story to tell.
The hand where BB 3! 5.35x with QQ. Do you read anything into that bet size? I feel like it's most often a strong linear range that jacks are at best flipping against.
Hey, there are a lot of reasons why people don't like to fold. Many of them fallacious though. 1. The opponent may be bluffing. And they could just always bet enough more than me to make me fold every single time, can't have that, I'd lose. 2. People way too often think about only best case and worst case, and ignore the other cases. So like if they still think best case they could still have a straight or flush, they'll see it as still having potential and like to stay in. 3. Some people aren't serious about making money and think it's more important to see what someone to have made that bet with than to conserve their chips. 4. They already bet enough chips that they think they're committed and can't fold the rest of the hand now. 5. Each bet is only a little more chips, so it's like thinking they have good enough odds to stay in for each bet. 6. They think the odds of winning the hand are still greater than the cost of each individual bet. 7. They just don't like folding.
studying the preflop, stack to pot ratio and portion of re raise, I don't think a straight would bey like this being a rainbow flop. looking at flopzilla pro, I put the re raise range on set or two pair, pocket 99,10;s as no 3bet preflop, combinations then are 12 over pairs 99 or 1010, 9 combo's of top pair(98,78,A8 suited), 9 combos of sets(88,66,55), 6 combos of 77. this still gives 55% equity, so the bet is 15k pot + 15K RR = 30k pot we need to call 10K, so easy call with our equity , thinking what to do at the turn or river is my next question already. for now call
#1 The preflop decision at 53:15 is against UTG+1 open with, LJ, HJ Call from the SB --> We flat call 4 handed out of position? #2 The decision at 1:16:40 Is against UTG with us being in UTG + 1 --> We 3 Bet In the quiz I thought #1 Is a clear 3 bet and #2 close between 3 bet and call Both hands we didn't really seem to have a read just an average player I'm just a silly rec But comparing the spots surely #1 should be a better spot to 3bet --> #1 is vs open from later position, #1 has callers in between so squeeze acquires more chips and in #1 calling and playing out of position seems bad
If you go all in preflop with pocket Jack's and lose (especiallyheads up,) you have bad luck. But remember to play the person at least as much as you play the hand
Love Alex’s content. However really don’t understand the sizing on the 3 bet for the second hand. villain never folds there therefore impossible to balance bluffs ?
Fantastic video, bit i disagree with the way you played the hand where you called the jacks against utg+1 3bet (from 32:00). I think villains range is incredibly capped. Unless he is a total maniac, he wouldn’t 3bet 77 to 1010. JJ maybe but there is only 1 combination left of it. Utg+1 3bet range against utg bigstack open is basically AKo, AQs+, KK, AA. On the flop when he checks we can guess that most of the time AA and KK and AQ is out of the question. Sometimes he might slowplay AA and KK, but not too often. So the only hands left are all the AK-s. I think he would call a small bet on the flop with that, and also you dont want him to get a free card with 2 overs and all kinds of backdoor draws. On the turn if the A or K comes, you can easily check-fold. On all the other turn cards you can continue betting with a variety of different sizings. With this line you can have at least 1 street of value, but on some turns even 2 streets.
Can we get strategy on playing this vs NOT solid and NOT tight and NOT very good players (do not consider who's behind to act... stack sizes... do not care about opponent's ranges, etc)? Because in that first hand on 658 flop, multiple guys from my regular game with my buddies would do that with a 7.... plays open ended like it's the stone cold nuts...
The first hand- reraising with a7s wouldn’t be a bad play at all and is a great bluff since you block any other Ax which might call, you’ve got back doors with a straight and flush, you’re squeezing the preflop aggressor, and since there weren’t any 3 bets preflop it’s less likely you’ll run into aces, kings or queens… so you’re going to put a ton of pressure on all the other hand combos… you’re fold equity is high and you’re building the pot should you win the hand.
In the first hand why do we just flat? Is 3-betting and probably folding out BU and getting it heads up in position better than the spot you get into in the video? Having to play OOP with Jack's seems to be exactly the reason people say they don't like playing it in the first place. If your hand is good enough to lead on the flop for half pot with one person behind you why not 3! pre and get it heads up and just fold to 4!
The hand at 30:00: Preflop UTG+1 raised, UTG+2 reraised, we called, UTG+1 folded. Flop of Qd 3h 2d and preflop reraiser checks to us. You ask what do we think he has, and then you listed a bunch of hands but didn't mention AK nor QQ slowplaying. Those are the primary hands I put him on, with also possibility of the other two jacks, plus maybe TT or 99. If he were the table leader I might add in some weaker aces and 88-77, but generally no. The question you didn't ask is what are we behind on the flop? AA, KK, AQ are all going to c-bet this flop. If he got here with KQs, then he is seriously aggressive so he probably c-bets that, too. The only hand we're behind is QQ trapping, and there are only 3 combinations, compared to 16 combinations of AK. I am always going to bet my jacks here, but I do agree that the sizing is pretty small. I'm also going to bet AQ plus all of my flush draws (which are not that many after I cold-called a 3-bet preflop AdJd, AdTd, JdTd).
That was an exceptional training video. Thanks! ...and I'm going to say TJs and the suit doesn't matter (okay, that's mine, and I have no idea what yours is).
Been playing for awhile and I dont think I would be confident with any decision especially if I had not been playing with those people long enough to gauge their style of play. If a solid player raised with that flop itd be somewhat tricky because I can see him flopping a straight, two pair, trips. Although being a solid player would put you on a pocket pair (if I raised preflop) and would know that in order to win would have to bet like he had the hands mentioned above. Scenerios like this, and the ways on how to navigate through them to maximize profit potential are a big reason why I watch these videos. Just quality stuff. What I would do though is have a friend call in a bomb threat or start a small fire and get the hell out of there.
The first example 5:44 this happened to me all the cards were lower than jacks so we both bet heavy then he ended up having QQ overpair. How can you spot when someone has overpair or two pair or even trips? i sometimes lose my stack getting dragged all in by villain as most people on 1c 2c bet a low pair to the river and finish. I have a good system but then these situations are wiping my profits built up over the past 2 hours of playing. Thank You. Maybe control pot size even when I think I have the nuts?
I think it's a mistake to bet after the flop, because you basically announced you had a big pair by reraising preflop. I think it's better to just check first to see what sort of raise anybody else decides to make. Then just check call small raises to try and get to showdiwn. Then just fold to any raise that you don't have good odds to call. By betting after the flop you arewide open to a bluff re-raise and have no way of knowing if it iswirth trying to continue. Having made the bet you have to fold the re-raise.
If you’re only 3betting with big pairs, especially from the button, you really need to brush up on your ranges… you have position, the blinds have yet to act, the initial raiser is in the cutoff… I mean… there are so many great 3 betting hands… all the ace4-7s, a5os, suited connectors like 67, 78, 89, aa, kk, qq, jj, 10’s, 9’s, aks/os, aqs/os… you want to avoid 3 betting hands like k10s because those are cards you want your opponents to have but you really need to widen your 3 betting range. I didn’t read past the first sentence because it’s depressing but from what I’ve seen you are losing a lot of ev. Always remember we raise for two reasons… to deny equity and build the pot in case we win. That’s doesn’t mean go insane with the bets… the more money goes in the more polarized the ranges… so …
You say you’re bet on the flop leaves you open to a bluff reraise… what hands reraise on that flop? Let’s say you’re in the cutoff, you don’t have trip kings because that 4 bets… you’d likely fold tens preflop lol, so what do you have. Maybe kts but does two pair or three 5’s reraise on the flop? Aqs might reraise, ajs… the point is it seems like you’re playing scared… as though you’re looking for a reason to fold. You literally wrote that you want to check down a pair of jacks with one over, when you’re blocking kj, and fold to big raises. You have position, you have the range advantage, and you have initiative. If you raise your jacks what hands reraise… because three of a kind and two pair would likely call to keep the button betting. And maybe you do fold to a reraise sometimes… but being afraid of a reraise isn’t a reason not to raise. Especially if you have the discipline to fold when you should. All I’m saying is this… there are way way way more combos of hands that don’t have you beat, compared to the ones that do… and whenever that’s the case, you have position, the range advantage, and the initiative, you should bet to deny equity from pairs of tens, 5’s, and draws, and build the pot in case you win. Maybe he has a king, or better, but what reraise for value on the flop vs what reraises as a bluff, and you can’t be scared. I promise you’re leaving value out there and will be exploited by good players paying attention. And you’re a thinking player so you can definitely crush it… good luck brother.
1. You need to handrange read and read handranges more accurately. And you need to balance your range out, and not be such a tight nit, if they are putting you on a high pair. That does not mean that you can't play semi tight, to semi moderate, and have to be Loose to LAG. 2. You should bet, Cbet there because 1. Your likely ahead, and they likely missed. 2. They will likely CALL with less then what you have, and call with bottom pair, middle pair, top pair crap kicker, chase draws, etc, that can either fold out later top pair crap kicker that beats you, if your nit tight, or cause them to call with less if your ranges are semi balanced, semi moderate, etc. 3. If you don't usually cbet there, with what you have and only Cbet if have better then your narrowing, semi limiting, semi capping your range, and semi playing your with your range revealed. 4. Like the others have said, you can't be scared money. Sure they can check raise you. But that doesn't mean they will. All you can do is evaluate the likelyhood range of whether they will check raise. If it's about 50%+ that they check raise, then check. If it's about 17% to 27% to 37% that they check raise, then go ahead and Cbet If you cbet and if they check raise, and if they are not likely bluffing, either call and revaluate, be careful, etc, on future streets, if the check raise is small, or fold. If they loosely check raise a lot, consider flat calling, an or extremely rarely reraising them. But just because they might theoretically, possibly check raise you about 13% of time or an unknown amount of time, does not mean you should never ever Cbet in that spot. If you think you should never ever Cbet in that spot, your scared money, and you open yourself up to, an can possibly, semi probably be outplayed lose, and have that happen often enough, to be more then the amount you lose in the long term by cbetting on that board, and then occasionally getting check raised. So you cbet better hands there, nut hands there, your JJ type hands there, and semi bluff Cbet your draws there, and occasionally Cbet air, etc there, to semi balance out your range. You should be cbetting there at least about 59% of the time at minimum. Also that's why it's important to have good bankroll management, and good table, player, handranges reading etc, to help you cbet more, in those situations.
Can you please rethink graphics and/or consistently narrate the important numbers as the action unfolds? When coaching questions are being asked, the stack and bet sizes are illegible on a 10” tablet, while the nearly content free PowerPoint template takes up 75% of the available resolution. Would be great to be able consume this on a phone.
Sigh, I would call. Dudes polarized to be sure. Possibly on and draw or has a straight already made. Point is with the polarization if he's bluffing we good to go to showdown and if he has it no point bloating this pot he not going anywhere. Call and re-evaluate later. Curious to see how I am wrong as usual :P
So a 'solid player' is someone who plays 13% VPIP, loves to pot control top pair, and always has a set when he raises on 865r? I just call that a nit :)
Favorite hand is Q9 of hearts . For some strange reason this is my favorite hand I call it the birds. Is there any logic to that or am I just superstitious...?
For those who don’t know… they don’t really care what you write in the comment section, just that you write something. The more comments a video gets the more the algorithm will prioritize said video and subsequent content from the channel. So everyone should write a comment about anything
I would probably call. I think the right answer is probably going to be to raise, but I would definitely call. I don't like how this pot is multiway and a caller on the button will have a lot of the nuts in their range. But this is one of those times where I feel like my analysis is shit and the answer will be completely different. I could see them raising with a straight draw which makes sense to price them out I guess but I would never do it. before I see it, I also think they would call all those pocket pairs preflop as well 55, 66, and 88 I can see why we should fold, I didn't guess because like you said the raise didn't seem big. I didn't notice it was half our stack and that makes a lot of sense now
See this guy at 14:00 sounds reasonable but then again if your ratztovvv with 10/10 in that situation what do you do? Call? vs a 35k stack with 10/10? or 9/9? Fold? Its the same play.
@@PokerCoaching you guys have posted a silhouette of a poker player from New York and we were going to identify this person. I cannot find the post so I cannot identify the person. Thanks
I think I fold. We are crushed to slow played AA - QQ and straights , two pairs and sets . We crush 99 -TT but in the microstakes games I play JJ isn't good enough.
@40:05 if you don't think he's 3betting 88 99 TT pre then why can't we just fold before the flop? We're just calling, praying he has AK or AQ and misses?
I could be wrong but even if we think he has AA-QQ, AK,AQ and that's it, he still has AK or AQ almost 70% of the time and those WILL miss the flop almost 70% of the time. So yeah basically that is the play because its mathematically sound?
4:04
What would YOU do with J♥J♣ on the flop?
Your Stack (CO): 40,549
Their Stack (BTN): 89,540
Pot: 10,430
Board: 8♥ 6♠ 5♣
BB & UTG+1 check, you bet 5,215, BTN raises to 14,830, BB & UTG+1 fold
A) Fold
B) Call
C) Raise to… ?
B) Think I'm gonna play bluff catcher and call down all the way. No raise, would only get action from sets and straights.
B call
What is villain's range? He elected not to squeeze preflop, so we can discount or eliminate QQ+, although vs a tight UTG raise he may not have a 3-betting range. But we will discount those. For value he can have 97s, 88,66,55, and occasionally some AA. He might raise TT or 99 for protection. For bluffs, he may elect to turn a hand such as 44, 76, or 87 into a bluff, hoping to make us fold a weaker over-pair on the turn. Or he could have complete air such as ace-jack. Since we beat some of the worst hands he could raise for value, and we beat all the bluffs, I think we should continue here unless we have a specific read that this guy isn't going to raise one-pair holdings after the flop. However, I will probably X/F to some big turn bets or bad turns.
...oh, I didn't see the stack size. Never mind, fold.
I can't see myself in this spot in the first place. I would have deincentivized a wide button call behind me by 3betting pre flop (to drive out the button and the blinds) to play the hand post flop heads up in position. I'm not interested in playing the hand this passively and encouraging the players to act behind me to enter to pot and play the pot multiway.
But... If I did call pre flop, (and know that I am going to bet/fold my overpair to a raise), then I'm not betting my hand.
But... If am betting my hand, I'm not betting 1/2 pot. It's either a larger size to better define their hands (making a fold to a raise much clearer), or I'm betting smaller because the burden of defense is spread between multiple players and will elicit the same response as a 1/2 pot bet. This would allow me the option to continue when faced with a raise, from the button or a check raise from anyone else in the hand.
*Betting after the pre flop aggressor checks the flop opens you up for attack. Betting 1/2 pot leaves you vulnerable as a field bettor. But... If I did bet (smaller or larger than 1/2 pot, but not this "no man's land" sizing) and get called, I plan to size up on the turn on good cards.
As played, having to fold an overpair on a flop texture that is full of draws/pairs + draws was a terrible situation to be putting himself in to begin with.
Fold, not only because I watched the video, but because the BTN's check-raise range here is really polar and no decent player is going to want to bet their best bluffs here into multiple players. So at the bare minimum I'd want a hand that at least can make the nuts, so any continues I have here would have to have a 7 or maybe a 9. The overpairs don't really make great continues here because they can't necessarily improve, and TT-JJ are especially bad because even if the villain has a weird bluff like Qh7h they can still have outs to beat us.
I think flatting or 3-betting pre are probably both ok, with early position raisers I'd be way more inclined to call JJ here simply because if we 3-bet here and get 4-bet jammed we probably are getting the right price to call but it's pretty marginal.
This is teaching so much more than just how to play jacks. It’s teaching how to analyze any hand. Really happy it reached the 1000 likes so we get parts 2&3! And ima say 8s9s fav hand.
Awesome, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) AA is my favorite ;)
No wonder this guy is one of the best in the world, he gets dealt pocket jacks (jiggities) literally every hand
I absolutely LOVE how Alex teaches. He includes the folds that you need to make that the other coaches skip. I can't really put my finger on everything else he does right, but he's got something that no one else does.
For me the best part of his quizzes is how decisive he always is. He's never really wishy washy, even when he says there's an alternative option, it's like "ya, I guess doing this is OK but really you should do this instead." Always insightful, straight to the point and very clear with the messages he's sending.
I think the first hand is wrong. If you assume the button is a good player- the raises he has there are sets (9 combos) and straights (maybe 4 of 97s), and 2 pair 65s(2), that’s 15value bets. His draws are 67s (3), 87s(3) A7s (4), 77 (6), that’s 16. And that’s assuming he’s never bluffing with something like A8/A5 with a back door flush(4 together) or A4 with a back door (3). You’re getting 3:1 on a call. This is a call.
Now this depends on the player profile. If you think she’s not raising with these hands, yes, fold! But then what you are doing is exploiting an unbalanced range. Which maybe is his point. Like, the average player in mid/low stakes might not be raising with those hands. But if it’s a good player, this is a call all day.
Edit: adding - this is definitely a raise pre as well. Particularly if the button has a tight preflop range.
So glad you put this video out man I literally had that AH HAA moment. Felt like this was meant for me to see and i'm so happy I did. The way Alex Explained the reasoning behind it just made so much sense.
Glad I could help!
If you all enjoy this video, make sure to hit LIKE! If it gets above 1000 likes, I'll release parts 2 and 3 of this series from Alex for FREE! :)
you love TJs
We got it Jonathan, release the second parts! :)
where's the parts?
@1:20:17 Asking "is a 10 ever good here" is sort of a misleading question. An A-10, Q-10, 9-10 can all be playable hands here that would call your 4.9k open. All 10x hands with nutted or semi nutted draws are "good" here for the purposes of realizing equity on future streets.
Alex is the best. He isn’t afraid to go against the grain. He backs up his teaching. Jonathan little- you hit a home run hiring him. And BTW he always follows up with questions/ answers.
1:02:51 Imagine if agentTetris jammed the flop. Does JJ continue there? Losing to any Q, any 4, and random KK AA too? If villain wasn't so worried about pot control or "trapping" opponents, then the JJ doesn't get to see the turn, doesn't get to realize the boat, and the pot goes the opposite direction. What is A4s scared of on a Q44 rainbow board? Literally only losing to exactly QQ or Q4, but beating all other pairs, beating all AQ KQ QT, beating K4s J4s T4s 54s 43s... if everyone folds to a flop jam, then agentTetris wins the pot uncontested. If anyone calls agentTetris, then he has better odds against them.
Great video. I love the format with quizzes interspersed. Active learning is the good shit. Thank you Mr. Fitzgerald!
I mainly play HU and 6 handed, but that first example is a play I might make at least half the time with 87, 67, 77 ... take out something like 89 810 suited, or the marginal over-pair such as yours. Would more depend on feel of opponent, but doesn't seem at all clear cut unless he's definitely a solid player.
Ah Ad. Great video and content. This has to be the best poker youtube channel out there for poker strategy information. I have no idea who even comes close to this channel? If you have ideas please post them.
I appreciate that!
THANKS so much for showing best way to deal wih the pocket jacks!!
Disagree with “checking jacks caps your range” if you play your checking range differently. For example I’d probably slow play top set esp with a spade. I tend to bet larger on these types or flops with a more polar range so I’d play jacks as a bluff catcher and/or value bet if the turn checks again
It depends on the board. Just because you have the best hand currently, doesn't mean that your range isn't "capped". If its a board that you'd bet with Aces or Kings etc or maybe a draw that could complete, you lose those hands from your range. Therefore on the river, the opponent might be able to make a better decision due to ruling certain hands out depending on the runout.
I pretty much agree. If you have any sort of balanced checking range at all… you shouldn’t be completely “capped”, you can still have at least a handfull of value hands. Sets of Kings and Tens, AK of Spades, maybe AK off with the Ace of Spades, or AA with the Ace of Spades…
Thats the whole reason to be balanced. So when we check Jacks on a King high board, our opponents can’t just automatically put you on QQ or JJ and always be right.
Whats the idea of cold calling with the 4th best hand from the CO" Wouldn't it be substantially better to utilize our position & aggression more frequently and isolate then not? Feels like we are laying a red carpet for the Button and Blinds to either tag along with their widowmakers or perhaps a Squeeze! PRECARIOUS BALANCE I SUPPOSE!
Big chout out to Alex. I saw the picture is Name and though my kay... But i really like your humor Alex and omg i miss this simple but pure gold content and how you transvers it in a really simple and logical way. I not heard one time GTO (damm you did it on 1:22:50 xd). Some sounds so simple and we agree yes makes sense easy game but next hour one the table we check back JJ on K Flop. Beste Grüße und Danke ;)
Lost on jj twice today its a danger hand
favorite hand? suited 10-2, any suite doesnt matter just aslong as theyre both suited
Answer to first question: I think I would just call and then check/call or check/raise on the turn expecting to trap. Button could have a few hands that crush us (bigger pocket pair, sets, 97s), but statistically he's going to be betting here with top pair/mid pair or smaller pocket pairs (7's, 9's and 10's), draws (87s, 76s, ...), or even with 2 overcards (AKs, AQs, KQs, ...) etc. I think we're good here much more often than not.
I would NOT reraise because we don't want to force weaker holdings to fold and stronger holdings will just call or shove on us, which we don't love because we are losing to sets, 97s (unlikely but they have been called loose, so not beyond the realm of possibility) and larger pocket pairs.
Is the preflop flat in the cutoff during first hand to induce a squeeze jam by the short stack in the BB? Also a slight error - we aren't check-raised, the player who raises us is the button, not the small blind. A raise in position with 2 players to act and the players to act and the continuation bettor all have stacks that are jam sized, is still strong so I tend to agree it is a fold.
Great session here, and Jonathan, you love AA w/o caring about the suits.
Guessing your favorite Hand is A3s
Fun fact. In one of your videos you said it a couple years ago. Can't remember it. Wondering if its changed.
"Taking your time and giving an explanation so it sticks with us". Awesome. I teach hitting, and that's my philosophy as well.
Your favorite is Jack Ten of clubs. Your videos are very well done and helpful
If you’d have re-raised pre, and the player is reasonable, I would think that a call on the flop would have been good (basically behind 88 and 66), the action as it is isn’t fun for you, could be a fold.
Your favorite hand to play is deff either suited AK or suited 89
Fold bc they should have a range with a set in that first situation I think
7:45 Call. Possibilities of overpairs, sets. But check-raising presents strength. Solid player. Gotta just call and take a more conservative line given the stats presented.
Didn't look at stack sizes. The 10K raise is likely pot committing you. Don't know if I would call based on looking at stack sizes....
I played the second had pretty much exactly the same as Alex so I’m good with that my thought process was very similar too
The first had I played completely wrong and in the back of my mind I said why would he bet so big into 4 people with a bluff and still called def learned from that mistake tho great video
Favorite starting hand guess is AsAh. Thanks for the video.
I think your favorite starting hand is As As... you just didn't know until I just told you... because you've never had it... and you never know your favorite until you do, but if you were dealt that things just got real interesting and you have a hell of a story to tell.
On Q44J2 why not overbet? You maybe lose some value against a 4 if you think it's gonna jam a lot over a smaller bet, but it puts a Q in max pain
where is the part 2 and part 3???
The hand where BB 3! 5.35x with QQ. Do you read anything into that bet size? I feel like it's most often a strong linear range that jacks are at best flipping against.
Hey, there are a lot of reasons why people don't like to fold. Many of them fallacious though.
1. The opponent may be bluffing. And they could just always bet enough more than me to make me fold every single time, can't have that, I'd lose.
2. People way too often think about only best case and worst case, and ignore the other cases. So like if they still think best case they could still have a straight or flush, they'll see it as still having potential and like to stay in.
3. Some people aren't serious about making money and think it's more important to see what someone to have made that bet with than to conserve their chips.
4. They already bet enough chips that they think they're committed and can't fold the rest of the hand now.
5. Each bet is only a little more chips, so it's like thinking they have good enough odds to stay in for each bet.
6. They think the odds of winning the hand are still greater than the cost of each individual bet.
7. They just don't like folding.
I wished the PC version had subtitles too, great stuff here I love getting JJ 😁
Glad you liked it :)
studying the preflop, stack to pot ratio and portion of re raise, I don't think a straight would bey like this being a rainbow flop. looking at flopzilla pro, I put the re raise range on set or two pair, pocket 99,10;s as no 3bet preflop, combinations then are 12 over pairs 99 or 1010, 9 combo's of top pair(98,78,A8 suited), 9 combos of sets(88,66,55), 6 combos of 77. this still gives 55% equity, so the bet is 15k pot + 15K RR = 30k pot we need to call 10K, so easy call with our equity , thinking what to do at the turn or river is my next question already. for now call
Great content as always! Favorite starting hand.... 78s!
Just started one of Alex’s books! Love his perspective and play.
he's got 2 books, both came out fairly close in time.
9T suited is your favorite hand?
#1 The preflop decision at 53:15 is against UTG+1 open with, LJ, HJ Call from the SB --> We flat call 4 handed out of position?
#2 The decision at 1:16:40 Is against UTG with us being in UTG + 1 --> We 3 Bet
In the quiz I thought #1 Is a clear 3 bet and #2 close between 3 bet and call
Both hands we didn't really seem to have a read just an average player
I'm just a silly rec
But comparing the spots surely #1 should be a better spot to 3bet --> #1 is vs open from later position, #1 has callers in between so squeeze acquires more chips and in #1 calling and playing out of position seems bad
If you go all in preflop with pocket Jack's and lose (especiallyheads up,) you have bad luck. But remember to play the person at least as much as you play the hand
Love Alex’s content. However really don’t understand the sizing on the 3 bet for the second hand. villain never folds there therefore impossible to balance bluffs ?
Fantastic video, bit i disagree with the way you played the hand where you called the jacks against utg+1 3bet (from 32:00). I think villains range is incredibly capped. Unless he is a total maniac, he wouldn’t 3bet 77 to 1010. JJ maybe but there is only 1 combination left of it. Utg+1 3bet range against utg bigstack open is basically AKo, AQs+, KK, AA. On the flop when he checks we can guess that most of the time AA and KK and AQ is out of the question. Sometimes he might slowplay AA and KK, but not too often. So the only hands left are all the AK-s. I think he would call a small bet on the flop with that, and also you dont want him to get a free card with 2 overs and all kinds of backdoor draws. On the turn if the A or K comes, you can easily check-fold. On all the other turn cards you can continue betting with a variety of different sizings. With this line you can have at least 1 street of value, but on some turns even 2 streets.
Can we get strategy on playing this vs NOT solid and NOT tight and NOT very good players (do not consider who's behind to act... stack sizes... do not care about opponent's ranges, etc)? Because in that first hand on 658 flop, multiple guys from my regular game with my buddies would do that with a 7.... plays open ended like it's the stone cold nuts...
The first hand- reraising with a7s wouldn’t be a bad play at all and is a great bluff since you block any other Ax which might call, you’ve got back doors with a straight and flush, you’re squeezing the preflop aggressor, and since there weren’t any 3 bets preflop it’s less likely you’ll run into aces, kings or queens… so you’re going to put a ton of pressure on all the other hand combos… you’re fold equity is high and you’re building the pot should you win the hand.
for some reason you flashed the 7 of clubs and the 2 of spades. Is that your favorite hand??
Do you ever need to Fold KK in tournament or go Al in every time ?
hello, why not raise the jacks in the first hand pre-flop?
The Dunning-Kruger has made me lots of money in poker.
In the first hand why do we just flat? Is 3-betting and probably folding out BU and getting it heads up in position better than the spot you get into in the video? Having to play OOP with Jack's seems to be exactly the reason people say they don't like playing it in the first place. If your hand is good enough to lead on the flop for half pot with one person behind you why not 3! pre and get it heads up and just fold to 4!
Nice vids and stream! I'm just starting my Bankroll Challenge on UA-cam
The hand at 30:00:
Preflop UTG+1 raised, UTG+2 reraised, we called, UTG+1 folded.
Flop of Qd 3h 2d and preflop reraiser checks to us.
You ask what do we think he has, and then you listed a bunch of hands but didn't mention AK nor QQ slowplaying. Those are the primary hands I put him on, with also possibility of the other two jacks, plus maybe TT or 99. If he were the table leader I might add in some weaker aces and 88-77, but generally no.
The question you didn't ask is what are we behind on the flop? AA, KK, AQ are all going to c-bet this flop. If he got here with KQs, then he is seriously aggressive so he probably c-bets that, too. The only hand we're behind is QQ trapping, and there are only 3 combinations, compared to 16 combinations of AK. I am always going to bet my jacks here, but I do agree that the sizing is pretty small. I'm also going to bet AQ plus all of my flush draws (which are not that many after I cold-called a 3-bet preflop AdJd, AdTd, JdTd).
This guy sounds like Doug Polk went through puberty.
I like your tone Alex sometimes I feel like Johnny is yelling at me lol
That was an exceptional training video. Thanks!
...and I'm going to say TJs and the suit doesn't matter (okay, that's mine, and I have no idea what yours is).
Been playing for awhile and I dont think I would be confident with any decision especially if I had not been playing with those people long enough to gauge their style of play. If a solid player raised with that flop itd be somewhat tricky because I can see him flopping a straight, two pair, trips. Although being a solid player would put you on a pocket pair (if I raised preflop) and would know that in order to win would have to bet like he had the hands mentioned above. Scenerios like this, and the ways on how to navigate through them to maximize profit potential are a big reason why I watch these videos. Just quality stuff. What I would do though is have a friend call in a bomb threat or start a small fire and get the hell out of there.
AA of any suit is your favorite hand
The first example 5:44 this happened to me all the cards were lower than jacks so we both bet heavy then he ended up having QQ overpair. How can you spot when someone has overpair or two pair or even trips? i sometimes lose my stack getting dragged all in by villain as most people on 1c 2c bet a low pair to the river and finish. I have a good system but then these situations are wiping my profits built up over the past 2 hours of playing. Thank You. Maybe control pot size even when I think I have the nuts?
Excellent video for me. Johnathons favorite hand maybe red 10s
Check on KT5 two-toned.
this guys analogies make me cracking:D
My guess is 7s8s. My favourite are the two cards that lets me win the hand
My favorite poker coach
Jd10d. Great video. I know I overfold even with hands like this if I see a broadway card and someone else bets. Trying to cure myself of that.
In France they are called Jacques or Jacquities.
Are the other episodes released yet?
I would have raised the turn with A4s.
23:00 - Why 3bet to 762 as opposed to a standard 3x, meaning 900?
"Standard" is often incorrect.
If Jacks were called ‘11’ and didn’t have a picture on they’d get played less :D It’s the picture card rush I tell ya! :D
Glad it helps
I think it's a mistake to bet after the flop, because you basically announced you had a big pair by reraising preflop. I think it's better to just check first to see what sort of raise anybody else decides to make. Then just check call small raises to try and get to showdiwn. Then just fold to any raise that you don't have good odds to call. By betting after the flop you arewide open to a bluff re-raise and have no way of knowing if it iswirth trying to continue. Having made the bet you have to fold the re-raise.
If you’re only 3betting with big pairs, especially from the button, you really need to brush up on your ranges… you have position, the blinds have yet to act, the initial raiser is in the cutoff… I mean… there are so many great 3 betting hands… all the ace4-7s, a5os, suited connectors like 67, 78, 89, aa, kk, qq, jj, 10’s, 9’s, aks/os, aqs/os… you want to avoid 3 betting hands like k10s because those are cards you want your opponents to have but you really need to widen your 3 betting range. I didn’t read past the first sentence because it’s depressing but from what I’ve seen you are losing a lot of ev. Always remember we raise for two reasons… to deny equity and build the pot in case we win. That’s doesn’t mean go insane with the bets… the more money goes in the more polarized the ranges… so …
You say you’re bet on the flop leaves you open to a bluff reraise… what hands reraise on that flop? Let’s say you’re in the cutoff, you don’t have trip kings because that 4 bets… you’d likely fold tens preflop lol, so what do you have. Maybe kts but does two pair or three 5’s reraise on the flop? Aqs might reraise, ajs… the point is it seems like you’re playing scared… as though you’re looking for a reason to fold. You literally wrote that you want to check down a pair of jacks with one over, when you’re blocking kj, and fold to big raises. You have position, you have the range advantage, and you have initiative. If you raise your jacks what hands reraise… because three of a kind and two pair would likely call to keep the button betting. And maybe you do fold to a reraise sometimes… but being afraid of a reraise isn’t a reason not to raise. Especially if you have the discipline to fold when you should. All I’m saying is this… there are way way way more combos of hands that don’t have you beat, compared to the ones that do… and whenever that’s the case, you have position, the range advantage, and the initiative, you should bet to deny equity from pairs of tens, 5’s, and draws, and build the pot in case you win. Maybe he has a king, or better, but what reraise for value on the flop vs what reraises as a bluff, and you can’t be scared. I promise you’re leaving value out there and will be exploited by good players paying attention. And you’re a thinking player so you can definitely crush it… good luck brother.
1. You need to handrange read and read handranges more accurately.
And you need to balance your range out, and not be such a tight nit, if they are putting you on a high pair.
That does not mean that you can't play semi tight, to semi moderate, and have to be Loose to LAG.
2. You should bet, Cbet there because 1. Your likely ahead, and they likely missed.
2. They will likely CALL with less then what you have, and call with bottom pair, middle pair, top pair crap kicker, chase draws, etc, that can either fold out later top pair crap kicker that beats you, if your nit tight, or cause them to call with less if your ranges are semi balanced, semi moderate, etc.
3. If you don't usually cbet there, with what you have and only Cbet if have better then your narrowing, semi limiting, semi capping your range, and semi playing your with your range revealed.
4. Like the others have said, you can't be scared money.
Sure they can check raise you. But that doesn't mean they will.
All you can do is evaluate the likelyhood range of whether they will check raise. If it's about 50%+ that they check raise, then check. If it's about 17% to 27% to 37% that they check raise, then go ahead and Cbet
If you cbet and if they check raise, and if they are not likely bluffing, either call and revaluate, be careful, etc, on future streets, if the check raise is small, or fold.
If they loosely check raise a lot, consider flat calling, an or extremely rarely reraising them.
But just because they might theoretically, possibly check raise you about 13% of time or an unknown amount of time, does not mean you should never ever Cbet in that spot.
If you think you should never ever Cbet in that spot, your scared money, and you open yourself up to, an can possibly, semi probably be outplayed lose, and have that happen often enough, to be more then the amount you lose in the long term by cbetting on that board, and then occasionally getting check raised.
So you cbet better hands there, nut hands there, your JJ type hands there, and semi bluff Cbet your draws there, and occasionally Cbet air, etc there, to semi balance out your range.
You should be cbetting there at least about 59% of the time at minimum.
Also that's why it's important to have good bankroll management, and good table, player, handranges reading etc, to help you cbet more, in those situations.
Can you please rethink graphics and/or consistently narrate the important numbers as the action unfolds? When coaching questions are being asked, the stack and bet sizes are illegible on a 10” tablet, while the nearly content free PowerPoint template takes up 75% of the available resolution. Would be great to be able consume this on a phone.
For the scenario at 56:09, if the Q was a K does that change anything?
Not too much.
Sigh, I would call. Dudes polarized to be sure. Possibly on and draw or has a straight already made. Point is with the polarization if he's bluffing we good to go to showdown and if he has it no point bloating this pot he not going anywhere. Call and re-evaluate later. Curious to see how I am wrong as usual :P
The last was Vs me If I knew it would make a class out of it I would given more action.
So a 'solid player' is someone who plays 13% VPIP, loves to pot control top pair, and always has a set when he raises on 865r?
I just call that a nit :)
Favorite hand is Q9 of hearts . For some strange reason this is my favorite hand I call it the birds. Is there any logic to that or am I just superstitious...?
For those who don’t know… they don’t really care what you write in the comment section, just that you write something. The more comments a video gets the more the algorithm will prioritize said video and subsequent content from the channel. So everyone should write a comment about anything
Why is this dude so mad at us?
I would probably call. I think the right answer is probably going to be to raise, but I would definitely call. I don't like how this pot is multiway and a caller on the button will have a lot of the nuts in their range. But this is one of those times where I feel like my analysis is shit and the answer will be completely different. I could see them raising with a straight draw which makes sense to price them out I guess but I would never do it.
before I see it, I also think they would call all those pocket pairs preflop as well 55, 66, and 88
I can see why we should fold, I didn't guess because like you said the raise didn't seem big. I didn't notice it was half our stack and that makes a lot of sense now
Awesome vid, going for part 2 now. And ofcourse favorite starting hand is Aces. Anyone saying something else has a screw loose lol
In the video at 50:00, what's wrong with betting like 2bb in attempt to induce a check raise
7:45 If tight, fold. If loose, call.
Very good discussion on JJ 👀
See this guy at 14:00 sounds reasonable but then again if your ratztovvv with 10/10 in that situation what do you do? Call? vs a 35k stack with 10/10? or 9/9? Fold? Its the same play.
JL fav had would be Red Aces.
Wanted to identify that player this week but I can't find the post?
What do you mean?
@@PokerCoaching you guys have posted a silhouette of a poker player from New York and we were going to identify this person. I cannot find the post so I cannot identify the person. Thanks
Alex I LOVE your style!
I'd say ace of diamonds and ace of hearts. dunno why, perhaps the colour coordinated aces
So this is just for tournament play?
No.
This is why semi-bluffing draws multi-way can be so powerful in live games. People are going to overfold.
From Seattle, and I just want to say: I get it Alex. I’m sorry Seattle’s weather has rained on quite a few parades for you.
QdJd is your favorite hand
I think I fold. We are crushed to slow played AA - QQ and straights , two pairs and sets . We crush 99 -TT but in the microstakes games I play JJ isn't good enough.
Fav starting hand has to be AA b/c duh.... and lets go with RED ONES.
@40:05 if you don't think he's 3betting 88 99 TT pre then why can't we just fold before the flop? We're just calling, praying he has AK or AQ and misses?
I could be wrong but even if we think he has AA-QQ, AK,AQ and that's it, he still has AK or AQ almost 70% of the time and those WILL miss the flop almost 70% of the time. So yeah basically that is the play because its mathematically sound?
Perhaps the most useful instruction for how my mind works.
From Seattle here… we don’t use umbrellas.
Agree never understood players when it came to jjs
TT is your fav