[darock]

What would you do in this situation?? Okay, I'm playing on Noble in their dirty dozen sit and go and there are 5 people left. Top 4 get money and if you are in the top 2 4 times consecutively or something like that you get a ton of money. I am 3'rd out of the 5 and I get pocket Jacks. I have around 1800 chips with the table average being about 2200 and blinds at 150-300. I have the dealer button and 1 person calls and I call and the small blind folds and the big blind raises 300. The 1 person calls and so do I. The flop comes:



The guy that wasn't in the blinds checks and the big blind raises 300 so if I call, I am down to 900 chips, since I have top pair and don't want the other 2 to fish the flush draw, I push it all in. The big blind ends up calling and flips over pocket 10's. Turn comes:



Dang, I still had a chance cuz I had the Jack of spades but a spade did not show. Did I play this hand wrong? Should I have pushed it pre-flop or raised at least? I figure the guy with pocket 10's still would have called though, and even if I just called the 300 after the flop, he still would have hit the 10 and probably pushed. Seen as I put in half my chips already and still had top pair, I woudln't have been able to fold even though there was a flush draw.

So... did I play that wrong or was it just bad luck for me? Should I have maybe folded pre-flop knowing that he raised and maybe had higher pockets or 2 over-cards and there was someone else in the hand too?

How do you play semi-high pockets?

[Texas72]

I would have raised pre-flop, but you're right...the 10s probably would have called. However, if you raise pre-flop, and then raise the flop again, he might have folded. You started out showing strength, there were no overs on the board....he might have (rightly) put you on higher pockets. The 10 on the turn was just bad luck I think. You might have been able to get him to fold before then, but you just never know.

Jacks are tough, most people hate them. But there is no reason to not show strength with them, especially when up against a small field and a not-too-scary board.

[royalflush525]

I think u made the right choice because thats what u did its just cards turn came out wrong, but you had to bet and i probly would've done the same thing, unless i got a gut feeling than maybe i would've folded. that saying texas was one of the most truthful things I've ever heard about poker players. LOVE, LIVE, LAUGH AND PLAY POKER

[darock]

Thanks for your help guys but if I raised preflop I think he would've re-raised and after the flop we both had high pair I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have folded, I know I wouldn't have folded in his situation either.. whatever, maybe next time, we've all had our share of bad beats!! I just haven't got lucky on the river nearly as many times as I have gotten beat on the river and that just upsets me!!

[Arjonius]

My thinking is similar to Texas72's. If you had raised pre-flop, 10 10 isn't exactly an automatic re-raising hand, even playing five-handed. I tend to think a call is at least as likely; after all, even if your hand is only two overcards, the opponent is looking at a coin flip.

After the flop, when you bet again, the opponent has to guess. Are you making a continuation bet without having caught anything, or do you have an overpair? If you do, it's almost certain to be better than his tens, so if he believes you have it, his correct action is to fold.

[Texas72]

Think it through....say he does re-raise you...do you call? You have Jacks, there are only 3 hands out there that beat you at that point. Do you really put him on one of those? This is where paying attention to your opponents really comes in to play...if he's super agressive, I might call (and cross my fingers!). If he's a tight conservative player, it's an easy fold.