| A-J |
| Introduction: Ajax, Foamy Cleanser.With A-J you are hoping to either flop a pair of Aces, or a pair of Jacks. If you flop a pair, your kicker will be good enough in most cases. But in the case it isn't, it can be very expensive. Look for signs of a higher kicker if you pair your Ace. If you flop a Straight Draw, it will always be the Nut-Straight if there are no possible Flush Draws and the Board does not pair. |
| Hand # | Hand | Theme | Game | Date entered |
| 3 | AJ | Flop: A Pair on the Board | No Limit | 01-05-2002 |
| A-J |
| Game ########## - (blinds $0.25/$0.50) No Limit Texas Hold'em -
2002/04/29-00:24:08 (CST) Table "Antigua" (real money) -- Seat 5 is the button Seat 1: Player 1 ($49.25 in chips) Seat 2: Player 2 ($71.75 in chips) Seat 3: Player 3 ($65.50 in chips) Seat 4: Player 4 ($53 in chips) Seat 5: Player 5 ($60.50 in chips) Seat 6: Player 6 ($85 in chips) Seat 7: Player 7 ($28 in chips) Seat 8: Player 8 ($44.25 in chips) Seat 9: Our Hero ($47.75 in chips) Seat 10: Player 10 ($50 in chips) Player 6: Post Small Blind ($0.25) Player 7: Post Big Blind ($0.50) Dealing... Dealt to Our Hero [ Jd ] Dealt to Our Hero [ Ac ] |
| In early position this hand is a difficult hand. It looks good (and it is a good hand ofcourse), 2 paint cards with an Ace, but in reality it can be really expensive. The Jack is not that high a kicker as you might think. And Hold'em is a game of kickers. Especially a hand like this, where you hope to flop a pair. Chances are, someone else makes that same pair and it is up to the kickers to hold up. So when playing a hand like this you know what you let yourself into. I would prefer flopping a pair of Jacks instead of Aces, then you can be sure that your kicker will hold up and when an overcard comes you know where you are when someone raises. |
| Player 8 : Call ($0.50) Our Hero : Call ($0.50) Player 10 : Fold Player 1 : Call ($0.50) Player 2 : Fold Player 3: Raise ($1) Player 4: Call ($1) Player 5 : Fold Player 6: Fold Player 7: Call ($0.50) Player 8 : Call ($0.50) Our Hero : Call ($0.50) |
| Because this is No Limit, I also would have cold called two bets. In a Fixed Limit ringgame I would have folded to tight player. In No Limit the implied odds are huge compared to Fixed Limit and calling $1.00 preflop is still limping in. |
Player 1 : Call ($0.50)   *** FLOP *** : [ Jc 2s Js ] Player 7: Check Player 8 : Bet ($3.50) |
| A dream flop. My hand can only be beaten by a Full House. Which
means only the following two hands: J-2 or 2-2. The first one, J-2, is very unlikely. The second hand, 2-2 is a possibility. If this hand is out there, A-J will turn out to be very expensive again. At this point start following the betting closely and with every action/decision an opponent makes ask yourself the question:'Would someone holding 2-2 play this way? Because that is the only thing you want to know, since it is the only hand that can beat you. We can and will disregard J-2. And in future rounds there will be other hands that potentially can beat you. Ask yourself the question: 'Is it likely for that hand that can beat you to still be in the game?' If it is likely the first question comes back again: 'Would that hand be played the way is was? If not, than it is very unlikely that that hand is out there. In this case, 2-2 could very well have been played this way. But that is only 1 exact hand and for the moment I don't think the raiser has it. |
| Our Hero : Call ($3.50) Player 1 : Fold Player 3: Fold Player 4: Fold Player 7: Fold  *** TURN *** : [ Jc 2s Js ] [ Kh ] Player 8 : Bet ($6.50) |
| We are now heads up, and Player 8 is still going strong. With the King on the turn there are now other possible hands that can beat me: J-K and K-K. Of these two hands, K-K is not very likely because of the play Preflop. Player 8 limped in from UTG and that would be very bad play with K-K. J-K, however, is a good possibility. We now have either 2-2 or K-J as possible dangerous hands. It is time to get more information. This can be done by reraising him with a substantial amount. Not All-In ofcourse, but somewhere 1/3 of his stacksize. When he calls instead of going All-In that is a sign of weakness and I will go All-In on the River if the River card is a blank. |
| Our Hero : Raise ($16) Player 8 : Call ($9.50) |
| He called, which is very weak. I am pretty sure my hand is better. With either 2-2 or K-J he sould have reraised unless he is setting a trap. Two pair would have folded a long time ago. I put him on one of the following hands at the moment: A-J, Q-J, and maybe J-10. |
 *** RIVER *** : [ Jc 2s Js Kh ] [ 4d ] Player 8 : Bet ($5.50) |
| The River was a blank and Player 8 put in another raise, and again a small one. After his call on the turn, which could be a trap, a raise All-In was in order to finish the trap. This raise means that he does not have the goods to beat me. Even without a Full House he should have raised All-In if he planned to call an All-In raise from me. |
| Our Hero : Raise ($27.25) Player 8 : Call All-in ($18.25) |
| He called, which means he should have raised All-In himself. The only difference there is now is that I could have checked which he obviously hoped. |
| *** SUMMARY *** Pot: $89.75 | Rake: $3 Board: [ Jc 2s Js Kh 4d ] Player 1 lost $1 (folded) Player 2 didn't bet (folded) Player 3 lost $1 (folded) Player 4 lost $1 (folded) Player 5 didn't bet (folded) Player 6 lost $0.25 (folded) Player 7 lost $1 (folded)   Player 8 lost $44.25 (showed hand) [ 7h Jh ] (three of a kind, jacks) Our Hero bet $47.75, collected $93.25, net +$45.50 (showed hand) [ Jd Ac ] (three of a kind, jacks) Player 10 didn't bet (folded) |
| Conclusion: Opponent only had a Seven kicker and played this hand weak passive. None of his raises were big enough and he called all my raises. The way he played he will always loose his complete stack in a situation where he has a good hand, but an opponent has a better hand. It is clear that he did not ask himself the question: 'Which hands can beat me at this point?' and 'is it likely for those hands to be out there? |
