Playing medium pairs after raise

[Shanemex]

How do you normally play 88-JJ early in a tournament if it has been raised to four or five times the big blind in front of you? Assume that the raise is about 10-15% of your stack and from an unknown person. I don't want to fold, especially TT and JJ but unless I flop a set or an overpair it's tough to play. I read on Chris Moneymaker's page that you can call with pairs for up to 1/15th of your stack, so would you just fold these a larger raise? How about with QQ?

[lastchance]

QQ is an easy reraise, probably all-in. JJ is the hardest hand to play in this situation, and you can let go of TT, 99, or 88, unless the guy's going to give you his stack when you hit that set, might call for set or overpair value.

[DyessMan89]

[ QUOTE ]
QQ is an easy reraise, probably all-in. JJ is the hardest hand to play in this situation, and you can let go of TT, 99, or 88, unless the guy's going to give you his stack when you hit that set, might call for set or overpair value.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why is QQ an easy re-raise? If you go all-in and he holds KK or AA your done, and AK your only a slight favorite. Re-raising usually wont force out hands like AK/AQ/AJs/KQs that can easily beat you on the flop, and your risking a lot of chips by doing. (plus its only early in the tourney)

Id just call with Queens, and id fold hands < TT. Id probobly call JJ.

[pshreck]

Just calling with queens doesn't make much sense. You are most of the time the best hand preflop with QQ... but if you go to the flop, it will be tough to get anymore money in unless someone is ahead of you.

What are you hoping for... he has AJ and flop comes jack high? In SNG's, QQ need to be played strong preflop.

[lastchance]

That's the point of reraising QQ. You want calls from AQ, AJs, KQ, JJ, TT, 99, hands you all have in a barrel, and if you get folds from them, that's fine too.

If he has AA, KK, or AK, yeah, you suck, but can you really put him on AA, KK, or AK after a single raise?

[ChrisV]

I call JJ and TT. You have to be willing to let them go on undercard (or single overcard) flops if your opponent bets strongly on the flop and turn. If the bet isn't too big its quite often worth calling the flop with position against single overcards as most people don't have the stones to keep strongly betting say QQ on an Axx flop on the turn, so you can often take the pot off them. 99 and 88 are folds because there isn't enough set value and you don't flop overpairs often enough. Note Moneymaker's advice doesn't apply to JJ and TT because part of your reason for calling is that you think you might have the best hand. I haven't read his page but I assume he's talking about playing pairs for set value.