Pocket jacks v. overcard?

[ElSapo]

Small home game last night, $2 max bets all the way. I find AKs and raise the bettor, who calls along with one other. Flop comes Ace-high with a couple of rags. I bet, one folds and the original bettor calls. Next card a King, I've got two pair and I bet, called again.

River is a jack, I bet, he raises, I reraise, he calls and flips over trip jacks.

Here's my question - with Jacks in the hole and (to start with) one overcard, the ace, was he ok calling the first bet, or was this really as bad as it looked? Once the king also fell and he called, then I'm pretty certain he's making mistakes here and I'm just on the wrong end of a 2-outer bad beat. But with the one overcard, is he ok calling, especially considering I raised him pre-flop?

Thanks...

[Tyler Durden]

Since I'm responding to your post, will you please respond to mine? Because no one has yet.

You raised preflop; he would be wise to raise you on the flop to see where he stands. He just called on the flop and on the turn when a king fell, that's bad poker IMO if he's got JJ.

Keep playing with this guy, you'll get his money in the long run.

[rayrns]

Yes the pre-flop call was ok. He was getting about 8-1 on a 11-1 draw and may get that after the flop. After seeing the K on the turn, I would have folded.
How loose or aggressive either of you had been prior to this hand would answer part of the question.

[Homer]

In my opinion, he should either fold or raise on the flop, most likely fold. There aren't many hands that you'd three-bet preflop that won't leave pocket jacks drawing to two outs after an ace-high flop. He should raise in an attempt to get you to fold JJ, QQ, and KK, or else fold. Calling here is poor poker. On the turn, he is insane to call. You are ahead of him close to 100% of the time here. He got lucky and spiked a 2-outer without proper odds to do so, not much you can do about that. FWIW, I wouldn't have reraised the river.

-- Homer

[Homer]

Are you saying the player with JJ was correct to call on the flop, or to call the reraise preflop?

-- Homer

[Louie Landale]

You cannot abandon a big pair so easily, especially when the pre-flop raiser (you) is very likely to bet the flop no matter what comes. But he almost certainly should abandon the JJ when the second over-card comes, since the only reasonable hand JJ can beat is TT.

This is a MUCH different situation than if he had 66 and the flop was 832-9, since now the two over-cards are UNlikely to have helped the pre-flop raiser, who can very easily be betting no-pair. So its not just "over-cards", its WHICH over-cards.

In his situation, I would routinely flop-call-turn-fold.

- Louie

Your 3-bet on the river is a little suspect. Yes, you lose only if he has JJ or QT (or in fact a slow-played set). But you need to compare those chances (combined with the chance he 4-bets) with the other reasonable hands he may have. Did he make AJ or KJ (the hands you can beat)? Maybe, but he's unlikely to have played these hands the way he did. He probably would have folded KJ and probably would have gambled with AJ. Also with AJ the only hand he outdrew when he paired Jacks is AQ.

So even though its unlikely he has you beat, its ALSO unlikely that you have HIM beat. Therefore, give more consideration to just calling his river raise.

[rayrns]

To call the flop re-raise.

[rayrns]

After reading the two posts below I find that my first post is definetly incorrect.
Thanks for setting me straight Homer and Louie.