AK vs. JJ

[John_Manley]

AK vs JJ. Assuming I know exactly what my opponent has I would choose JJ. The problem is that you do not know what your opponent has in most situations. If you know that your opponent has AK then you could play 22 as strong as you could play JJ or even QQ. In my view the problem with JJ is that it is sometimes very hard to lay down. For example if you were in a NL tournament in any position even in late position, there is a tendency for people to overplay the JJ. Lets say that you have JJ on the button and the blinds are 400-800 plus ante 50 and no callers. Lets also say you have slightly better than average chips with about 10 people before the money. You raise to 3000 and the BB who is the big stack at the table goes all-in.
My rational is that if I know he has AK I would say what the heck, He is willing to take the 50% chance so I guess I will take the chance especially since I am a slight favorite. The problem is that you don't know what he has. He may have AA, KK, QQ, an under pair, crap, AK, AQ, KQ, The only thing you can really beat on a consistent basis is under pair and crap. So now you are in a real pickle. The best advice I have read regarding JJ is that you should change the JJ into 88. This way you will not overinflate the value of the hand. This being said, I still like JJ but I play it carefully. Not a great hand to go all-in on. If knew I was going to have to go all-in I would choose AK.

[evain]

Jacks. They return more money to me. But only just.

[mgdpublic]

Doesn't it make alot more sense to look at $ wins rather than win % given that the hands play differently?

[The Chris]

[ QUOTE ]
Doesn't it make alot more sense to look at $ wins rather than win % given that the hands play differently?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not all the time because you play the hands the different ways.