Following through into resistance with A high

[piersmajestyk]

This kind of thing happens quite often and I think too many players lose the initiative with what is likely the best hand. In this hand I raise UTG with AQ and get one caller and the flop comes JJ4 rainbow. I bet and the late position guy raises me. Well ask yourself what kind of hand does this guy have? A jack certainly not, which only leaves him with two viable options in my opinion, a small pocket pair or a bluff of some sorts. Don't let this guy take you off the hand that easy, go ahead and reraise to regain control. If he calls go ahead and lead on the turn and if you get called you can be fairly certain he has a pocket pair but very likely you see him dump it there or on the flop as happened in this hand. DON'T let guys take you off your hands or take away the initiative in situations like this, you raised out of position so you are the one that should be representing whether you have anything or not. If the guy had a monster he certainly would not be raising on the flop.

------HAND 2------
Game #721646574: Texas Hold'em Limit (£1/£2) - 2005/07/25 - 20:04:11 (UK)
Table "Cyprus" Seat 4 is the button.
Seat 1: RoniSize (£34 in chips)
Seat 2: moxey1 (£85.25 in chips)
Seat 3: Karapet (£103.50 in chips)
Seat 4: Pokergott (£47 in chips)
Seat 5: Mashalls (£57.37 in chips)
Seat 6: cochim (£28.75 in chips)
Seat 7: majestyk1 (£49.75 in chips)
Seat 8: stu1969 (£8 in chips)
Seat 9: Chuzzles (£113.25 in chips)
Mashalls: posts small blind £0.50
cochim: posts big blind £1
----- HOLE CARDS -----
dealt to majestyk1 [Ac Qh]
majestyk1: raises £2
stu1969: folds
Chuzzles: folds
RoniSize: calls £2
moxey1: folds
Karapet: folds
Pokergott: folds
Mashalls: folds
cochim: folds
----- FLOP ----- [Js 4h Jc]
majestyk1: bets £1
RoniSize: raises £2
majestyk1: raises £2
Callyman joins the table at seat #10
RoniSize: folds
Returned uncalled bets £1 to majestyk1
majestyk1: doesn't show hand
majestyk1 collected £9.25 from Main pot

[MecosKing]

Nice hand piers.

This mizorly raisitup mentality (which i dont mind at all) is the very reason that, if i had the jack, i will almost NEVER slow play it. Everyone seems to routinely expect that the guy that has the trips is going to sit there and call call call- so after your first call its gonna get checked to you and when you bet, everyones gonna be pretty sure that, if the door card is shit and the pair is decent, that you have the trips (I.e. JJ4), your probly not on the 4)
So, your alot more likey to get action out of second best hands when you jam it.

A perfect example: It comes UTG raised to me, and I 3 bet he caps. (I have JJ) The flop comes JJQ and he bets, i raise, he 3 bets and i call. He bets the turn, I raise, he calls and he check/calls the river and turns over AQ.

Moral is that had i slow played it id have missed a bet, but because i fast played it he didnt put me on the jack. (I actually figured him for KK or AA and thought he might put me on AQ- although if i was him id be a little worried about a QQ but raising the flop disguises a monster)

Anyways dont make the same mistake as this mizor did. If you have the trips, you should jam it, and it you DONT have the trips is when you go for the raise on the turn, hoping to get someone to lay the better hand down, which they often will at a decent limit game. If you have a hand and want to get paid off is when you should jam.

[cholo loco]

good reply mecos. when your playing higher limits and against sophisticated opponents people will often raise with the jack in this spot knowing that a turn raise will shut down the action but flop raises leave your hand fairly well disguised.
that said i think piers makes an excellent point for low limit games where slowplaying is the norm.
matty

[piersmajestyk]

Yeah I should have said this is the typical lower limit way to play where most of your opponents are not thinking too much. I remember an article several years ago in card player that really opened up some things for me. It was by Roy Cooke talking about the way Cissy Bottoms, a very tough limit player, played a set of flopped 8's against him which screwed up his thinking in the hand causing him to put in several extra bets as a big dog but he ended up sucking out on her anyway. Sometimes the straightforward way is the best way to play a hand but doing what is not expected or what most of the players would never do can throw your opponents off because they quickly classify your play into the same rote play that they would do or that their typical opponent would do and thus you can many times reap extra bets.