Pocket Jacks are like Pretty Women....!

So I'm all signed up to go to Vegas this July to attend the World Series of Poker. A group of friends and I are all set to attend event #17 which is a $1,000 No Limit Hold'em Event. This is pretty exciting for me, and I am looking at this as checkbox event in my life.

What are checkbox events?
Those little life goals or things that you really want to do. My wife is a list maker, and sometimes she will draw these little checkboxes next to the item in the list. I am fortunately at a point in my life that I have pretty much hit most of my checkbox events, and I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to do these things.

Pocket Jacks
I played in an event a week ago at a local casino, and I was dealt pocket Jacks on the button. I had two callers into me, and with the blinds at 100/200 the pot was growing a bit. I decided to raise the bet to 600 leaving me about 2400 chips left. The blinds folded as did the first caller, but the second caller called the raise.

A friend of mine once told me that Pocket Jacks are the hardest hand in poker to play in NL Hold'em. He also told me that Jacks were like pretty women...they look great when you first see them, but they tend lose their appeal really quickly the longer you are around them.

So once the player calls the raise I have to assume that he has a pair, AK or AQ. If I don't trip up on the flop and an overcard hits, I will probably be behind in the hand. When the flop comes out Kh/10s/7c, I get a little nervous. When the player bets 200 into me, I figure that he's just testing the water to see where he is at. I figure that I will raise him and try to take the hand right here. I raise the bet 400 to make it 600 total. This is more of a continuation raise.

The player "quickly" called. The call has to make you nervous. If he had a small pair he would have though about the King. If he has just a King, he probably gives it a bit of though. But AK gives him top pair with the Ace kicker. He has to feel good about his hand.

The turn card is another 7(heart). Player checks. What do I do here? If he has the King then I am toast. There are so many hands that can beat me right now. But if I check, I lose any strength in the tempo of the hand. I can push all-in, but that may be exactly what he wants me to do. I figure that I will check to see a free card and keep myself in the hand.

The river card is an 8 of diamonds. With only 1800 chips, I have to think about the next hand as much as this one. If I bet, he will come over the top of me and force me into a tough decision. I check. The player bets 350 chips.

This is an easy bet to call, but it tells me that I am probably beat. 350 bet into a pot that large is typically meant for value to entice me to add more chips tot he pot, but the pot odds are such that I can't pass up the chance. I call the 350.

Player shows KQ and takes the pot.

I went into the hand in a dominant position, but came out with a lot fewer chips. I could have raised more before the flop, but with the texture of the table I felt that the raise was appropriate.

That's poker!