Stuck on Jacks

Posted by wynn on Dec 8, 2009 in Donkeys, Great Reads | 0 comments

I was in a $2 – $100 spread limit Texas Hold’Em game the other night. Before I disclose the hole cards, let me first describe the action in this exciting hand.

I am in the big blind. Someone in middle position makes it $7 to go. Four players called.

I pump it up to $27.

Everyone folds around to the original raiser and he calls. The four original callers fold.

We are now heads up.

I put the player on a hand like 10-10 or J-J or maybe A-K.

The flop comes 8-8-7.

I bet out $15.

My opponent raises me to $50.

I think my original read is good. I do not put my opponent on pocket 8s. Why would he raise me with a cinch hand?

I re-raise to $150.

He makes it $250.

Is he stuck on a big pocket pair? Is he stuck on A-K, or what Amarillo Slim calls Big Broke?

I cap it out at $350.

The turn card is a K.

I am pot committed, so I put the player all-in for another $100. He calls.

The river card is a 3.

My opponent proudly turns over J-J.

I have no idea what hand he put me on, if he was capable of putting me on a hand at all.

I re-raised him pre-flop and re-raised him after the flop. To me, this would signal strength better than J-J.

I flopped a full house with my pocket sevens.

I could have been beat on fourth or fifth street with an overcard based on my read that my opponent had a higher pocket pair. This is the reason I bet the boat hard once I was re-raised.

In retrospect, I had two things going in my favor: dodging a Jack and having someone in the hand that got suck on pocket Jacks.