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The Dissection of the King Jack (KJ)      By: bukecash  bukecash@pockettwos.com

        Good ole' King Jack. Many people have different opinions on this hand, and the fact of the matter is that there are several ways to go about playing it (there is an entire book on how to play KJ). But many argue as to what is the "correct" way to play this strong but tricky hand. The truth is that KJ is not nearly as powerful as it first looks. I mean think about all the hands that are superior preflop. We have AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, AK, AQ, AJ, A10, A9, A8, A7,A6, A5, A4, A3, A2, and KQ. Meaning that if you are going against any of those hands preflop, you are going to have to get lucky. As in... the odds are not in your favor. You have to hit one of your  6 outs to even have a chance in the hand, and even if you do hit one of the 6 outs, you can still lose. The worse case scenario is hitting a Jack on the flop only to find out you are out kicked in the end (AJ). Or even worse, hitting both pair on the flop and have the threat of a straight draw all over the board, forcing you to bet high and get little value out of your hand. That is the trouble of the almighty King Jack. Even when you hit your hand, you are still potentially in trouble, and if you are inspiring to make any money in this game, trouble is something you need to avoid as much as possible.  

        The tricky part to the hand is that even though it is not that strong of a hand, it is extremely powerful. This is not only because you have a strong pair if you do hit a pair on the flop, but you always have some sort of a draw if any face cards come out. Most often when face cards come out, your opponents hit some of their outs, creating action. Action means money, and when the flop comes 2Q10 and you have KJ while your opponent has AQ, there will be a lot of action. These types of situations, if played correctly, have the potential to make your night.

         So what is the correct way to play KJ? Well the first thing you should do is evaluate your position in the hand. If you are on or close to the button, the value of the hand goes way up as opposed to under the gun.  If you are under the gun, assuming you have an average stack size, you should considering limping to see what other players on the table are demonstrating strength, if any. If no one raises and a King or Jack hits the flop (as the top pair), it is alright to assume your kicker isn't that big of a problem, and as long as no one hit a monster, you are most likely winning the hand. Since you would only have top pair and are under the gun, you should put out an alright sized bet (around 30% of the pot) to gather information about your opponents hands. It is important that you evaluate the board and see if any draws are possible. You need to take these draws into consideration with your betting. A check raise in this position isn't a bad move either, but be aware that no one may bet and you would be pretty much giving your shot up at the pot if an Ace comes out or the board pairs. Feeler bets are small bets just to see if anyone calls (essentially seeing if they have anything at all). Feeler bets are a very important part of the game and should definitely be used when you only have top pair. If someone who acts after you is just calling your bets, be aware they may be slow playing a monster, but do not back off until they make a move/raise of some sort. Often I see people getting scared like their top pair is not good, and check the river. I do not recommend this  in early position because it is too easy for your opponent to go all in and steal the pot. This leaves you in a tough situation, and a most likely fold situation. With this being said, if you find yourself in early position with top pair of either kings or jacks, just send out small bets and if at any point their is  a raise, give up the hand.

        Drawing in early position is a different story. The idea here is that you are trying to see the next card with the least amount of money invested as possible. DO NOT bet with a draw in early position. It's stupid because when you miss your draw you will not be able to bet it and you will just get bet out of the pot before the showdown. If your opponent bets too much for you to chase your draw (see odds),  tell them they made a nice bet and fold your hand. If you hit your draw, trap them for every dollar you can.  

        In late position you have much more flexibility with the hand (see position). If no one raises and you are on the button, do not be afraid to put out a nice raise to get some people out of the hand. The more people out of the hand means the better percent you have at winning the hand. If you flop top pair and someone bets into you, raise them and see how they react. If they just call you down, they are showing they have something, so bet the turn and check the river to be safe. If no one bets into you on the flop, show your strength. Top pair is nothing to mess around with and picking up a small pot is much bigger than losing a huge pot. If you are on a draw, and someone bets into you on the flop, raise them and get a free card (see The Free Card Method) out of them. If no one bets into you, you have the option of putting out a feeler bet or take your free cards. Its all about your reads from there.

         Good ole' King Jack can get you in some serious trouble, but the key is to know when to lay down the hand and take a small loss, and when to stick it out and go after that monster hand that will make your night a success.