Texas Hold Em - stay in to see flop?

Question

In Texas Hold 'Em, should I stay in to see the flop if I have one high card in my pocket, even if it's off suit? For instance, if I have a J of diamonds and a 2 of hearts? Are there stats out there that show if this is a good or bad strategy?

Answer 1

IF I was in a very late position, and there were no raises, I might consider playing a hand that bad.. but not normally... same thing with any royal card and a c**p kicker..  fold'em, your odds of winning just aren't there unless that crazy perfect flop hits (i.e.  j and 2, or J-J or 2-2).

Answer 2

Suffice to say, the only way a flop should be seen with J/2 os is if you are the big blind and it is unraised, and unless you hit the flop of the century, such as j/j/2 or 2/2/2 or j/j/j fold.  There are tons of books out there explaining hand value, how hand value changes with relation to possition, etc.... and the hand j/2 os ain't even considered in those books. If you hit a j on the flop, any hand that stays in with you beats you, same for if you hit a 2 on the flop.  I would be willing to bet even Gus Hanson himself wouldn't see a flop with that hand.

Answer 3

The link has a really good starting hand guide that ranks the 169 possible starting hands in a variety of different ways.

As a general rule you want to fold something like J2.  The fact that it is suited makes it marginally better than the c**p it would be offsuit.  But don't be fooled into thinking that being suited makes all that much difference.  The odds of hitting that miracle flush and it being the best flush are pretty slim.

The problem with a hand like J2 (or J3, Q4, J4, K3, Q5 etc) is that you are often going to be dominated, and that will cost you a lot of money.  Let's say it's a really passive table and five or more players are limping to see a flop.  So you limp with a hand like J2.  So the flop comes J 6 9.  So you flopped top pair, but anyone with a better jack has you beat.  What if you call to the river and he turns up J6 for two pair?  Or AJ and out kicks you?  What if you flop two more hearts and make a flush on the turn?  What if he was playing KQ of hearts?

If you play weak hands on a regular basis there is a very good chance you will waste money when you are forced to call a raise (after you have already called, and now you feel like you should stay in because you already have money in the pot).  Or you see a flop and then start chasing some kind of weak draw, investing more money in the pot to see the next card.

Worst of all, as I already mentioned you can often hit a second best hand and waste even more.

It is certainly right to mix up your play, and not be predictable.  Tournaments are rarely won by players who sit around for pocket aces.  But when you do mix up your game, you want to mix it up with suited connectors, maybe even one gap suited hands like 68s T8s something like that.  Sure they are still weak hands, but there is a chance to hit a well disguised hand.  Still rare, but you could win a really nice pot if you hit.

With hands like J2, the odds of hitting anything decent at all, like JJ2 on the flop are so rare that you are on average going to be wasting your money.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the importance of position in Hold'em.  The earlier your position (closer to being in the big blind), the tighter you should play.  If you limp with Q5 and then there is a raise, what do you do then?  Call since you have already limped, or just throw away your call.  At least if you play a junk hand in late position, you are less likely to be raised, and you have better position.

Answer 4

Would you ever look at your cards and say "I should stay in because I have the 2 of hearts"?

You get two cards. You want each of those cards to be strong on its own, and to work together with your other card.

Answer 5

well since you are really close to the considerably worst hand (7,2)  then i would fold because you have no chance of a straight except for some really crazy miracle.  and you had an ok chance for a pair, even less for a two pair.  the royal flush is like 0.5 percent chance.  depending on how many people there is at the table.  but the hand sucks.  you have a shot at anything that doesnt include a straight but they are very low except for pairs.

Answer 6

Depends if  the blinds are small, Yes they are terrible cards.  I love to see flops if you can connect your away if not then fold.Hey it's all about the flop..... could be 22 A???

No good waiting for AA .. KK Ak to make a move.

Answer 7

if it's a "cheap" flop as in no raises or just double the big blind then why not? but rule of thumb says the less people in the table the "looser" you should play (calling mediocre hands) and if there's still alot of people like 5 or more play "tighter" (calling and raising only strong hands.

Answer 8

There's a lot of good solid poker advice out there, but to answer the question you asked specifically .....

No.

In fact, staying with one high card and one low is WORSE than staying with 2 low cards.  The reason is that a lot of solid, tight players are liable to have your J (in this example) covered, so if you hit it, you're probably a silver medalist.

Second place in a poker hand is NOT a good place to be ....

If you're dying to play a loose, any-two-cards strategy, (which is NOT recommended for beginners) playing a hand like 86o is a better choice.  If you hit with a hand like that, there's a solid chance you're the only one who did.  If you play an Ax or FACEx, you have to hit both cards or a set in order to be a winner.

Answer 9

J-2 is a really bad hand and should be folded every time you get it.  If your new to the game stick to hands like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, and some other hands. Kicker do matter a lot in hold'em so be aware of your kicker at all times. But if you only play the hand i have listed you will be playing way to tight, you have to use a mix of position and table image in order to do well in no limit hold' em. Knowing when hands like A-J, Q-J, K-10 should be played, come down to the number of  players in the pot, raises in front of you, your position, and chip size in relation to others, plus table image. You can read all kinds of books on poker and they will tell you how to play aces and kings, but in the end it comes down to playing the game. For example A-Q is a fine hand to play, but if you are in the small blind and there has been a raise from first position by the chip leader and he is A tight player, and 2 players call in front of you, you may want to fold it.  Being suited only improves your hand by 2-3%, you woulden't play 2-6 if it wasen't suited, so why play it just because it is. Most times you won't flop a flush draw, you will flop one pair and that can get you into big trouble. And even if you flop a flush draw you will only hit 1-in 6 times for the flush. If your going to play suited cards make sure they are hands like 9-10, 8-9 suited and such. And you should only play them in multi way pots, this gives you more value in the pot to play a drawing hand.

Answer 10

A good rule of thumb is to play anyway broadway (A,K, Q, J,T) with a kicker of ten or higher. So basically, JT or higher.

J2 is a horrible hand because if you flop bottom pair (259) you are usually beat if there is action. If you flop (J45) you have top pair. Unfortunatly, you also wont get much action from worse hands. Basically, you will win small pots, and lose big pots.

This is a more indepth guide and for the first month or so do the following:

http://poker.about.com/od/strategyadvice...

The link above, may be a little loose, so being even a little tighter is better as a beginner.

BTW, depending on your position you should be folding somethings and raising in others. If you had AT in early position (the first 3 seats in a 9 handed game), you should fold. If you had KT in early position, you should fold. If you had KT in middle positon, you should be raising the majority of the time. Position is innnnncredibly important (probaly second most important concept in the game behind being agressive), but it cannot be illustrated. You have to play to know the importance.

As you get better, you will be able to change it up a little, depending on game flow, oppenents images, etc.

Hope I helped.