Play along: Pocket Jacks facing a cold 4-bet
A live no-limit spot where geometry matters more than the pretty pair in your hand—then a Jonathan Little deep dive on how people butcher J-J.
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Play along
$2/$5 live, effective stacks about $700. You open to $20 from middle position with J♠ J♥. The button 3-bets to $65. The big blind cold-calls. You 4-bet to $220, planning to fold only if the button 5-bet jams. Instead the button flats. The big blind now moves all-in for $600 total. Action is on you. Assume the button will only call or fold if you call (no squeeze re-jam).
Pocket jacks are not “cursed.” They are a medium pair in a game that loves 3-bets and cold 4-bets. The puzzle above is about who is still in the pot and who closed action preflop.
After you answer the spot
Watch the embedded lesson from Jonathan Little – Poker Coaching (recorded webinar). He walks through the three big mistakes with J-J: overplaying pre, overplaying post, and missing value when you are actually ahead.
If you folded the puzzle: you picked the line that matches most live databases. If you called: track the result, but judge the decision on range, not on whether you binked.