blonde poker forum

I have always thought that officially the hands KQ & KJ are considered trap hands ( don't talk to me about suited, I  may have to hunt you down )  and that calling raises or , and big bets with them was considered a mistake.

So why do I find myself constantly called by people holding these hands and prepared to go to showdown for all their chips. Even when I watch top pros on telly they seem to treat these as calling hands.

Usually I would throw these away to a raise or reraise with them occasionally if I sense a bit of weakness and of course raising unraised pots.

But is this the right theory or am i missing something ????

In cash games you can add AJ and AQ to that for me in big pots

KJ is currently my bogey hand, been getting destroyed by anybody who plays it against me.

all depends on your ablility to play flops and put good reads on your opponents.

there are players out there who think two face cards are the nuts and will call all the way with them - ear mark those players and take em for everything they've got next time you have them beat on Q high flops :)up

and position, position, position.

I reserve a special place in poker hell for people who kill my QQ with KJ. ;D

Calling raises with these hands in the hope of hitting top pair and then going to showdown regardless of street action isn't what you want to be doing (in most cases). In deep stack cash games they do have value though. They make a strong 2 pair (in the right circumstances) but more importantly nut straights. In multiway pots (limped or raised) these hands can scoop huge pots. The implied odds you're getting is key though.

Personally I would never call a raise with these 2 hands in a deep stack cash game, agaisnt a tight player you could be drawing to 3 outs and a tight player wont pass you off if you hit, and against a loose player, you may get in trouble as u will find it tough to lay down top pair v a maniac. As a general rule I believe calling hands are idealy pairs and 89s and below, as you can win a big pot and can lay down cheaply if the flop is not kind. Also with 89s etc you can hit a draw in poistion and try and out play your opponent.

In a tournament, I think the same applies, however, due to the impliedv value of the tournment prize stucture, it could be corrrect to call ti gamble and get chips.

Cheers Rob

I agree, I definitely prefer the lower suited connectors and pairs as it's easier to know where you are. I still believe these hands have value though. I used to always fold these hands to raises (still do in most cases when playing online) but after playing live (at the crazy Notts Gala!) for some time I've found them to be profitable in the right situations. You do need to know your opponents well though and be willing to give them up easily. I still pitch them when playing online though as the games are tougher and I can't rely on reads so much.

They're not great hands by any means but I don't believe they're trash hands either.

In every hand, on every board you have cards that you can play. You dont HAVE to play your cards. Poker is a conversation and if someone tells you ur beat, you can fold. There will be other pots.