AJO Strategy Blog

Avid poker players recognize the following scenario, whether they’re playing a poker tournament in the poker room at Rivers Casino Philadelphia or they decided to hit the casino gaming tables elsewhere. The cards are being dealt and the player looks down at their hand. Their heartbeat quickens with the hope that they have pocket rockets when they see that the first card they have is an ace. All dreams are quickly dashed when the player looks at the second card and sees an offsuit jack. 

When poker players encounter this situation, an array of questions enters their minds. Some might wonder what to do or if their position at the poker table matters. Or players will ponder if the decision they make depends on whether they’re playing in a cash game or a poker tournament. If they are playing in a poker tournament, they think about whether or not the stage of the tournament matters. 

Unfortunately, ace-jack offsuit is one of the most dangerous and by extension, overplayed hands. This is due to the fact that it looks significantly stronger than it is. In today’s blog, we’ll examine some of the scenarios above and talk about how poker players can potentially be more successful by changing the way they look at this particular hand. 

In poker tournament play, there is a lot to consider when deciding whether or not to play a hand. The stack size, position at the table, proximity to the bubble, and many more are all factors that affect the decision making process. In early position, this hand can be a fold or an open depending on the other elements at play. If poker players are in middle position or later and the action has folded to them, ace jack offsuit is worth opening most of the time. It can be a fold here too, especially if they’re closing in on a bubble. This hand is occasionally worth 3-betting against a middle position open if the player is in a later position, but practically speaking it should probably not be part of a player’s 3-bet range against early position opens. 

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Since ace jack offsuit has removal to a lot of good starting hands, this hand makes an excellent shove candidate when short stacked in tournament play (especially once players are in the money!). It is also a strong hand in heads up and short table play as there are fewer opponents. As a result, poker players are statistically less likely to be facing strong hands.

Discussing ace jack offsuit in terms of cash game dynamics is simpler. Similarly to tournament play, it can be a fold or an open from early position. If poker players do open from early position with this particular hand, it is not a good candidate to defend late position 3-bets.

Late position players who 3-bet their early position open should know they’re representing a very small range of hands. If they’re 3-betting anyway, they are usually at or close to the top of their range. Consider this scenario showcasing the risks of playing this hand too aggressively: 

A Philadelphia poker player opens with ace jack offsuit from early position and faces a cutoff 3-bet. The action folds back to them and they decide to call. The flop comes jack high with no draws. Although the player has top pair with top kicker, they could be facing the possibility of a 3-bettor with pocket queens, kings, and aces in their range. Similarly, if the flop comes ace high with no draws, then the player would have a top pair, but again could be up against a range that includes ace-king, and ace-queen, and (though unlikely) pocket aces. In both of these examples, poker players might think they’re ahead all the way until showdown.

Earlier in this poker blog, it was discussed that ace jack offsuit was a good shove candidate due to the removal it has. For that same reason, a cash player that leans towards more aggressive play can consider light 3-betting and even occasionally 4-betting with this hand when in position. It can also be considered when facing an opponent that is likely to open light or may fold to pressure. Since this hand doesn’t play well post flop, poker players should look for opportunities to win the pot if preflop when playing this hand.

Because of the myriad of scenarios in poker, it is impossible to go over every possible situation players may face with this hand. The goal for this poker blog is to shed some light on more common scenarios players may face and to encourage them to think about the way they play this hand. If you’re looking for poker tables near you or want to check out the Philadelphia poker tournaments going on, check our poker calendar!

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Author’s note: This blog is informational only and should not be taken as representative of the opinions of Rivers Casino Philadelphia or Rush Street Gaming.