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Texas Holdem Strategy - Jack-10 Unsuited Pocket Hand
By http://www.card-game-poker.com/

Imagine that you are playing in an Internet poker site, and that you are playing in a Tournament.  It is early on in the Tournament, and you are the current chip leader, by virtue of some solid play.  The pocket hands have been dealt, and you are the first to have to bet (in other words, you are in the first position to the left of  the big and small blinds).  You receive a Jack and a Ten, which are unsuited.  Should you fold, call the big blind bet, or raise to an as yet undetermined level ?

Many players feel that a Jack-Ten unsuited pocket hand is a strong hand.  Actually, that is a fallacy.  This hand has a probability win rate of only 9.4 %, and is only the 50th strongest hand out of a possible 169 starting pocket hands.  The Jack-Ten gives the illusion of being a strong hand, especially for a potential straight, but the reality is that it is just not a very strong hand.

Since

you are in the first position of the table, and you have no clue as to what hands the other players at the table possess, raising a bet would be totally ludicrous, and even calling this hand would border on the foolish  side.  Since you are the current chip leader, and you pride yourself on prudent betting practices, we strongly recommend that fold this hand.  This may not seem commensurate with your usual philosophy for this type of hand, but you need to use the mathematical odds of winning such a hand, as your betting tool.

Douglas Hayman, President of the Expert Software Systems, is a self-proclaimed poker buff, who has developed several informational poker sites, which include:

Review of Best Poker Sites - A descriptive, concise review of the most prevalentr and reputable internet-based Poker websites.

Resources

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