{"id":2241725,"date":"2024-04-09T18:54:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T18:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/?p=2241725"},"modified":"2025-12-08T09:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:24:41","slug":"jonathan-little-explains-how-to-play-pocket-queens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/jonathan-little-explains-how-to-play-pocket-queens\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Little Explains How To Play Pocket Queens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Pocket queens are always beautiful to look down at at the poker table, especially when the flop doesn&#8217;t provide any kings or aces. Even when you get to play them as an overpair, it&#8217;s still important not to get out of line with your pocket queens. Study up, and be prepared to play doubles Q&#8217;s to perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Should You FOLD Pocket Queens PREFLOP For A WSOP BRACELET on a GG Poker FINAL Table?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sqt2rwdXyLg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Scenario: You are eight-handed in a $5,000 buy-in online tournament. You have 80,735 chips with the blinds at 250-500 when a player in early position raises to 1,100. It folds to you in the hijack with pocket queens.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Poker-Blog-Board-Graphic_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-1.png\" alt=\"Pocket Queens in the HJ vs a UTG+1 open on 120bb effective\" class=\"wp-image-2242288\" style=\"width:450px;height:360px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preflop Analysis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Calling is a viable option only when you know for certain that the UTG+1 player is overly tight. Against everyone else, you should <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/3-bet-poker-strategy\/\" title=\"3-Betting in Poker: How to Pick the Right Spot for a 3-Bet\">three-bet<\/a> with the vast majority of your <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/best-texas-holdem-starting-hands\/\" title=\"Master The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Starting Hands \u2013 Top 10 List\">best starting hands<\/a> for value. While you are somewhat deep stacked, 3,800 is too large of a bet from in position, making 3,200 the best size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Action: You three-bet to 3,200,<\/strong> and only the initial raiser calls. The flop comes J\u2663-10\u2665-2,<strong><strong>\u2663<\/strong>&nbsp;and your opponent checks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Playing Pocket Queens As An Overpair<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Pot:<\/strong> 7,650<br><strong>The Board:<\/strong> J\u2663-10<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>-2\u2663<br><strong>Effective Stack:<\/strong> 155 Big Blinds Effective<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flop Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If this were a cash game where you do not especially mind if you get stacked, you should bet almost every time. In a tournament, though, you should at least consider checking back because the jack and ten on the board connect well with your opponent\u2019s range. Notice that your opponent can potentially have all the <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-terms\/nuts\/\" title=\"Nuts Definition \u2013 Learn What Nuts Is In Poker\">nut<\/a> hands that beat your Q-Q. If you get check-raised, you cannot fold, but at the same time, you could easily be drawing to two outs with your entire stack on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The prudent choice is to check behind to sidestep a potential set-up situation in exchange for giving up a little value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Action: You elect to check. The turn is the 7<strong>\u2660,<\/strong>&nbsp;and your opponent makes a pot-sized bet of 7,650.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Becoming a crusher at the table starts with crushing the fundamentals.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/quiz-have-you-mastered-the-fundamentals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Click here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to see if you have what it takes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Facing A Bet After A Safe Turn Card<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Pot:<\/strong> 15,300<br><strong>The Board:<\/strong> J\u2663-10<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>-2\u2663-7<strong>\u2660<\/strong><br><strong>Effective Stack:<\/strong> 155 Big Blinds Effective<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turn Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you check behind on the flop, you should call any turn bet. Your opponent will often value bet with many jacks, and <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/bluffing-in-poker\/\" title=\"Bluffing in Poker \u2013 How to Pick the Right Spots\">will at least consider bluffing<\/a> with hands that have little-to-no showdown value. When you beat all the bluffs and some of the value bets, folding it out of the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing a large turn bet, raising does not make sense because, again, if you are against a better hand, you want to minimize your losses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Action: You elect to call. The river is the Q<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>&nbsp;and your opponent checks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rivering A Set of Queens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Pot:<\/strong> 22,950<br><strong>The Board:<\/strong> J\u2663-10<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>-2\u2663-7<strong>\u2660<\/strong>-Q<strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark><\/strong><br><strong>Effective Stack:<\/strong> 140 Big Blinds Effective<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">River Analysis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With this lucky queen on the river, you now have a hand strong enough to bet for value. <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-terms\/range\/\" title=\"Range Definition \u2013 Learn What Is a Range in Poker\">Considering your opponent\u2019s range<\/a>, there are plenty of strong hands that would call a decent bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"POKER RANGES: How To Use Them\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M2rbV6YQRRU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Overbetting for 24,000 is ill-advised because it will force many of your opponent\u2019s marginal hands, like a jack or ten, to fold. Betting 8,000 will induce lots of calls, but with your newfound hand strength, you can likely get more value with a bigger bet. 16,000 is the best bet to make because it will likely get called by a wide range of your opponent\u2019s likely marginal-made hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong> <strong>You bet 16,000, and your opponent calls, revealing a flopped set of deuces. While you could have extracted more value from this exact hand on the river, you did well to not get all of the money in on an earlier betting round when you were drawing thin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Improving at poker starts with studying every possible spot you may face. If you enjoyed this hand quiz, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/quizzes\/\" title=\"\">the hundreds of hand quizzes<\/a> offered to Poker Coaching members.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pocket queens are always beautiful to look down at at the poker table, especially when the flop doesn&#8217;t provide any kings or aces. Even when you get to play them as an overpair, it&#8217;s still [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":2518103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[877,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz.png",1170,510,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz-746x325.png",746,325,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz-768x335.png",768,335,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz-1024x446.png",1024,446,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz.png",1170,510,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz.png",1170,510,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_JL-Explains-How-To-Play-Pocket-Queens-Hand-Quiz.png",100,44,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jonathan Little","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonathan_little\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Pocket queens are always beautiful to look down at at the poker table, especially when the flop doesn&#8217;t provide any kings or aces. Even when you get to play them as an overpair, it&#8217;s still [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241725"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539807,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241725\/revisions\/2539807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}