Favourite/lucky hands

A lot of people have favourite or lucky hands. Sure, everyone loves high pockets, suited cards or two high cards, but its the more unusual hands that you win with that tend to be remembered. Whether its the time you cracked aces with (insert crap cards here), the hand that you won your first tournament with or the time you flopped a boat with (insert crap cards here).

For me, its jack-three. Ironically, its the first hand that I got knocked out of an APL game with but since then I've done a lot better with it. One APL game, first hand of the night with blinds at 25/50 I looked down and saw jack-three of spades and called. Being the first hand of the night, its talked about regularly that because people don't shuffle thoroughly enough that the first hand of the night is often by a flush. So I'm like, two suited cards why not and hopefully I'll see a flop. Anyway, the blinds check and the flop comes out jack, 3, something else. Big blind checks, I bet and I get two callers. Next card comes out another 3 giving me a full-house. Big blind checks again so I throw out another bet, I get re-raised slightly by the big blind, I call and so does another player. The final card is basically a blank, I think the big blind bets, I push all-in over the top, the other player calls as does the big blind. By this stage I'm wondering what's going on and what they could possibly be calling with. Big blind turns over pocket aces (a lesson in how not to play them), I show my full house and the final player who called all the way folds without showing. I knock them both out and am tripled up after the first hand!

I've had other experiences with this hand but that is by far the most memorable. Now, don't get me wrong ... I know jack-three is a crap hand (often referred to as "jack shit") and if someone raises or I'm in bad position, or the blinds are high, I'll happily throw it away quick smart. But if I can limp in with it when the blinds are cheap or if I get it in the blinds, I really hope to see a flop ... just in case.

I'm also quickly coming to understand the power and beauty of suited connectors but that's a story for another time.