Understanding how to defend your hands is crucial in tournament poker. In this example from a $500 buy-in tournament with 25-50 blinds, Jonathan Little breaks down the thought process behind calling, folding, and range defense.

Early Action: Raising With Pocket Jacks

Hero opens to 150 from second position with J♣J♠, and a loose, aggressive opponent calls from the button.

Flop: K♥K♦8♣

Hero bets 200 into 375, and the opponent raises to 600.

• Little approves of the half-pot bet on this stack depth (100 BBs) but notes that on shorter stacks, a smaller 125-chip bet may be better.
• With a loose, splashy opponent, calling the raise is mandatory. Folding J-J here would mean giving up too much of Hero’s range.

Key Concept: Folding too much of your range makes your opponent immediately profitable. Against competent players, your range must remain defendable to prevent exploitation.

The opponent is risking 600 to win 575 (over 51% equity needed for profitability). Folding too much of your range ensures they can profit with nearly any two cards.

Turn: 2♠

Hero checks, and the opponent bets 700 into 1,575.

• Again, calling is correct. Folding here would mean giving up almost the entire range.
• Even if Hero had full houses or trips, his J-J is still high in his range.

Strategy Tip: Never create situations where you feel compelled to fold the best hands in your range. Maintaining a balanced range prevents opponents from applying unchecked aggression.

River: 4♣

Hero checks, and the opponent checks behind, revealing 5♥4♥.

• Hero wins a nice pot, but Little emphasizes that if the opponent had bet full pot, Hero would need to call roughly 50% of his range to prevent exploitation.
• If the opponent’s range is wide (including ace-highs or backdoor draws), folding J-J would be too tight.

Lesson: Always consider your range composition, not just the strength of your specific hand. A strong range forces opponents to make mistakes rather than winning by default when you show weakness.

Takeaways From This Hand

1. Call more often against loose, aggressive players—folding too much allows them to profit freely.
2. Think in terms of range, not individual hands. Your goal is to avoid giving opponents an easy way to exploit your strategy.
3. Adjust bet sizing to stack depth—half-pot is fine deep, smaller bets work better short-stacked.
4. Maintain balanced aggression—don’t make it obvious when you have trips or strong hands.
5. Focus on difficult spots for your opponents—force them to risk chips to win, rather than allowing free profit.

Defending adequately is a key skill for tournament poker, especially when facing competent or aggressive players. Folding too often can cost more than calling marginal hands, and understanding range dynamics is the secret to consistent success.