[cero_z]

Hi jedi,

You're way overthinking this. Gladly cap it on the flop, and try to confront some players with 2 bets cold on the turn. You shouldn't have backed down immediately because the flop got capped; you just have to realize that most people will be all-in by the river if they're in for 2 bets on the flop, so they're trying to get the money in when they're still live. River is a check-call.

Pre-flop is automatic, but not for the reasons you mentioned. Your cards being live is legitimate, but winning with a pair of Js vs. that field is not. You call because you're getting monstrous odds with a well-coordinated hand that can scoop with the right flop. When someone limps UTG in full ring O8, they usually have A2xx, so a big field means they will probably correctly reraise if given the chance. However, your hand was big enough to risk this, so calling was still right. Obviously after you call the first bet, you're stuck for the rest.