Intermediate Identifying Profitable Squeeze Spots from the Hijack Owen Gaines Owen Gaines is a professional poker player and author who has played an estimated ten million hands and written four poker strategy books. May 20, 2026 A profitable hijack squeeze starts with position, fold equity and a clear read on range weakness A squeeze from the hijack is a pre-flop re-raise made after one player opens and at least one caller enters the pot. It works because the caller often has a capped range, while the opener must continue out of position against a larger bet. From the hijack, the move is stronger than an early-position squeeze but less protected than a cutoff or button squeeze. That makes hand selection and table awareness important. The goal is not just to win the pot immediately. A good squeeze also leaves you with playable hands when called. The best spots usually come after a loose open from middle position and a flat call from a player who rarely traps. Many recreational players call with suited connectors, small pairs, weaker broadways and suited aces. Those hands struggle against a large re-raise. If the original raiser folds too often to 3-bets, the squeeze becomes especially profitable. Sizing matters. In position, a squeeze can often be around four times the original raise plus one additional raise size for each caller. From the hijack, where players behind can still act, a slightly larger size helps reduce overcalls. Small squeezes invite multiway pots, which weakens hands like ace-queen offsuit and medium pairs. Use linear value hands against sticky opponents. That means hands such as ace-king, ace-queen suited, big pairs and strong suited broadways. Against folders, add some suited wheel aces and suited king-x hands with blocker value. Lastly, avoid squeezing weak offsuit hands that cannot realize equity when called. A squeeze is profitable only when the table can fold, the ranges are capped and your hand still has a plan post-flop.