Alternatively: 600, 750, 1000, or 1,500 points. The other important notation you’ll often see is “+”, which can mean different things depending on what hand it’s attached to. Tip #3: If the board is paired, always fire a c-bet. When the flop is Ten or Nine-high, you have a strong top pair that is very vulnerable to future cards. Pocket jacks is a strong hand in Texas Hold’em. In fact, you should fold them straight out from UTG, UTG+1, and UTG+2. UTG is seated to the left of the big blind and is the first player to act. 1. Baby pairs, "small pocket pairs" or just "small pairs" refer to the lowest group of pocket-pair starting hands in Texas Hold'em, usually ranging from 22 to 66. It's not uncommon to see three sets of trips at showdown, or a couple boats, a flush, and top two pair. Small pairs will almost always be up against at least one overcard on the flop, and when you find yourself all-in preflop, you will either be crushed or in a coinflip for your stack or tournament life. Pockets Kings are the second-best starting hand in poker. Hitting that card offers the potential for a big pot – depending on the board. 1. Since a Set is stronger than a Straight in this variant, you should play pocket pairs more aggressively and not be afraid to call 3-bets with any pocket pair. One last thing to consider: you shouldn't only play small pocket pairs to set mine. Try not to get too attached to the hand. Broadway hands. Full House (Set to your pocket pair, plus a board pair): 0. It must be stressed that aces are definitely not a hand to be slowplayed. About 70BB+ should do the trick. A pocket pair is when a player is dealt two cards of the same rank, such as two aces or two sixes. It is also possible that pocket aces face heads up with another pocket aces. There are 13 pairs in Hold’em (22 – AA) and for each there are 6 ways to be dealt. . 8824% or 1 : 16. Tip #1: Always bet and barrel for value with top pair (unless the board runs out in a very dicey way) If you have Ace-Queen and the flop comes Ace-high or Queen-high, you have a monster hand worth multiple streets of value. Pocket Pairs. If you’re dealt a pair of queens when you play poker online games, you’ll have the last of the top three best starting hands. How to Play Medium Pocket Pairs Next up, we’re going to take a closer look at how to play medium pocket pairs. If you miss bets with these types of hands. . The chance of being dealt a specific pocket. In Texas Hold'em, a pocket pair refers to a situation where a player's two hole cards are of the same rank. The medium pocket pairs are 10-10,9-9, 8-8, 7-7 and 6-6. This means that you should try to hit 3 of a kind with your small pocket pairs on the flop. Obviously, you need to be wary in a full ring, deep stacked game, but jacks should win you money in the long run. Let’s take a look at one such scenario: Example: The Button raises and the Big Blind calls. For this reason, you should always raise preflop with Pocket Queens when the action is folded around to you. Add a second player with another pocket pair to the hand and your chance at losing the pot doubles. Facing an open, Pocket Queens is still extremely strong and you should always 3-bet. Against five players with hands from the example, you’ll win 48% of the time. * *The solver elects to raise with some of these hands as a semi-bluff raises at some frequency, as I will describe below. 77+ means play all pocket pairs including 77 and better, so this range excludes the pocket pairs 22 through 66. For example, you have on . There are 13 pocket pairs in Texas Holdem poker. See moreThere are many ways to play pocket pairs in No-Limit Hold’em, but only a few are correct, and knowing the difference between the right way and the wrong way is going to save you money. The best hands to play in poker preflop will always be big pocket pairs (such as Ace-Ace, King-King and Queen-Queen), followed by big suited connectors such as Ace-King, as well as medium pairs. For example, if a player is dealt two sevens or two kings, they have a pocket pair. If I hit the flop hard, then it depends on the action of the table, but I usually end up with a big pot. The effective stack size is one of the biggest considerations when deciding on how you want to play a pocket pair (the effective stack being the smallest of the two in a heads-up pot). Having showdown value means that checking behind will never be too bad of an option on most board textures. , or one in three. 1. In this vlog, I quickly discuss what to consider before entering the pot with small pocket pairs, such as stack sizes, overall aggression of the table, as we. How to Play Strong Pocket Pairs 1. HOW TO PLAY POCKET PAIRS Pocket pairs is the most difficult hole cards for you to learn how to play. But this will require playing your position well pre-flop, and that will also include using whatever knowledge you possess of the playing styles. From the Big Blind. The best way to play pocket pairs in this instance is simply to set mine, if you make a set on the flop you have a really strong hand, if you miss you can get out of the way without losing too. Pocket Pairs (99-22) Pocket pairs make huge hands when they flop sets. Note: If you want to win at poker, you need a solid preflop strategy. When the action folds to you and you have Ace-Ten offsuit, you should almost always raise. The remaining 88%, you will be left holding a weak pair, often with two to three overcards on the board, and limited outs to improve. 2. You square up your hole cards. Connectors •Cards that are separated in. Tips for playing pocket aces. Below you will find a list of poker hands in order from highest to lowest to help you get started, as well as the top starting hands for. Pocket Tens. Naturally, the lower down the pocket pair, the less value it has. Certainly, hands like 2-2 to 5-5 should be folded to any LP raise. When you have a strong hand in poker, you should almost always lean towards fast-playing to build the pot ASAP. engjosh88 • 11 yr. So, after playing millions and millions of hands at the micros and. When someone plays back, I can fold without any real worries. Believe it or not, pocket eights is one of the top 6% of starting hands when it comes to winning possibilities. So you’ll be flopping a set fairly infrequently but when you do you’ve got a very good chance of winning the hand. Raising from early position pre-flop gives your opponents the impression you have a premium hand. If you’re at a 9-handed table, the best baseline strategy is to fold Pocket Fives from the 3 earliest positions (UTG, UTG+1 and UTG+2). Medium pocket pairs have some commonality with small pocket pairs, which usually need help to prevail at a showdown. Most of the time you should limp in full ring games, though you can vary your play by raising about 20% of the time when no one has opened the pot. The other important notation you’ll often see is “+”, which can mean different things depending on what hand it’s attached to. Pocket queens. Your strategy is defined by two main factors: the strength of your pocket. Simple enough! Playing Against a Raise. For example, A ♠ A ♥, A ♠ A ♦, A ♠ A ♣, A ♥ A ♦, A ♥ A ♣, A ♦ A ♣. Middle position gives players a little more breathing room to play low pocket pairs. Tip #1: Always bet and barrel for value with top pair (unless the board runs out in a very dicey way) If you have Ace-Queen and the flop comes Ace-high or Queen-high, you have a monster hand worth multiple streets of value. 6 possible combinations of each pocket pair. You have two big ways to win the pot post-flop with better odds at a bigger stack: Hit the Set, or check-raise dry boards. Playing small pairs incorrectly is one of the biggest mistakes that less experienced players make. This means you have a 5. Pocket pairs are a favorite type of hand for many players. I talk about how to play pocket deuces out of position before. “Pocket queens” will almost always help a player in cash games or online poker tournaments so long as no aces or kings appear as community cards. The basic idea is simple. There are two main requirements for playing small pocket pairs: The opponents should have relatively deep stacks. The best, in this case, is when you flop your low pocket pair set. Factor in that you can still lose even with a set. To compensate for the lack of information when opening first, you should stick to a tight range of strong hands, including high-pocket pairs, suited aces, and suited broadway hands, to maximize your chances of winning the pot. low pairs are only useful is the flop brings the. Play Pocket Tens. Don’t get married to your hand. Pocket jacks, the nightmare of almost everyone who dared to play some poker. Any raise and you can be sure there is an over pocket pair or something like an A-10 or A-J staring at you. The one hand that gives beginners more trouble than ace-king or even ace-queen has to be pocket jacks. Pocket Pairs •Play big pocket pairs aggressively: raise •Play small pocket pairs carefully –When the pot is big (lots of players) Big cards •Play big cards aggressively: raise •Aces >> kings •Suited >> unsuited. Having any pair puts you ahead of all. Four of a Kind: 0. If you think you can get paid off by an opponent it can be profitable to take a flop and go set mining. A “pocket pair” is a pair that a player possesses in his beginning hand in a Hold’em game. 3 Tips for Pocket Sixes in 3-Bet Pots as the Preflop Caller Tip #1: If you have a middling pair and a backdoor flush draw, call even if the bet is large. If you face a raise when seated in one of these positions, King-X suited hands are simply too weak to play. How to play ace king evaluation. If you can get in all the money before the flop, kudos to you, as you’ll likely be ahead of your opponent’s range. You only have like a one in ten chance of hitting a set, which means on average you should try and make 10x your return of your preflop bet to make the strategy of set mining profitable. It sucks when your pocket pair misses the flop, especially when you’re looking at three overcards. The optimal way of playing small pocket pairs has changed a lot over the years. Key Points: Fold in early position to a raise; call big blind and late position. In Omaha Hold ’em, a pocket pair would mean you have two same cards in your hand. You should also be playing your pocket aces very aggressively after the flop as well. For flushes on the flop assuming you have suited pocket cards and where you need 3 cards of the same suit you need to muliply the odds of each card being of the suit you need, not add them: 11 out of 50 = 22% for first card - multiplied by. The odds of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair is 7. According to PokerSnowie, you can only call such a raise with JJ or better. It’s subjective and depends on a lot of different factors including table position, chip stacks, the blinds, and, of course, how you assess your opponents. Tip #1 – Lean heavily towards c-betting with your top pairs Top pairs are strong hands on the flop. Pocket pairs are one of the most exciting. See the flop and then act! Another way to approach pocket tens might be to consider your position first. If you’re losing with this hand over a lot of. Small pocket pairs might look nice as a starting hand, but you should be dumping most of them in early position. Remember that pocket Aces are not indestructible. If you hold a pocket pair and get the third matching card from the board, that’s called a set. Being the one who initiates the action, or someone who follows, determines how to enter a hand. Despite being attractive preflop, small pocket pairs are notorious for causing problems postflop, forcing even the experienced players in to making unprofitable decisions. US Online Poker. A pocket pair is always a good starting point in poker. From early position its completely fine to just fold or you can semi-bluff raise a small percentage of the time, I know low pairs make up a limping range for some guys but I personally don’t include them. This applies to almost all hands you play, but especially to pocket pairs due to the fact that they don’t offer much flexibility on the flop, turn or river versus other hands. There are only 3 higher pocket pairs so you can expect to have the best hand before the flop most of the time you’re dealt them. A pocket pair is when you are dealt 2 cards of the equal weightage or suit. This makes a total of 78 combos out of 1,326. I like to raise the low PP's (22-55) in EP some 60-70% of the time and play them just as I would any big pair. Best Online Poker Sites. 340. In almost all circumstances getting all-in pre. If you miss the flop though, then you. Enter the Pot With. On this board, your normal bet size should be on the bigger side and vary from around 2/3 of the pot to 75%. 4. A step below the A-K, A-Q is often called Little Slick. In all cases, if you don’t hit your set and are facing a raise, be prepared to fold. Against an Early Position raise, fold Queen-Ten suited. Pocket queens strategy evaluation. The Rest: 2s - 9s. How to Play Pre-Flop: Pay Attention. Pocket Pairs •Play big pocket pairs aggressively: raise •Play small pocket pairs carefully –When the pot is big (lots of players) Big cards •Play big cards aggressively: raise •Aces >> kings •Suited >> unsuited. . Example: A K , K Q . Many players try to play middle and smaller pairs from early position. That’s not to say medium pocket pairs aren’t valuable. --- Latest Poker News at ---Middle position you can open, but I wouldn't limp or call any bet. Take your pocket pair, and take a good long look at it from an objective perspective. A “set” refers to three-of-a-kind using pocket pairs and “trips” refers to a three-of-a-kind using one hole card and 2 community cards. You play your set or turn it into a bluff when the board supports it. We’ll look. In this situation, you’ve run into what’s called “kicker problems. How to Play Pocket Nines on Different Board Textures As mentioned in the introduction, hands like pocket nines can be very tricky to play correctly, particularly postflop. Ks-Kc-Qd-Jh-5h. Many times, though, Pockets Kings are forced to see a flop. For that reason it's OK to limp pocket pairs from any position. Small Pocket Pairs are a Drawing Hand. Strengthen your poker skills and build your bankroll with this video demonstration. A particularly dangerous board with the possibility of straights, flushes or full houses. Want to master Microsoft Excel and take your work-from-home job prospects to the next level? Jump-start your career with our Premium A-to. Medium to small pocket pairs can win you money in 3 ways: You can make a set and win a lot from someone who made a good but worse hand. You can raise in late position, but make your raises big. Players don’t play poker in a vacuum; each player’s hand must measure up against his opponent’s, especially if a player goes all-in before the flop. Facing such a bet, a player on the big blind should defend these poker hands:Depending on how loose or tight they play, various players will have varying beginning hand needs. We will cover: What are Pocket Pairs? Pre-Flop Strategy:. The one hand that gives beginners more trouble than ace-king or even ace-queen has to be pocket jacks. A middle pocket pair isn’t the type of hand to get involved in a large pot. Key Points: Fold in early position to a raise; call big blind and late position. Don t make the mistake of thinking pocket tens or jacks are great all-in hands, they are good hands but need to be played well. Sep 4, 2020. In this strategy guide, we will discuss the best ways to play pocket pairs in different situations and how to maximize their potential. In this article, we’ll. Pocket pairs from 22 right up to AA can be played profitably with the right strategy, even if hands like AA and KK are a lot more exciting to play. Obviously, you need to be wary in a full ring, deep stacked game, but jacks should win you money in the long run. A: There are 6 combos of each pocket pair, meaning across 13 different card values, there are 78 combos of pocket pairs. Multi-way pots after the flop. Certainly, hands like 2-2 to 5-5 should be folded to any LP raise. How To Play Big Pocket Pairs. It is also a good idea to have a clear strategy for when to fold it (yes you should be doing this on occasion). The deeper or larger your stack is, the more profitable it becomes to play small pairs due to the high implied odds on hitting a set. 888poker investigates how often you should be playing them and whether to raise, call or fold. Pocket jacks is a strong hand in Texas Hold’em. There are two key situations where the value of pocket aces starts to fade: 1. In these situations, the small pairs can realize their maximum equity by going all-in preflop. Photo by Hassan Khalid. Even if they’re suited, the chance of flopping a flush is only 0. 1 out of 13 times, your second card will provide you with the most powerful preflop starting hand in Hold’em! Peeling the second card, you see the emergence of a diagonal outline. Many amateurs fall into this bad habit because they are the #1 starting hand. When you flop two pair, trips, a straight or a flush, you should basically always play your. 1) Play small pocket pairs against deep stacked opponents. You can c-bet at a very high frequency and force a lot of two overcard hands to fold their equity. It might not seem obvious at first glance, but boards like 9♠ 5♣ 3♠ and T ♥ 8♣ 2♠ can setup some. However in No Limit Holdem there are a number of things that should limit how you play them. Particularly when in position, betting on the flop and then bombing on the turn if you pick up a draw really puts your opponent in a miserable spot. The Rest: 2s - 9s. Ace-king has an interesting relationship with pocket jacks. The whole concept of PLO preflop hand selection and hand strength is a bit more complicated than in holdem. I’m a donkfish but i play them like my small pocket pairs, you are mainly looking for deep stacked big pair hands trying to crack ‘em . Naturally, the lower down the pocket pair, the less value it has. e. Poker News. When raising with A-K, you are primarily doing it for the third reason, whereas when raising with a hand such as AA, you are doing it for the second. Forum. Baby pairs can be powerful hands for cracking big hands. Another time when it makes sense to bluff with low pocket pairs is when you can’t find enough natural bluffs on the river. That being said, most players can’t help themselves and c-bet much. ” Yes, you have a high pair in the form of two Aces, but you aren’t faring so well because of your low kicker. Against a 3-Bet. 9% (once every 17 hands). Here are the table positions for your reference: Unopened Pots. Since flushes and trips increase in value, suited hands and pocket pairs increase in value. 9% (once every 17 hands). If you’re seated anywhere between the Hijack and the Small Blind, go. Set mining means calling preflop with a small pocket pair with the intention of hitting a set postflop and taking down a big pot. These hands are strong enough that they want to value-bet for a small size. 86. However, when you are the player making the last big bet you have the added benefit of fold-equity. Being the one who initiates the action, or someone who follows, determines how to enter a hand. Since a pair is a small favorite against any unpaired hand, pocket pairs can have substantial value in certain situations. Let’s say you called a 3-bet preflop and the board comes A-J-5 rainbow. Given the presence of the ante, the players are incentivized to play loose ranges preflop to attack the dead money in the pot. If you hit a set then you should play your hand very aggressively. By Matthew Cluff. Poker Articles. 5 Tips for Playing Pocket Tens Postflop. 10 out of 49 = 20% - second card - multiplied by. This goes hand in hand with mistake #1. Medium pocket pairs have some commonality with small pocket pairs, which usually need help to prevail at a showdown. The ability to go all-in profitably with small pocket pairs when short-stacked makes them straightforward and easy to play. King should be played aggressively and fast. Set mining is only one of many possible approaches to take when playing small-to-medium pairs. Mostly call to see a cheap flop as the chances of hitting a Set (Three of a Kind) is 10. For example, If there are two people limping in from early position and you find yourself sitting in hijack with 33, limping along is simply the best way to play the hand if you have a fairly deep stack, which we’ll take as a given for the purposes of this guide. Pocket 7s down are pretty much set mining hands, unless the blinds are very high relative to stack sizes. 22-66 Fold 77-99 Raise to standard for table, figure out how deep you are to see if you can profitably set-mine if 3-bet, fold to 4-bet. How to Play Pocket Twos in Common Preflop Situations. Today's H. 3. 5-to-1 against, so you’ll obviously miss hitting a set more often than not. So despite pocket-pairs being low playability hands this is not the same as saying they are difficult to play. Pocket aces are without a doubt the best starting hand one can be dealt in the game of hold’em. Certainly, hands like 2-2 to 5-5 should be folded to any LP raise. JJ is such a trouble hand that most beginners actually even hate having it dealt to them. In this video you will learn how to play small pocket pairs in poker. If you look at the odds of flopping a set, you will be looking at a probability of about 8 to 1. that betting dilutes the value of your hand and being otherwise. Knowing the above information, we can then do some basic math to determine the likelihood of getting certain combinations of hole cards. Avoiding Extremes. But you shouldn’t always just check and fold with an underpair. ” “Pocket aces,” for example, refers to getting a pair of aces as your hole cards. If you hit your set you may get their entire stack. In a full-ring game of nine players, it’s rarely a good idea. You’re going to come up against a lot of different scenarios when playing. In general, set mining hands are low pocket pairs with which you want to see some cheap flops and hope to hit the jackpot. And combination of hearts and straight cards and possible over pairs. Three pairs = 500 points. Playable in any position - Stronger opening bets mixed with limps or calls, Play this one fast if you are ahead on the flop. You can raise in late position, but make your raises big. There are thirteen different pocket pairs (one for each rank) and six different ways of making each. 3 tips for playing the crabs when you are the preflop raiser. 7%, or a 56. Each pair has a total of six combinations. You should raise preflop with pocket Queens. They are two cards of the same rank; for example, A♥ A♦ and K♦ K♣. Whether it’s in a single raised pot (SRP) or 3bet+ pot, and for lesser experienced. Suppose you are playing $1/$3 no-limit hold'em and before the flop, you raise to $12 in early position with a pair of jacks. Small Pairs. Middle position gives players a little more breathing room to play low pocket pairs. How to Play Heads-Up: Any Pair. In the game of poker, players are often looking for strong starting hands to have an advantage over their opponents. However. How to Play. The most common and practical way to play middle pocket pairs. You should play premium pocket pairs (AA through TT) very aggressively preflop while your hand is likely ahead of your opponent’s range. --- Latest Poker News at --- Middle position you can open, but I wouldn't limp or call any bet. How to Play Strong Pocket Pairs Strong pocket pairs are premium hands in no-limit Texas hold’em, meaning they are the. The player to the left of the big blind is called 'under the gun', as they’re the first. You would need to understand what makes a good PLO hand what doesn't. While a deceptive second pair, it is still a second pair four times out of ten and a weak pair once out of every ten times, resulting in a 50-50 chance of susceptibility to being outdrawn. There are 6 different ways to form a. We will cover: What are Pocket Pairs? Pre-Flop Strategy: Position and Hand Selection Playing Small Pocket Pairs (Deuces through Fives) Playing Medium Pocket Pairs (Sixes through Nines) Playing High Pocket Pairs (Tens through Aces) Adjusting Play Based on Stack Sizes Post-Flop Play with Pocket Pairs. When you flop two pair, trips, a straight or a flush, you should basically always fast-play your hand. The Big Blind check-calls a 66% pot c-bet on K♣ 9♣ 2 ♥. They are actually very easy to play as 3bets. Small pocket pairs might look nice as a starting hand, but you should be dumping most of them in early position. Raise preflop, or call a raise. Alternatively: 1000 points. Unfortunately, there’s no easy explanation on how to play Pocket Jacks preflop. They have very little potential, but if the right cards open on the flop, you can win big. You can raise in late position, but make your raises big. Pocket Pairs are some of the trickiest hole cards to play. Give everyone 1 additional turn to try and beat the high score. ), whereas top-pair hands go down in. With that in mind, the focus of this. Another element to the math is understanding how often our small pair will flop a big hand. As relative stack sizes get lower, the value of suited connectors goes down, because their value relies on being able to win a massive pot and. Tip #1 – Lean heavily towards c-betting with your top pairs Top pairs are strong hands on the flop. Just remember this type of play works maybe half the time at best. There are 3 types of positions you are going to be in, in relation to your. 2. With Q ♦ J ♦, we have 6 outs to make a pair that might be good, and can pick up equity with any ace, ten, nine, or diamond. 3. Small pocket pairs: Small pocket pairs are the hardest hands to play and bet on. 78%. Pockets Kings are the second-best starting hand in poker. Trips and two pair are bread-and-butter value-betting hands. Same as below, the stack sizes are the most critical thing to consider with a baby pair like 55. The Importance of Knowing Premium Poker Hands. If any ace is 52% or better to win, it only makes sense that any pocket pair is even more valuable. Pocket Pairs are strong hands but stacking off with the baby pairs can be risky as there are many. It’s hard to play some of the smaller pairs for value post-flop as the lower you get, the more overcards and increased chance of someone beating you. Get all-in pre-flop against a weaker ace-x hand. ). engjosh88 • 11 yr. If you get any of these pairs in your hand, you have a reasonably strong chance of winning a one-on-one confrontation. The thing about middle pocket pairs, is after the. That’s a lot of missing, but the 12% of the time we. How to Play Low Pocket Pairs in Middle Position. I always have trouble playing low pocket pairs (55’s and lower) 9 handed. Low Pocket Pairs. The significance of small pairs in the early tournament stages . Betting while having the equity lead (which you will almost always have as the preflop raiser) will ensure that you are building the pot while being the favored one. Because of this, you should always raise with Pocket Sevens preflop when the action folds to you, regardless of your position. Tip #1: Always c-bet for value when you flop top pair. There are 4 or 5 overcards, depending on your top pair, that will crumble the expected value of your hand. It’s hard to play some of the smaller pairs for value post-flop as the lower you get, the more overcards and increased chance of someone beating you. Paired boards are great for the player who is in position. But if you do choose to play a pocket pair passively before the flop by calling a raise, be sure to. Get in cheap and hit big to scoop the pot. Categorizing Pocket Pairs and How to Play Them. Play pocket pairs aggressively . 5. This does not apply in Omaha and a lot of Hold'Em players do not understand this. If you called a raise preflop, look to put in a raise against a bet. That’s the goal of this lesson. Unlike small pairs, which you usually play for their set value, or big hands that are played for their face value, suited connectors are somewhere in between, and this leads to many complicated postflop spots. How to Play Low Pocket Pairs in Middle Position. Odds of Hitting the Flop When Holding a Pocket Pair: Two Pair: 16. The odds of you being dealt a pair of pocket aces (the best starting hand in poker) is 0. How to play pocket pairs. I would avoid calling raises over 7BBs to see a flop. For example, 7-7 vs J-10, with the final board coming Q-9-8-7-2 (even making a set of sevens on the turn didn't save the pocket pair) A flush. Suited connectors are probably among the most complicated hands to play correctly in Texas Hold'em. There are only 3 higher pocket pairs so you can expect to have the best hand before the flop most of the time you’re dealt them. To compensate for the lack of information when opening first, you should stick to a tight range of strong hands, including high-pocket pairs, suited aces, and suited broadway hands, to maximize your chances of winning the pot. When someone plays back, I can fold without any real worries. There are 1326 total combinations of all hands that can be dealt pre-flop, from Aces to 3-2 offsuit. Pocket Tens. TYPES OF POCKET PAIRS. Therefore, while playing pocket pairs you can win large pots if you play smartly and strategically or lose. Facing A Cold-3Bet With Pocket Tens. If you raise with these pocket pairs you’re building a pot with a weak hand. The less opponents in the hand the better. How to Play Aces. Early position just fold. Before we look at how to play your pocket pairs, it’s important for you to have an understanding of the odds – and your chances of being dealt various pairs. You could justify slow play if the flop is composed of low-value connecting cards. In Limit Holdem low pocket pairs can be played in virtually any position without a 3bet. However, at a six-max table (the format for most online poker games,) low poker pairs become. You should always start with a bet on the flop, and usually look to bet again on the turn and a final time on the river. There is a lot to learn about how to play. Have an overpair to the board (your pocket pair is better than all the cards on the flop). However, when you are the player making the last big bet you have the added benefit of fold-equity. Most of the value in small pocket pairs comes from when they flop a set, which will only happen 11. I would still throw away the small pairs preflop, if someone raises much (again - depending on. Playing underpairs optimally can help you make more money in the long run. 8% of the time, as mentioned. Set mining is only one of many possible approaches to take when playing small-to-medium pairs. You’ll flop a set around 1 in 8 times, but. Effective stack size. 2%. To better understand Pocket Jacks, let’s use Flopzilla Pro to examine how this hand interacts across all possible flop scenarios. If you play pocket Jacks in a tournament, you can expect players to call all-in in later rounds, even. Conditions for Playing Small Pairs. A nice flop to c-bet for value with Ace-King. Tip #1 – When you flop top pair with the 9 in a single-raised pot, lean towards betting on the flop and checking on the turn. 3 Tips for Playing When You Hit Top Pair on the Flop with Ace-Jack Suited. The less opponents in the hand the better. Say you’re under the gun with the ace of hearts and ace of diamonds. If this sounds like a challenging situation, just imagine being in this spot from out of position. The other focuses on unpaired starting hands and figuring out how many combos of hands like one pair, two pair, trips, flush draws, etc. But it can be a tricky hand to play post flop because it's vulnerable to over cards such as aces and kings.