Playing pocket pairs can be tricky at times, and making the right decision about how to play them depends on a lot of factors. In this article, I’ll try to break down the elements you should think about before and after playing a pocket pair. Also, in this article, I’ll deal with pocket pairs 99 and lower. I think that 10 10 through AA should be played aggressively preflop and not folded for much of anything, unless you feel in your gut that you’re beat by someone.*******
First, Position. If you are Under The Gun and hold 44, chances are someone has a hand that is better than yours, or at least as good as yours. Generally, I figure that I probably don’t have the best hand, and will only limp in with these small to medium pairs under the gun if the blinds are still relatively small. If the blinds are large, however, it’s not worth the risk. You only flop a set about 1 in 8 times, so realize that your hand won’t improve most of the time.
Late in a tournament when the blinds get big, I think you should either raise or fold; calling is not an option. A lot depends on the type of table you’re at as to what decision you should make (raise or fold). If the table is tight, make a solid raise. If the table is loose, and you expect someone to call your raise, what are you going to do when a flop of A 10 7 hits and you’re holding 66?
Second, in relation to position, action behind you needs to be addressed. Generally, it’s hard to justify a call with 22-66 when there’s been a raise behind you, even if you are in late position. 77-99 require a bit more judgment, but if you don’t hit a set, chances are, there will be overcards on the flop and you’ll have to fold the hand. Ideally, you want to see a cheap, multi-way flop. That being said, your ideal situation with a small to mid pocket pair is 4 or 5 callers with you being in late position.
If you’re in late position and no one has entered the pot, by all means, raise the pot. You do already have a made hand (a pair), so why not be aggressive and steal those blinds?
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The general rule of thumb, and one that should definitely be applied in a multi-way pot (3 or more players) is: No set no bet. If you’re isolated against one other opponent and you don’t think the flop hit him/her, take a stab at the pot. If you’re only in the hand with the Big blind, take a stab at the pot. If you bet when there’s multiple people in the pot, though, you can get yourself in a world of hurt, unless you flopped a set of course, which leads me to my next section…
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What happens when you hit a set? Well, the options are really endless, and obviously depend on the situation. If there are no flush or straight draws possible on the board, I think you should slowplay the hell out of your set. If there are draws out there, though, exercise a bit of caution. You’re still in line to win a nice pot, but if you slowplay too much, you’re letting players see cheap cards that could make their hand better than yours.
So, in summary, exercise caution when entering the pot with your small to mid pocket pair, and if you don’t hit a set, don’t bet.
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