Set Mining

So my understanding is you should generally be calling raises with pocket pairs whenever you and the villain have at least 7-8x the raise amount (because you will hit 1/8 on the flop).

My question is this: does this apply to any size raise? (For the sake of this argument let's assume you're last to act.) Should I be calling even 6+BB raises with my small pocket pairs? I would think so because I want to win big pots, right?

So let's say I'm playing 25NL (FR), where the usual PF raise is 3-5BB. Every so often I'll face a fairly large raise and/or re-raise, say 7+BB. Do you call as long as you both have at least 7-8x the raise?

I'd love to get some insight on good PF strategy for those smaller pocket pairs. TIA!

You need better odds than that to call. I like to see 12x the amount of my call left in the villains stack. There are a few reasons for it.

- If we're only getting break even odds we're not winning any $$
- The villain won't always stack off
- Sometimes we'll hit our set and still end up losing

I'll call any size raise as long as I'm getting 12 to 1 implied odds on my call. Unless stacks are really deep you're rarely getting odds to call with small pairs in 3bet pots.

Thanks for the reply. Do your required odds get smaller as the pocket pairs get higher? Say 12BB with 22-55, 8BB with 77-TT, and you're raising with JJ-AA?

Also, with your multi-way pots how do you handle the different stack sizes? What if 1-2 players hold smaller stacks?

I agree with hillbilly, just because villain has 8x the raise amount, it is not very often that he will lose his whole stack if you hit your set.

bingo: 12:1

No I'm looking for good implied odds until I start 3betting (JJ+, occasionally TT).

Stacking 2 players to get your implied odds is almost impossible. If I can get 12:1 from any one player I'm usually in, but I prefer it to be the preflop raiser.

This has been great guys. I confess I sometimes find it difficult to call a big raise even when I'm getting the right odds. But of course when I don't and it turns out I would have hit my set on the flop, that hurts like hell. But I'm learning...

Dan Harrington actually says that the total amount you stand to win should be 20x the amount you have to call. I think that's a bit much, but 12-15 seems reasonable.

The thing you need to keep in mind is that, with a set, all you can beat (other than a smaller set) is one or two pair. Most halfway decent players aren't going to stack-off with one pair and often not even two pair.

definitely not, the huge misconception is that your opponent will give stack off, which is rarely the case. some people can even get away from aces or kings, if the board comes out scary enough, so essentially the cheaper you can get in the better.

Very true what is said here. 8:1 is not enough. 12:1 sounds better to me. Because, people might raise with poket jacks, you have 2-2, and comes Ace-queen-2. He will fold to any big bet you do. Hard to continue with Jacks with ace and queen on the board.