Small Pocket Pairs what to do?

I have recently been doing really bad with my preflop pocket pair betting.. I used to just call the blind limp in and see if i flop then fold to a bet.. But then i realized alot of people raise preflop with there small pocket pairs and continue betting regardless of whats on the board ..I dont think thats smart, but I havent been doing well just limping either .. I have seen people put out by continued bets after flop and overcards out the yahoo on the board. Why do people do that with small pairs in there hole ? So i was wanting a little advice on other ways to play your pocket pairs and your fold boundaries when they dont flop. Now if I am the short stack obviously and in good position I push all in with those dam mediocre pocket pairs...
Thank .....xBecca

i always raise a decent amount. it varies due to the differences in tables. If i flop a set then i usually try to slow play it. But if i miss the set, and two of the cards are higher than my pair then i fold. Usually if i dont hit, and it is lower than pocket 7s then i fold immediately. This is just what i do, but i could use some advice on my plays as well though.

In middle position, I limp unless the blinds are ridiculous...and in late position with nobody coming into the pot, i might 2.5x raise, and if I'm called and I flop a set or there's only 1 overcard, I bet it.

Early in tournaments I limp with small pocket pairs, as blinds are cheap and lousy players are still left to pay you off when you hit.

Later in a tournament I'll fold them in early position and raise with them in late position.

In a ring game I'll usually open/call with them from any position. If there are special circumstances (micro stacks or hyper aggressive people after me, etc.) I might just much them.

I'm substantially less likely to play 2/2 or 3/3 than any other pair. I'll muck those most of the time. 4/4 to 8/8 I pretty much put in the same "small pair" boat. 9's-J's being middle pairs, and Q's+ being large pairs.

With a pocket pair and several callers...go with a moderate raise unless someone raises before you..in which case just call their raise. On the flop...if you don't make a set or are on the high end of a str8 draw...throw them away.

The flip side is if your on a final table. Any pocket pair is golden in these cases because very few hands see the flop let alone the showdown. Be sure to raise heavily here.

WOW, some strange advice here, and I'll explain why. eg. you limp early with 8c8s, flop is AQ2 with 2 hearts, you bet out and have 3 callers, now what do you do? With 2 hearts on board you basically have 1 out if someone is drawing to a flush, if someone has an A or a Q ur already beat. Early in a tourney call hoping to set, late in touney push especially around bubble time because if ur less than 4x bb the bb will call with any two cards.

wow this is really a cion flip. it always seems more than 1 person gets pp at the same time and like the low one hits. so its really up to you.

probably limp in early position and in late position you could throw in a raise.. you got 7.3 to 1 oddds of hitting that set.. so always aim to hit that set and make someone go broke... dont overvalue these small pocket pairs though..

I had been having this same trouble and started a similar thread. http://www.cardschat.com/f50/how-muc...l-pp-s-119777/ (http://www.cardschat.com/f50/how-much-too-much-small-pp-s-119777/)
There is the link to it. Lots of useful info in there. Hope it helps!

I like to limp, but if I'm in late position and everyone has folded to me, raise for the steal. Fold to big raises from earlier position. Don't like to play small pocket pairs really, rather take the blinds first. But if there are a few limpers and you trip, it's cash-in time

heres some advice lol. what i do with pocket pairs differs depending on the size of the cards. anything low usually below the hooks (J J) i will tend to either go double the pot size then you tend to get a vibe when the flop comes out to check or bet usually sticking to the same size bet on each turn of card states alot to the opponent. but if two cards on the flop are higher than than my pockets i become very wary and not afraid to throw them at any stage there after. if the pocket pair is high then i will put a raise in of double the pot and slow play them if i have jacks or queens then i will watch for the ace coming out which people tend to call with pre flop. good luck but all i can say i go with your gut instincts works for me

I think the consistent idea of betting conservatively if early and raising if late is pretty sound. I almost always fold if the flop includes higher cards and other players are betting. I will also go all-in if I have a shortstack, hoping to double up. My questio is are you better off to bet aggressive or slow play if you do hit trips?

i always limp in with small pp....if i hit a set with a rainbow board i get excited....if i dont hit a set then i wil lstay in depending on how much my opponents bet...see you at the tables...lol..

"Early in tournaments I limp with small pocket pairs, as blinds are cheap and lousy players are still left to pay you off when you hit.

Later in a tournament I'll fold them in early position and raise with them in late position."

...that's basically my low pocket playing strategy as well. And, the reason I would put out a continuation bet if I open preflop is because everyone respects the initial raiser.

and i will say it again.....always limp with low pp....your only chance of winning is to hit a set....this is for early and mid tournament strategy...obv...latein the tourney when blinds are high u can raise with them....but for early and mid always limp and once u hit the ste then u are golden unless a flush draw is out there...then thats a whole new ballgame...lol

Usually slow play is the way to go but if there are draws on the the flop I try to be more aggressive to price them out. Be especially careful if the board pairs with something higher than your pp. I've been beat many times with a full house when somebody has something like j10 and makes a better full house when the board pairs jacks.

With small pocket pairs, I either limp in or I go way over the top (8x BB to all-in). I limp in if I've got no position and/or the stacks around me are much larger than mine, and I go over the top if no one has raised and/or those who do I out stack. Any "medium" type of raise just seems like a waste of money to me with this hand. Any "information" I might receive I just won't trust after a bad flop. That may be conservative, but I've lost a lot of money on low PP in the past!

dave

small pocket pairs are not the easiest hands to play either in early position or late if you see a flop with no set hitting and a couple overs. like most said, and i agree, in early position limp or even raise 3x bb try to get most to fold. late position just raise, a lil 2 1/2xbb raise or even 4 x bb to narrow the field. and slow playing when you hit your set isnt always the best option. if there are straight or flush draws, even a couple overs, bet it out to get rid of draws or maybe have someone with top 2 or even just top pair to raise you. then you can slow play or push back.

I would limp in with low pocket pairs, definitely. If I have 10s+ i would raise. And maybe 9s. Anything below you just gotta hope you hit something on the flop. And if there are flush or straight possibilities you have to bet hard. But laying down low pockets isn't that hard. I'm sure if you play carefully like you have been playing: throwing them after a flop bet with nothing and limping in or raising slightly you'll be fine. You'll hit one of these times and hopefully someone will pair their aces and you'll take the pot.

I like to raise with pockets over 9's in just about any position, but will play them very carefully if over cards hit. I'm not very lucky when it comes to coin flip situations (especially of late) but despite my luck, I will pop it all in with 10's or lower in late position if their is a lot of limpers in the pot. I like doing this techinque because my post flop play with pp is weak and I would rather win a few blinds then lose half my stack by just making a small preflop raise. I know this isn't the best strategy, but it helps me win a few blinds during the course of a tourney, especially with my tight image.

i raise with 8's plus and limp in with anything lower, after the flop (if i dont make a set) i will just lead out and see what happens

I limp in early position, raise 2xbb in middle position, and depending on the players in the blinds I might raise 3xbb. If called then I C-bet and if reraised I fold, if called then I hope to hit the set on the turn, if not the I check, if bet into me then I fold.

Well you see, small pocket pairs can make a lot of money if a set is made cause a lot of the time people dont expect it. Now... people tend to bet if high cards come due to the fact that you dont know what they havE!!! most people might think that if they raised preflop, they probably have high cards, so if the other person doesnt have anything, theres a good chance that the guy who raises with small pocket pair can steal the pot, even though he was probably winning in the first place ... that is if he is playing heads up. With more than one person other than you the table it is very risky to bet with it... but if the reads are good then go for it. Its always good to vary your play too, but thats all up to you. Good luck at the tables

and i love that picture becca... shame its probably not really you lol. hope to see all of you guys on full tilt one of these days!!

I limp in and i will tell you why if you hit trips your hand got even better and no one knows it, it will look like a bluff till someone calls it .....
Or you can push hard on them if your in a freeroll. I have seen a lot of wins with low pocket pairs in freerolls it's nuts

I use to fold low pocket pairs till i got a tip from a pro on tv that said call with them if the bet is not to high, and if you hit trips it will pay off.. Tho i forgot witch pro said it... since then i have been playing them but fold them when betting preflop gets out of hand

You say you usually slowplay your set, I always make a minimum raise because a set is very difficult to detect.

in early position i fold deuces till sevens, im making a minraise with 8s till jacks hoping to get heads up and qq+ i limp hoping to make a limp raise

in middle position im minbetting with pocket 6 and higher hoping to steal the blinds

and in late position i 3bet all pairs if there wasnt any action before me

You've gotten some interesting advice here. Some of it I agree with, some of it I don't. Whenever someone says "you should always..." or "I always...", you need to take it with a grain of salt. If you always do something the same way, you will get eaten alive by more experienced players that recognize patterns in your betting.

One thing I would add is that most of the time, if you miss the flop, get ready to throw it away to any bet unless the texture of the flop suggests that nobody paired or you can check it around. Keep in mind that if you missed, you only have 2 outs which means you are roughly a 9-to-1 underdog to make your set by the river.

I say most of the time, because occasionally, you will want to chase (if you can do so cheaply) just to vary your play and not be too predictable. Obviously, if you miss making a set, but, say, flop 4 to a straight, you may want to invest a little more.

Just my humble opinions....

tas02 is quite right... its very important to shift your play from time to time, cause if this is done in the opportune circumstances, you are able to get a lot more money than you usually would... This is due to the fact that the players would not expect you to make that play with the kind of hand you actually have, so you will expect you to have a bad hand. If you had a bad hand trying to catch and played it dif, they might think you have a monster and if you have a monster but play dif, they might think you have a bad hand... in both situations you have the advantage !! Good luck at the tables .

Small pairs offer an excellent opportunity to vary one's play. Most of the time I'll let them go, but when I do play them I like to play them like AA. If I get caught so be it everyone will more than likely call my good hands, if not I steal some pots.

You should consider your position in deciding whether to limp or raise with small pairs 55+ but even in late position i'd raise with 44,33,22 only if the blinds are very weak.
People might keep betting into a tight opponent if they feel the guy would have missed the flop. Let's say you only see the flop 20% of the time, then when the flop comes 9 62 it is very likely that you missed the flop so the guy is correct to bet into you and take the pot.
By the same logic, a flop like that is likely to have missed him too so you can call depending on the odds and whatever draw ou might have.

Hi people

I used to just call in early positions and raise in later positions

If i didnt do the set... and a big bet is made .. i fold...

Id every body check after flop..and there is only one card bigger than mine .. i bet ... With are two cards i give check or fold...

With no position i call..If i hit a set i'll play it, if i don't i'll fold to any bet..Late position i'll raise, if i don't hit a set on the flop i'll bet and try to steal the pot, if im called/raised then i'm beat and i'll fold

if you are going to play small pp preflop dont limp raise.If you miss on the flop you have the option to REPRESENT the flop and bet (if your chip stack allows).If you get reraised then the games a bogey and you just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar,fold and live to fight another hand.But just limping is in my opinion a bad idea.