Reading Higher Pocket Pairs

Hey guys, this is actually my first post here.

Basically my question is,

When you have a hand - QQ (you raise 5x BB or w/e , another calls and its heads up)

Opponent Calls (has KK or AA)

Flop is 10 5 8


You raise all in, he calls and you lose.
Just an example.

How do you guys read the higher pocket pair?


I can get a decent read off of how they are betting the hand but im losing chips before i realize that they have this kind of hand

In this case you can't read the higher pocket pair if you just shove the flop.

Betting 3/4 pot or something would give you more information. If he then shoves over you can consider folding (depending on who you are up against).

Thats more of what i meant,

Betting the pot or something, then him reraising, is a sign, or a call.

But also he could just have top pair and be calling, and be losing to QQ

You 5/bet QQ?


But I'd pretty much say the same as Micro above.

I think he said, "raised 5xbb" pre.. gets 'called'. Flop comes rainbow, we have overpr. bet out & get action.
Initially though you said > shove the flop. (how big are stack sizes here?).

"usually" at micros, people won't just flat with Kings or Aces, it does happen though.

However, you can't really ever put them on a high pocket pair unless you have sort of read and think they are playing tricky. Obviously on boards like that getting shoved all in you are often ahead so calling is fine everytime as it's long term profitable. Noone ever has Aces/Kings slow played where you have Jacks/Queens or whatever to mean you calling is bad play. Just try remember long term profits.

QQ is the worst hand to get, not because it's a bad hand,you have to shove and AK, AQ, will almost certainly call or raise, AA or KK will probably put you all in. You never really know though cause some will go all in with JJ, TT or lower.
I've tracked my QQ hands (I seem to get them way more than KK, JJ, TT but about the same as AA, go figure) I win 100% when I make the set, loose 100% to AA or KK (haven't made a set against either), then it's about even TO ANY TWO cards, I lose about half the time to either a set, 2 pair, straight or flush.

I win tons of money with QQ.

The short answer is most of the time you can't, and it's a bad idea to try.

You should be trying to put your opponent on a range of hands. There are very few situations where, based on the action, you can put your opponent on just an overpair. We don't have much information at all to go on in your example (position, stack sizes and reads are important FWIW) but depending on stack sizes you could easily be getting called by: sets, two-pair, overpairs, TPTK/TPGK type hands and maybe even draws or underpairs depending on the price. Bigger overpairs are only a very small part of that range.

There are occasionally situations (usually with very tight players) where a big pair is about the only thing that makes sense. But they're rare, and focussing solely on ways to identify overpairs isn't something that's going to help you in the long run. Focus on putting players on a range of hands instead.

This sounds like good advice to me



(wish I was better at it)

If you are out of position (like you are here) it is tough. In this situation you need to give the other person the decision to bet or check, instead of leading out and forcing him to fold or call.