Betting small and medium pairs in no limit hold em

In no limit hold em' how would you guys bet pocket pairs from like 2's thru 7? I know this has a lot to do w/ position and getting people preflop to fold, correct? I'm a little lost as how to value these hands when someone beats me to the pot or re-raises after I put a bet in.

To add to this question what are your thoughts on pocket 8's and 9's? They are supposedly right there in the top 15 hands you can get dealt depending how you rank them. I had one site even go as far as to say that pocket 8's are the 15th ranked best hand you can get and pocket 9's are like the 11th best hand you could get dealt. The 9's beat out A/T suited and A/Q unsuited. Does that sound about right?

Thanks,
-Ian

I play 6 handed tables. In microstakes i will open raise in late position. I may raise a limper if that limper has shown that he would limp with lots of junk.

If there's lots of limpers ahead of me, I usually will just limp in looking to set mine unless, again, I think I can either take it preflop with a raise or a c-bet on the flop.

If I limp and there's a huge raise behind me, I fold it usually.

Basically I just try to see the flop as cheaply as possible.

Post flop, pocket 2 to 6 that has air, I usually just fold to any aggression on a wet board. On a dry board against a guy I have a good read on, I may not give up so easily.

Is it just your preference to play 6 handed tables over 9 or is there a benefit? I understand the raise in late position I tend to do that too w/ a decent mid pair. I've heard of another strategy to play them in early position as well. Depending on the player some people like to put a good bet in UTG or re-raise in mid position to thin the crowd going into the flop. What are your thoughts on this strategy?

What I've noticed is there are a couple different schools of though on this mid to lower pocket pairs. Some people think that the best way to play them is to play them from mid to late position and try to get in as cheaply as possible and hope you hit your set on the flop. If you are in the higher range (7's or 6's) you may continue on if the flop is dry and you picked up a couple outs. The biggest draw back I've seen from this is the fact that you got in cheap. If nobody raised preflop and you just limped in, they probably don't have anything they will stack off with now. When you do hit your set you are really looking to stack off. This method you can still hit your set and no one will pay you anything.

Another side is you'll want to still play them from mid to late position, however, this time you'd rather play them when it's been raised ahead of you. If you hit your set now, you are more likely to be facing someone who has a decent had and may stack off. The major problem with this is effective stack size. The raise you call can't be so big that it takes away the profit you are going to make. If the bet ahead of you is $300 with your opponent only having $1000 left, you don't have the right implied odds to call.'

I kind go somewhere in the middle. It really depends on the type of game, stack sizes, and any reads I have on whom ever I'm playing against. I will say, some of my largest pots have been from hitting a well concealed set on the flop and stacking off. I have also lost to set over set though too, so take it for what you want.

At microstakes I hate playing FR because it's much harder to steal blinds. With position I usually have way too many limpers ahead of me to hope to push out with a raise so I need to have a premium hand to raise. And even then, I end up with too many players still in the pot where QQ-AA may be iffy. Psychologically I play too nitty at 9 handed tables. (That's my own problem I know)

It's also much easier to exploit the bad players and adjust style to specific players at the smaller 6 handed tables. I've done real well at Carbon six handed tables and I was a winning player at both FT and PS at 6 handed ring (though nowhere as good as I am doing at Carbon due to inferior Carbon players). I highly doubt I can duplicate the success at 9 handed.

In 6-max I never open limp a pocket pair. You can easily raise UTG with any pair, those small ones included. This way you will flop a very well disguised set, and can even represent the lone face card on a dry flop with your c-bet.

In position against one limper I might raise to isolate, as my position will allow me to c-bet the flop and win it. Against two limpers or more it is best to just limp behind them.

I never open limp preflop in 6-max. Even at microstakes people do respect your preflop raise, and will fold to your c-bet about 60 percent of the time. Don't give the big blind the opportunity to see a flop for free when you're first in, raise and put him under pressure right away!