Low and medium pocket pairs?

Would like some feedback on what you all think of this strategy.

I've been playing and winning at the $3.25 45ply tourneys on PokerStars...nice surge in my BR....

For some reason when I get low to medium pocket pairs early and only sometimes in the middle of the tourney...if no one has raised before me or there is only a min raise no matter what position I am in...

I go all in...

So if there is a higher pocket pair I am screwed...but 3/4 times I only get called by AK..A rag...suited connectors etc.....and I seem to win 3/4 times with that....

From there I just pick and choose my spots to keep my stack and I am in the money...If I run good...I make top 3....

This is only based on my last 30 tourneys or so...But I just have to throw it out there...

Maybe my luck will change but it has been really effective so far...

Keep in mind I do play tight until I get a really nice hand but when these hands show up and the feel is right...I just do it and win....NOT ALL THE TIME THOUGH...but enough to keep me ahead of the game...

From this chart you can see that your a favorite with pocket pairs.

Chances of winning typical all-in matchups
Pocket pair vs. lower pair (Q-Q vs. 6-6)82%
Pocket pair vs. two overcards (7-7 vs. A-J)55%
Pocket pair vs. one overcard (7-7 vs. A-3)69%
Pocket pair vs. lower connectors: (Q-Q vs. 7-6)81%
Pocket pair vs. lower suited connectors (A-A vs. 7-6s)77%
Pocket pair vs. higher suited connectors (4-4 vs. J-10s)49%

Forgot to add- these are for heads up only-your odds with more than one player will be worse.

those stats kinda seemsto prove my point...any one disagree?

Im saying that unless AA..QQ or JJ etc calls me....I am the favorite....

Most hands ppl dont have the above hands and when I go all with my pairs with a reasonable stack early or mid tourney...and most ppl with other decent hands will just fold....leaving me most of the time against one player who has A or K high thinking I am going all in with the same...

Then I become the favorite and Win the majority of the time...

Thank you for the stats though....I did not have that in my arsenal.....

I will def. let you all know when I stop winning at this level using this strategy...


Any other thoughts?...thanx...

Th ebest advice I ever got from another player is to do what works for you. If you have won money consistently doing it, then keep doing it.

Jane

well, I've alredy tried this strategy but it didn't work as well, if I have pocket 8 or lower, I just pay the blind, and if I didn't hit the trips or the flop are just lower cards I just check fold, I don't like to play all in pf with pockets like those

with low pair i only limp in a late position for small money, because only each 8 pair become to 3 of a kind.

with medium pair in early position i rais 3 or 4 times bb. by a re-raise i have to see how much the raise is, and how many people are in the pot.

id look at it this way you have 2 outs and your going allin on mid low pkts pairs the odds are that you will get beat more often then not by bigger hand you have 4 % of hitting set just take your out and X them by 2 and you will get ruff odds of what your% is of hitting peronally i never allin midlow unless im short stacked and have too make move been beaten way tomany times with mid low pkts tryening too make move on a player holden way bigger hand , oh ya and wait till pokerstars puts you threw bad run lol , but hey we all play diff im tight player and dont risk too much on midlows ill raise tthem up if i get limper and feel the flop out from there , mot of time you can take down decent pot from player that cant fold A mid low or up too AK , anyways i think the more you play you will come too understand that you going allin preflop will coem too an end after you've been playen for while , i think the bigget thing is you have too be sure that you are beating them when you risk making raise with midlow pkts

IMO, the problem with your strategy is with the range of hands that will call an allin.

If you have a low PP and push your most likely callers will be:

1. Higher pockets - in which you are a HUGE underdog
2. Two overcards - in which you are pretty much 50/50 or a slight (very slight) favorite

Even against a random hand you are only a 58/42 favorite.

Hand 0: 58.483% 57.76% 00.72% 43614362196 547374384.00 { 77-22 }
Hand 1: 41.517% 40.79% 00.72% 30803495436 547374384.00 { random }

If you are winning 3/4 of the time with these pushes then you have been very lucky.


Even if you get a fish that calls with A-rag, his rag may still be higher than your PPs (still 50/50). Personally, I wouldn't put my tournament life at stake on a 50/50 shot, which is pretty much what you are doing.

I agree with what the other people said about if it works for you go for it.. but i mean me personally, i would never call a preflop all in with anything like AK AQ Ax(suited) unless i was severely short stacked, or I identified my opponent as loose/agressive. If it works for you thats great, but also remember you are only playing at a $3 level, and as you move up higher in stakes, you will find alot less people calling preflop all-ins early with those unpaired paint cards

wow... a lot to consider after all...

I will mix up those plays a bit to test the results...its just that if I dont hit a set on the flop I get a bit timid when bet at. I will try to use my reads a bit more in those situations.

I think you are right when you say that I have been able to get away with it now but over the long run and if I expect to get any better that this might not be the best strategy...ok back to the felt guys..thanx

I don't think that will actually win you at the long run or in bigger buy ins tourneys where there is more skill and where people won't go all in with any A or with suited connectors, but if it is working at that precise tourney, then you should keep doing it, just don't addapt that tactic to any tourney, because it won't work in every tourney

That works for you because you play in the $3.25 tourneys. However, I play the Freerolls and Penny Games. Where, players call almost everything to the River.

As you said, this is heads up. But, the more callers, the odds in your favor drop drastically.

So, these figures are no help to yours truly. LMAO

In the small gamesI play in, I almost expect to lose with pocket AA, KK and QQ, because of getting multi callers on an all in.

Seems, Freerolls and penny games are basically a Bingo game.

Good luck on and off the felts. Hope you win many more.

Ok, i don't think your getting the right advice on PP's. Small to medium pp's are only good when you've got a small M. Which is the sb+bb+ antes divided by your stack size. So blinds at 500/1000 and a stack of 6,000 you can shove most pp's as you have an M of 4 with 25% of ur stack in the middle as blinds. A stack of 12,000 then it would be a leak. Even at these micro stakes.

I will give you the math behind it. You have a stack of 6,000 with the blinds at 500/1000 and 88 UTG. You can shove here. As there is only a 27% chance that a player will have a higher pp. Lets discount the times when they call with unpaired overcards..as you'd be in a race. lets only look at when you dominated by overpairs and lets assume they're fold without a higher pp.

3times they fold and you win 4,500 and when they call. You an 80/20 dog with outs. So it is around a break even move. However, when called vs overpairs AK, AQ your a 55/45dog and have an edge(plus these are 21/2 times more likely). Your likely to get called outside of the blinds so you have improved pot odds on the call. The blinds are onto you, next hand and your lose 25% of your stack and probably won't see a better hand. So you shove.

Now, do the same convoluted math when you have an M of 8 and a 12,000 stack and your find your shove would be a leak. An M of 4-6 is more than valid. I ain't tring to discourage you, but you must have been on a hot steak. Especiallly, If your thinking that u mostly win 3/4 of the time with a pp vs overcards. You want to look at the stack size - blinds and then calculate the EV in terms of probability. By knowing the odds of a player being dealt a higher pp, fold equity and stack size - the blinds.

I usually play small and medium pocket pairs the same as you do but unfortunately I dont seem to do as well as you have been doing.Guess I need to play a little tighter.