advise on playing pair and two pair at micros please

zEric7x

zEric7x

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Total posts
515
Chips
0
All my hands are at 0.02/0.04-0.05 micro stakes. I mainly play full ring but I do play 6 max every once and a while.

My poker database is showing me as a loser overall with AQ and AK. Ako is my biggest loser of all hands I play followed by pocket jacks. This is frustrating. I know I tend to hang on too long to ace pairs on the flop sometimes but that is because I assume they are strong. Surly having AK is good and not bad?

Same thing to be said my getting to showdown with pairs and two pair. I end up getting completely burned with two pair sometimes and that really frustrates me. Same thing with top pair. Goes back to me losing with big aces.

These hands are my biggest leak and I gladly appreciate any advice on how I should play them. I think my biggest issue is not knowing when to give up and fold. This is hard for me to do. I guess you could say I see I have top pair or two pair and I fall in love.
 
Last edited:
R

Rhinelander

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Total posts
68
Chips
0
AK is a great starting hand indeed but not worth that much anymore if you don't hit the flop. The it may just be the high card with top kicker and you'll loose against any pair. "Don't fall in love with the aces!" was one of my first valuable lessons in poker followed by "Don't go broke with top pair!". Everybody heard those sentences a gazillion times and still many of us don't remember them when it would be helpful.
The average winning hand in NLH is (from what I know) two-pair. To flop two-pair is GREAT but still no reason to go on autopilot.
How you should play those hands? Totally depends on position, opponents, pre-flop action, flop etc... Post a few hands maybe?
 
H

hffjd2000

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Total posts
2,329
Chips
0
Cash game, you have to value bet. If you know youre ahead on the flop, then bet 2/3pot or the pot itself. Preflop, you want only 1 opponent.

It seems youre always experienced bad beat. The only strategy I think is to bet more than the standard if you know youre ahead just to eliminate those suck outs.

Goodluck.
 
micromachine

micromachine

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Total posts
5,770
Chips
0
I think my biggest issue is not knowing when to give up and fold. This is hard for me to do. I guess you could say I see I have top pair or two pair and I fall in love.

This is probably your problem. Learn to fold when it's obvious you are beaten.
 
hashtag

hashtag

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 7, 2014
Total posts
142
Chips
0
My least favourite hand is bottom or top and bottom two-pair on the flop. Especially bottom 2pair, it's such a weak hand. I give up on these by the river if there's heavy action, or if the board has paired and your pairs get counterfeited to an overpair.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
Losing overall with a hand like AK doesn't mean it's a leak. It's certainly possible to play this holding properly and still have a net loss, especially over smaller sample sizes.

That said, it's more likely that your results are due to sub-optimal play. You might want to look over your large losses with an eye to spotting sub-optimal decisions that you made.

As for 2 pair hands, there's quite a difference between top two, top and bottom, and bottom two. What the pairs are also matters since lower ones are more easily counterfeited. So one thing to look for is whether you're playing all two pairs the same.
 
zEric7x

zEric7x

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Total posts
515
Chips
0
So one thing to look for is whether you're playing all two pairs the same.
I do play them all the same for the most part. It is something I have to rethink. Thanks for the advice about going over my hands as well. When I have time I need to do that.

I also sometimes forgot about people drawing to flushes or straights. I get confused when they bet big out of no where and then end up seeing they just made a hand. I sometimes forgot to look at the texture of the cards I guess.
 
Blobweird123

Blobweird123

CC's very own Dead Head
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
Total posts
2,468
Chips
0
Best thing you can add to this thread right now for real helpful info is actual hands. Post the last 10 times you've had AKo.
 
Top