spot small pocket pairs

I have been playing alot of poker latley and have noticed alot of people limp in with small pockets. If you raise they will sometimes call. If you catch and they try to blow you out of the water with a re raise or all in then be carefull of the set. I want to know other peoples perspective on this. I am now learning win to lay down hand due to a read in players strategy. Any useful information will be good to know. Just beware of the limpers.

its good that you use this strategy but don't forget, good players mix up their play to make sure that people can't figure out what they are limping with and what they are raising with. Sure, if you get a solid read, the same play time after time, then you should be able to own this player since its kind of obvious that he only has one style.

yes sketchpad is true..but what limit are you playing not to say good people dont play lower limits but sometimes its easier to notice a donk isnt playing $1 stakes..depending on the amount of the all ins i usually never call them unless i am positive i will win..like say if i have a high card set or fullhouse..

Id rather play lower pairs then AA

I personally get kicked in the face EVERYYYYYYYY time I have a pair of Aces. I typically will slow bet them until the river then bet big. Now when I have a smaller pair...by that I mean 10 and under I will bet big from the gate ...

Sugarpoop said:

I personally get kicked in the face EVERYYYYYYYY time I have a pair of Aces. I typically will slow bet them until the river then bet big. Now when I have a smaller pair...by that I mean 10 and under I will bet big from the gate ...

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I hope this is a joke, if not, you're playing the polar opposite of how PPs' should be played.

If you have a Premium hand raise/reraise preflop, its unlikely they will call. Personally I love limping with small pockets pairs,you will only hit a set 12.5% of the time, but when you do it pays big.

Shine is right.

Big pairs win most pre flop and on the flop. drawing hands come in on the turn and river.

When you play, think about how you are loading the hand. Load the hand heavy preflop with made hands, and play smaller pots preflop with draws and apply pressure on later streets.

Also consider the odds you are offering when you have aces. If you are deep setmining has value. raise enough to cut off the implied odds. You can then even pay off sets profitably.

exxagerated example: You have AA and 100 dollars. You bet 50 and get called by 66. Your opponent flops a set. You shove he calls. He got less than the 8.5-1 he need to draw against you.

opposite example You have AA and 50,000 dollars. you raise to 50 and he calls with 66. He flops a set and you shove. When he calls here he made a ton of value on that preflop call.

I hope these exxagerated examples illustrate the point.

-Bill

There are so many different types of players online that is is rly hard to tell most of the time. But in live play i find that it is pretty easy to spot a low pocket pair from about a 3x the big blind raise with a high card showing

sketchpad said:

its good that you use this strategy but don't forget, good players mix up their play to make sure that people can't figure out what they are limping with and what they are raising with. Sure, if you get a solid read, the same play time after time, then you should be able to own this player since its kind of obvious that he only has one style.

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What do I need to say more. It's the mix of plays which makes you a strong player not the particular play with that pocket hand....

In the long time you must indeed prevent others reading your style

i can never win with pkt As i raise preflop n i never win

Twenty 8 grams said:

i can never win with pkt As i raise preflop n i never win

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You are a LIAR! Just kidding. Not really a liar, but selective memory. Are you the only person in the world who loses with pocket aces 100% of the time? ONE HUNDRED PERCENT?

We remember our losses with aces because it's an exciting and memorable hand. But if you're against one opponent and play all the way to the river, you'll beat any other hand over 80% of the time. That is a fact. If your luck is so bad that you really do lose 100% of the time, please let me take out a life insurance policy on you.

The danger in pocket aces is that when you do lose, you tend to lose a lot. They're hard to lay down. Sugarpoop is playing them exactly wrong. He's slowplaying, letting his opponents take draw after draw, then betting big on the river. That's a recipe for disaster. You'll know when you're progressing as a player when you figure out how to lay down pocket aces.

Spotting small pocket pairs

Most players in tourneys with pocket pairs do seem to limp in hoping for a hit on the flop. However don't be mistaken by the player who is contiuously playing and raising very aggressively who will often raise big with a small pair because that's what he's been doing frequently in previous hands. Knowing the behavior of the other players at the table is crucial in being able to put them on a hand. The other thing I might point out is that when I lose to the low or middle pair when they limped in and caught trips is that it was usually my fault for not raising enough preflop to put them off their hand.

Yes many people limp with small pocket pair playing for set value or whatever. It's kind of transparent though and not really a good strategy because it's very easy to exploit.

Say in a cash game 100BB's deep someone limps UTG+2 everyone folds, your on the button. Say the guy is like 17/5 or something like that, he has a small pocket pair, suited connector almost all the time here and I raise pretty much ATC in this spot. The limper will most likely call and will then be playing fit or fold on the flop which means your putting yourself in a situation where you really can't make a mistake.

This is why I think limping in is rarely a good thing, unless you are willing to play back on the flop against someone who is isolating, as it is so easily exploitable by decent players.

thats a good way to play but people do switch up theyre play sometimes and can go psycho with 22 or 33 or 44 preflop. then they get lucky hit theyre set and ur putting them on a bluff or middle pair when ur dominated
depends on the player and situation like always

I am one

I am one of the limpers!! I think you have to limp with small pocket pairs and hope for a set. By limping I can see who has a good hand because usually someone with a good hand will raise the pot. So many times when you have 55 or lower a higher card or face card even will hit the board and you be sure if someone has raise pre-flop they have a high pp or two face cards. So by calling their raise (I wont call unless it is 3BB or less) you alow yourslef to see the flop and hope for a set. If you gut tells you they have A K or A Q and the board comes 4 8 2 and you have 55 then you can be aggressive here and hope he overplays the A K or A Q. But if a face card hits even if it is a J then you can be sure you are behind and you have to tread lightly from here on out. If he makes a small bet then you can call if you have enough chips but any large bet after the flop by your ooponent I would recommend folding...unless you hit yor set!!!

i normally don't even play small pocket pairs unless it is early in a tourny and only if i have postion. they are worthless unless u hit a set. try and stay away from these nacho

I like small pockets because of the potential upside and minimal downside (usually).

If you can limp into a hand and hit your set on the flop, you are in a good position to pad your chip stack. Depending on position, if you miss, you could still manage to steal the pot or there's always the turn and the river, if you can get them for free. Worst case scenario is you fold to someone's raise.

I like to vary my play with small pairs. In early positions I like to call and if I hit a set on the flop, I often check-call until river when I check-raise. In late positions, and especially in the early stage of a tournament, I like to raise to make it more difficult for my opponents to lay down their hands with mid-pairs and draws if I hit a set on the flop and they check to me.

Limping is very common with mid-low pairs. When you have top pair top kicker and you get check raised allin, you may be up against a set, but you need to know information about your opponent and also where are you in the tournament? You may be up against a set or you may be just getting your continuation bet raised, so beware of the set, but don't play scared.

WOW i win every time with 47 but never AA. thats why i limp aa everytime i get em. I fold every pp below 10 10, and just go all in preflop every time with 10 10 or better.

DONT believe or listen to a word I said

limp in and go from there and see how the bettin is and just try your best is what i like to do but most of the time its not good enuff

At a big table, I almost always limp in with a small pocket pair if there is no raise. If there is a raise of 3x the BB or less and I'm in position, I'll generally call it, but it also depends on the player. Small pockets are relatively easy to play. If you hit a set, you can usually trap (although sometimes betting out may be the best play) and if you don't, it's pretty easy to get away from them.

I usually raise on any pocket pairs 2 to 10... that is if noone has raised

If someone did raise.... and i had any pair below 7 or 6.... i may fold.. depends on how many limpers....

Dalsue214 said:

I usually raise on any pocket pairs 2 to 10... that is if noone has raised

If someone did raise.... and i had any pair below 7 or 6.... i may fold.. depends on how many limpers....

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I'm generally not in support of raising with low pocket pairs, because you're in trouble if you get more than one call. With 2 or more other people in a hand, someone is very likely to hit at least a part of the flop, meaning that most of the time you raise with those 3s, you are beat after the flop. Also, if you are outflopped, there's very little you can do at that point. You likely will have no discernible draws and even a flush draw is low. Then, if someone bets, you generally have to respect it and fold, because unless you flop a set, you are very weak.

xxnachochipsxx said:

I have seen many people raise preflop with pocket 2's or 3's...I, myself, wouldn't take the risk...what are your thoughts?

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There are situations where I think this is good strategy. i.e. in the SB against a short-stack BB near the bubble, and it has been folded around.

That said, set-mining is an easy way to make good money at a passive table--I wouldn't consider raising anything small if there were limpers in front, or I am out-of-position; and I would often fold small pairs with no raise, if I am UTG or close to it.