Pocket pairs in early position

guccipix

guccipix

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How do you play pocket pairs in bad position? Especially lower ones (22-77). Sometimes I fold them outright because I find them difficult to play. Or if I choose to play them I sometimes just flat so I’m not priced in when facing a raise. Or if I see a flop and there are two or more over cards I’m likely to fold to the first bet.
 
frankthebunny

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If the people at the table arn't playing aggressively and blinds are cheap I love to limp in and hope for a set. When I'm short stacked I'll shove unless in a utg position. Otherwise I fold.
 
edc1

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low pairs e-p its all about set mining,i do limit how much of a raise il call,i try and see the flop cheap as i can normaly up tp 4-bb,s
 
Filip Krstevski

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It really depends on the players on your table. I definitely gonna shove them most of the time, just gonna fold against aggressive players or some early position like UTG or UTG +1. It really depends on your stack and blind levels and everything :) Its not straight forward answer but from situation to situation you can play them on different ways.
 
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karl coakley

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If you are trying to play small pairs in bad position (ie. very early), that is a leak in your game. You have to learn to fold those hands. It just isn't going to be profitable.
 
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dpoole71

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depends on stack size players at my table where in the tournament we are at

depends on the buyin and who our opponent is if it is a 5 dollar buy in and hes a fish im jamming e
 
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sanekhorror

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Sometimes I play small pairs and sometimes just fold, it all depends on the size of the bets and position. If the bets are not big you can play for fun in any position. If your stack allows it.
 
dimon4ik89

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In early position, I play pairs like this: 22-88 I do the pass, 99-10 10 I call, and

In early position, I play pairs like this: 22-88 I do the pass, 99-10 10 I call, and JJ-AA I raise at least 3 bb or bet the pot. I think this strategy helps to minimize the risk and maximally benefit from the pocket pair. In most cases, in small pairs I break through, although the odds should be about 50 to 50, because I try to rarely enter the game on such pairs. On pairs 99-1010 I win about 50% of hands, because I go to them more often in the game than in small pairs. Well and on pairs JJ-AA all converges with statistics.
 
Shady Slim

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In early position, I play pairs like this: 22-88 I do the pass, 99-10 10 I call, and JJ-AA I raise at least 3 bb or bet the pot. I think this strategy helps to minimize the risk and maximally benefit from the pocket pair. In most cases, in small pairs I break through, although the odds should be about 50 to 50, because I try to rarely enter the game on such pairs. On pairs 99-1010 I win about 50% of hands, because I go to them more often in the game than in small pairs. Well and on pairs JJ-AA all converges with statistics.

That is pretty much my consensus too. I would like to add that if I am doing well at this point with a large stack, I might play a little more aggressive and raise 2BB with them. That may be enough to make everyone else down-line more cautious.
 
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sirgobbles

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I prefer to stay away from playing the low pocket pairs al together they seem to get me in trouble... but the 99 on up definitely call for a pot raise
 
A2020

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I think it will depend on my stack and what stage of the tournament we are on.
 
dimon4ik89

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I completely agree with you

That is pretty much my consensus too. I would like to add that if I am doing well at this point with a large stack, I might play a little more aggressive and raise 2BB with them. That may be enough to make everyone else down-line more cautious.



I completely agree with you, I would have done the same)
 
danoscar

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Pocket Pairs in Early Position

There's lots of good answers here. Circumstances really take over:
Table Position
bankroll
Aggressive/Passive table
Can you call BB or should you triple bet to eliminate players afterward
Unless I am in bankroll crisis, I would not push (all-in)
A King , Queen, Jack, or Ace on the flop with other players in on the flop and no set implies most likely a beat.
If you can hang in there until thee flop without rsiking it all, there's noting sweeter than a set of 2s or threes.
:D
 
TrillUziVert

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I'll usually call any small raise with a pocket pair pre-flop
 
JBGoode

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It depends on my table image for the most part. Then next step would be how loose the table is playing. If I haven't seen a hand in 2 rounds, and not much money is going into the pot preflop. I Would open every time in that spot. Now if there are always 3 or 4 players in a pot, and I've seen a lot of flops also, I would probably fold.
 
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pokijh

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Clear fold in my opinion. Set mining works great in late positions but whenever you play from early position you will be put in very difficult spots later on.
 
Bozovicdj

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If you are trying to play small pairs in bad position (ie. very early), that is a leak in your game. You have to learn to fold those hands. It just isn't going to be profitable.


What is said here. Just unprofitable in the long run, regardless of what you opt for, limp-call or bet-call. 11.8% chance to hit a set on the flop, meaning once in 10 tries. And if you do hit, no guarantee you will get payed enough to compensate for the losses in other 9 attempts.
 
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wacosteel

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I would only fold them if you have less than 25-30 bb. Otherwise raise like a normal hand.
 
crazymakak

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I would try to go see the flop, catch a set and play very aggressively and profitably, if we are talking about small pairs
 
radartodd69

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You play them more or less like I play them. I like to just flat call with small pairs hoping to hit a set. Other than that it's just like no set no bet.
 
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Mikeloti13

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Depends on a table. Sometimes you just want to limp in and try to hit a set. But if you are playing against great players you need to cover this play. You need to play them aggresively before the flop and if you hit a set your hand will be well hidden.
 
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vpashuta

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I limp and hope for a set - if no set hits they're easy to throw away, but when they hit they can be well disguised.
 
phantomjiujitsu

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its been said a lot in this thread, but I play middle and low pairs the same early position early on in the tournament. I try to see a cheap flop and set mine.
 
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619Leafs

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How do you play pocket pairs in bad position? Especially lower ones (22-77). Sometimes I fold them outright because I find them difficult to play. Or if I choose to play them I sometimes just flat so I’m not priced in when facing a raise. Or if I see a flop and there are two or more over cards I’m likely to fold to the first bet.


The way I play pocket pairs in early position is just call the minimum to try to see a cheap flop anything larger than min bet, fold the hand.
 
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DaNutts

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I limp most of the time with small pairs in early position, which I can call a small raise with hopes to flop a set. But I would never commit all my chips with a small pair. I usually only raise with pocket 10's and up.
 
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