Sets and how to avoid them?

So i start seeing this pattern of me losing with 2 pairs to set huge % of my stack and now i want you to ask how to avoid them? what should i do? they not raising but calling my bets an in the end they win with set. Really frustrating

Well this is going to happen it is a tragic part of the game top two part against the set and it is un avoidable. You will more then likely go busto your fair share of time because of it and it's just a cooler hand. Sorry to say it's unavoidable and you can't detect it. If he is just check calling then you are going to be a dead duck to. now if he check rasies you may be able to get off your hand if your smart enough that would send a signal to me but other than that just except fate.

Like the guy said, it will happen since it is part of the game. But there should be warning signs that the guy has something big and prevent you from losing too many chips.
For example, are you going for 3 streets of value? If I were the pre flop raiser and OOP and he just smooth calls my preflop bet, my flop bet, and turn bet, I would at least check on the river just to be cautious. Even if I did have 2 pairs, 2 streets of value is enough ,because thats the most you could probably ever get if enemy indeed does have something which your 2 pairs beats.

If I were the pre flop raiser and in position and he smooth calls from the blinds, I would still check back one street which at that point, would give him a chance to bet out which is information to me that he may indeed have something like a set in your case.
Just that information alone you gain by checking back one street should help you avoid spots where you're just spewing your chips even though you're already beat.

Sets are indeed very hard to detect. The good thing is that it's pretty much a wash. Meaning if your opponents flop top 2 vs your set and doesn't boat up you will get his chips, same if you flop top 2 vs his set and you can't boat up. Set over set is the same situation if I flop a set of 5s on a 935 flop and you have pocket 9s you get my chips. If I have the 999 and you have the 555 I get your chips.

only advice I can give is
Focus on maximizing your value and trying to offset the chips you lose when you're on the wrong end of things.
Learn to fold small pps, as that decreases the chances of you getting stacked on the wrong end of set vs set situations

The only point I would like to add is to keep the pot small against big stack and be aggressive against shaow stack.

miktux said:

So i start seeing this pattern of me losing with 2 pairs to set huge % of my stack and now i want you to ask how to avoid them? what should i do? they not raising but calling my bets an in the end they win with set. Really frustrating

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If you see the board with two of any of the same rank, be careful your opponent could have a set.

If its the hidden set as in your opponent has a pocket pair and spiked the third one, I find hard to get away from and very difficult and nearly impossible to avoid thus losing your stack.

Those are trips, not sets. Sets are bad (difficult to detect) because any one single card could be the same as a pair held by any villain. Usually the villain will just call you down and jam on river.

Hello.
In my opinion, you have two options.
1. It may be better to not play with such cards at all.
2. Or you need to be more aggressive.
It all depends on what you are playing, cash games or tournaments.
In my opinion, it is best to always wait for good cards and use your position at the table. Perhaps this strategy looks pretty conservative, but no doubt it is more reliable.

If you ever figure out how to dodge sets send me a PM! lol. .You can see straights and flushes coming but the set attacks from the shadows like a ninja! They appear weak and you expect them to fold then pow! You are the one with a decision to make, If you are unfortunate to have top 2 pair when they hit a set you were destined to lose the hand i guess. I would lose in that spot for sure.

As you abviously do not have 'the nuts' with 2 pair, you're most likely beaten by better 2 pair, but more often a set.
Depending the table image, you may be more or less at risk.
Most of the time you'll win, but you'll run into sets for sure.
Not to go bust, you need to control the pot; do not put all your chips.

It might be easier for me to analyse the situation if you had a specific hand situation here. Sometimes the problem is bet sizing. Other times the problem is not recognising when your opponent has the better hand. Sometimes the problem is in over-valuing your hand. A specific hand and action sequence helps to identify the problems. Otherwise the advice will be general and not too helpful. It makes a difference if the villain is earning a set due to one card on the board (harder to detect) vs. 2 cards on the board (easy to spot). Also it makes a difference if your 2-pair involves a pocket pair with another on the board (weaker), or a hand with one member of each pair in hand with the others on the board (stronger). Another clue lies in the bet pattern and bet sizing. All of these help to identify the situation. Some situations cannot be identified, but if you eliminate the ones where clues exist, you will see an increase in your earnings.

decisions decisions

sedlacekj said:

It might be easier for me to analyse the situation if you had a specific hand situation here. Sometimes the problem is bet sizing. Other times the problem is not recognising when your opponent has the better hand. Sometimes the problem is in over-valuing your hand. A specific hand and action sequence helps to identify the problems. Otherwise the advice will be general and not too helpful. It makes a difference if the villain is earning a set due to one card on the board (harder to detect) vs. 2 cards on the board (easy to spot). Also it makes a difference if your 2-pair involves a pocket pair with another on the board (weaker), or a hand with one member of each pair in hand with the others on the board (stronger). Another clue lies in the bet pattern and bet sizing. All of these help to identify the situation. Some situations cannot be identified, but if you eliminate the ones where clues exist, you will see an increase in your earnings.

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when it comes to texas there are 2 hands that beat me more then any other but they are related and they are trips and pocket pairs.
if you flop top 2 you feel you are the favorite and so you bet and they call then on the turn you bet and they call then on the river theres no straights or flush possibilities so you bet and you get raised.
then you are left feeling like they are bluffing and going for the steal so sometimes you might push and then you read the bad news.

or when your opponent has pocket AAs but didnt bet preflop and you hit 2 pair using bith of your cards ad then at the end the board pairs and unbeknown to you , you are now being beaten after winning all the way . but again you are raised and when you have top pair on the board you feel reassured until your opponents cards are shown and you lose the pot.

these situations happen frequently online i so do not think that you can get rivered as many times in real life then you would online

but hey thats just my opinion

You must always pay for them. If you did not pay to a set with a strong combination then you played badly.

Are you playing out of position a lot in these scenarios? If you are, then that is part of the problem. Leading flop and turn and getting called is usually the sign of a good hand on their part. If the bored texture is not indicating of draws, then a set is definitely in their range. If you are in position and they check/call repeatedly then the same kind of idea applies here. If you slow play and they hit the turn or river, that is more just bad luck and you can't do much about that. Sometimes you get coolers, but other times you have to try and think more thoroughly about what hands they would play with in the way they are playing.

I can struggle with this too. It is difficult. Best of luck.

The amount of times I've flopped top two with A Q KQ etc when the flop comes KQ3 and opponents has a set of 3s is untrue but it happens to us all. Your not often going to get 3 streets of value with 2 pair unless villain has hit top pair and maybe turns lower two pair. If they are smooth calling all the way it's hard to detect but with a set at some point they will want to raise if scare cards come like 3 flush or straight cards and they won't want bad rivers or just for value.I've gone broke lots against sets as I have stacked others with them they are just part of poker and a cooler.

One of the hardest hands in poker to detect if you opponent has flopped a set.

I found that by playing my position correctly limits the risk of getting beaten by a set.

Betting patterns and position are your best allies when combating this problem

Not all loses are equal

miktux said:

So i start seeing this pattern of me losing with 2 pairs to set huge % of my stack and now i want you to ask how to avoid them? what should i do? they not raising but calling my bets an in the end they win with set. Really frustrating

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Thanks for posting.

Perhaps you could take note of some of the hands you played and share them so we could recommend bet sizing thoughts or board reading ideas.

You do not have to lose big pots every time you have two pairs vs a set. You will lose a lot though.

You'll never avoid them. You just have to take them as they come. For most of your opponents you have lower their pair range. Example if you're letting them come in with low ass pairs because it's a cheap flop then you have to start raising more with your value hands to get them to push off. You risk more in the beginning but you gain more in the end because now you're not facing someone who has a pair of 5s that called 2BBs on the button. Know who you're playing , get reads and then play off of those reads.

Over time you learn that this is inevitable, play well if you suspect that they did set you folded, look that it is more valuable if you win the hand or fold.