Hi fellow members. As you will see in the replay below I had dueces in the cutoff preflop. There was a limper before and I folded. Just the thought of playing 22 makes me feel uncomfortable from any position. Frankly, I just dont see the value of playing this pair. Would be interested on your thoughts here.

https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/3qdtGNP

22 is a pretty simple hand to play. You either flop a set, or you invest nothing more after the flop. Its no big deal folding it preflop, but I would probably have limped behind in a spot like this.

I think 22 in CO is pretty marginal. While I agree that it is rather easy to play based of whether you hit The flop. But you only hit 1 out of 8 times which makes you CF flop to often for it to be profitable. Especially if you struggle to find good flops for C-betting, I would also just Fold preflop

I'm almost never folding 22 from the CO vs 1 limper. I prefer opening this hand but may limp against a very aggressive line up (where 3 bets are more frequent) to set mine. I've won some monster pots with a set of 2s.

If it's already raised and there's an active 3 better behind you then go ahead and fold but if you can get in cheap with odds to set mine these hands can be huge cash cows.

Again, thanks for your thoughts. I guess the things that jump out at me from the replies, that everybody pretty much touched upon, directly or indirectly, is if I feel im getting the proper odds to limp in here and also what are the personalities of my opponents. Happy trails y'all!!

Originally Posted by stil370

Hi fellow members. As you will see in the replay below I had dueces in the cutoff preflop. There was a limper before and I folded. Just the thought of playing 22 makes me feel uncomfortable from any position. Frankly, I just dont see the value of playing this pair. Would be interested on your thoughts here.

https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/3qdtGNP

Thank U 4 Posting.

22 is playable so if you are having a mental block playing it it may help you to diagnose why?

Playing 22 profitably beyond making sets requires villain reading skills and range aggression. Do you feel this is a weakness in your game?

If so are you avidly taking notes in game?

Do you understand that when we raise 22 in CO vs a limper we stop playing 22 when no 2 comes and start playing our range vs villain range?

If the flop comes A 9 4 we should be playing like we have AK AQ not 22 because we could have AK AQ we just do not have it this time.

Are you working on your range reading and range betting strategy skills?

Most importantly is: are you playing in games where folding occurs or is it just calling stations and looky Lous?

You my have discomfort because you are not playing deeply into the streets often enough.
Do you have a bluffing strategy for turns and rivers without representing only nut hands like flushes and straights? This is of course Looky Lou dependent.

Hope this helps

Originally Posted by eetenor

Thank U 4 Posting.

22 is playable so if you are having a mental block playing it it may help you to diagnose why?

Playing 22 profitably beyond making sets requires villain reading skills and range aggression. Do you feel this is a weakness in your game?

If so are you avidly taking notes in game?

Do you understand that when we raise 22 in CO vs a limper we stop playing 22 when no 2 comes and start playing our range vs villain range?

If the flop comes A 9 4 we should be playing like we have AK AQ not 22 because we could have AK AQ we just do not have it this time.

Are you working on your range reading and range betting strategy skills?

Most importantly is: are you playing in games where folding occurs or is it just calling stations and looky Lous?

You my have discomfort because you are not playing deeply into the streets often enough.
Do you have a bluffing strategy for turns and rivers without representing only nut hands like flushes and straights? This is of course Looky Lou dependent.

Hope this helps

Did it help eetenor? Dude that was awesome. it was like my brains were leaking out my eyeballs and nostrils after reading your take on the situation. especially the part about playing the opponents ranges and not my dueces.

Just make sure your range isn't in conflict with your villain's range, or you will be value betting for them.

Originally Posted by puzzlefish

Just make sure your range isn't in conflict with your villain's range, or you will be value betting for them.

Thank U 4 Responding.

This is a very good point.

Understanding what villains ranges are and how they respond to aggression with that range is the skill set we have to work on.

We cannot just think we can blast away because we could have an Ax hand in our range.

We also need to learn how to influence our perceived range. Checking flops in POS and still having Ax hands in our range when the flop comes Axx for example. As well as other flops and other influence plays.

There are many skill sets that have to be worked on to be a good LAG player.

Thanks again for you input.

Originally Posted by 0815am

But you only hit 1 out of 8 times which makes you CF flop to often for it to be profitable.

Not when he's only needing to put in 1bb pre while sitting with 100bb effective stacks. And assuming there are some micro donks, the chances we get paid off by TP type hands when we hit our set greatly increases (& stack them off).

If we don't have a limper opening in front of us, Open the 22 for a raise. As the preflop aggressor you're going to be able to rep certain boards vs. certain opponents who might be calling from the blinds (I'm not going to go into detail on what boards would be profitable to C-bet on with 22 vs. blinds.... that's up to you to figure out)