lower pocket pairs

[WiZZiM]

one more thing id like to add to the board texture comments is table texture,,,

How often are your opponants 3 betting preflop, how aggressively overall the table is playing. knowing your opponants 3bet often, you may want to just call as it will get you to the flop more often. basically its a hand that plays really well in a multiway pot, get in cheap and bust someone who overplays top pair..

 

[ted80]

those things are like candy when you're desperate and lookin for a shove hand. but i mean...really, how often does a pair of 2's take the thing down? throw that crap away. yeah its pretty, you got two cards with the same number...scratch it off, you won! you get..another hand...if you just throw them away. if i'm havin one of those games where i can do no wrong, i might raise with them from any position *if* i feel like it but the table has to be right, there can't be anybody so short that they're desperate enough to shove on me, and i obviously have no intent of showing these cards at all, this is something i'd rather want to make folds happen or fold myself...and represent something other than what i really have. but i mean, realy, you're dealt 5To on your big blind...you can check in...there's 3 limpers...the flop is 5KA...if there's people betting their buttholes off, is your pair of 5's really that great now? so let's switch up cards here...you're dealt 55 and the flop is TKA...how sweet are those 5's now? its crap

 

[thepokerkid123]

I must admit to not reading half of these responses. I saw "fold" "fold" "fold!" and skipped ahead.

Small pockets are great hands to play.

You will spike a set one in 7 times you see a flop with a pocket pair. Your set will usually be the best hand at the river but straights and flushes will occasionally beat you (even if they hit, your opponent has to have them and even then there's still a 1/3 chance of making a full house). When you hit, you're usually on a winner (not saying don't fold, just saying you'll get paid frequently).

They're good to play for value because you can slow play on dry boards without much risk (something you can't do with two pair and a lot of TPTK hands).

When you hit your set, it's very deceptive and you do get paid very often.

Keep in mind that as I already said, you'll hit your set 1 in 7 times, if you don't hit that then you're unlikely to be ahead (heads up you'll be ahead about half the time, multiway you're in trouble). When you win you need to get paid more than 7 times what you put in to make money off of them, on a really tight table this might be a problem but on most aggressive tables you wont have much trouble.

In EP I'll only limp with them, in LP I'll either limp or raise depending on the table and my image.

 

[testreet]

If you can afford the call then I would limp in and see what flops up...but if you are deep stacked with huge blinds then I would pretty much fold pocket 4s and down...hope this helps you out a bit