How to play small pocket pairs

H

HSmith

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Im finding this 10/1 implied odds is a load of rubbish, the chance of flopping a set is 1/8 i believe, now some of those times you wont win and you will probably lose a big pot, and the times you get a set are you really going to win the other persons entire stack? I very much doubt it as its unlikely they got a top pair or 2 pair, and even if they get top pair i doubt they will risk their ntire stack on a 1 pair.
Im after somewhere close to 30 or 40/1 implied odds if im after sets and usually play them as marginal hands, after a cheap showdown.
Please correct me if you think i am wrong but i have never had much success with small pocket pairs, never won someones entire stack from it.
 
Shrops

Shrops

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little

I play small pairs for as little as possible until I hit a set.
 
Minus272c

Minus272c

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The problem with your thought process here is that you asume you will
only win if you hit set, and the villain dont get better than your set, when you hit.

There are numbers of way to win without hitting your set, but it all depends
of the action on the board and what you put your anemy on.

I never fold to a single c bet when im holding a pair in my hand, i most often float and
i might even reraise or checkraise if i think the villian missed his/hers hand range, ot to test
their confidence in their hand, test their handstrenght. Info owns!!
Playing them in position make it even easier to take down the hand.
There also a time to relase your little pair when its obvious the villain are gonna fight
this one to the end :eek:

You are correct that you only hit set in arround 1/8, but you should also take
into consideration that vallains only i the flop 1/3 :D

Best of luck out there ;)
 
XXPXXP

XXPXXP

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if for hitting the set, the odds should be round 1/15.
yes hitting a set is round 11% but hitting set does not mean you win every time.
so implied odds should be higher.
 
pirateglenn

pirateglenn

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Playing small pairs can hold every bit as much value as playing big pairs in specific situations - obviously its all effective stack size related and there are things to look for..
For example, i play with certain people who will wait and wait for a premium hand before they enter a pot, they will fold small pairs (that can be a good thing and very disciplined dependent on many variables) but paying big to peel off a flop to only then fold is crazy poker if you are short to medium stack unless a) you are hu b) you have a read on a players range c) if their image is one of paint /any ace etc...
Playing small pairs multi way is high risk, high reward but as one wise person already stated - trips dont always win you hands and playing trips to hopefully catch a boat is also risk lined unless you are betting your opponent off their hand, that said - i believe 80% of the players i face will chase a flush or nuts flush from the flop if they have two free cards to come...
If your game is solely reliant on how well you play small pairs, then you are in trouble..post flop play for me is the real skill of poker - you might have hit trips, 2 pr, opened ended or flush or in rare cases quads from the flop but its how you bet that out or check that for me- if you are betting your pair all the way to showdown ( i have done this many a time) - then small pairs are going to lose a lot of the time unless you get lucky..

Good thread this..
 
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xRanieri

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Preflop is quite simple, open or call, you don't have to always call with these low pocket pairs, Ex. UTG opens to 3x, and you're in MP with 22 with very aggressive opponents behind you, that could be a fold. Anyways, usually you fold to 3-bets, again, this can change.

FLOP: It's a pretty difficult subject to tackle. Holding 44 on a 993 board is pretty nice. You might call a flop bet OOP, again, it's so hard to tackle this without writing a 100 page dissertation on it.

I've seen people call down on boards like 2248J with 55 in a 3-bet pot hoping the guy could have AK. This strategy is not profitable, and I don't suggest it in 100BB effective stacks.
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

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Anti-bluffing: Telling stories isn't just for bluffing

How do you get maximum value when you do hit your set?

The best way I know of to get maximum value off a flopped set is to first think about how you played preflop. Did you bet big and represent a strong hand? Or did you limp and represent a mid-range hand?

If you raised/re-raised preflop then you have to pretend you were playing AK and missed the flop completely. Think about how you would bet in that situation and play that way? For me, if I miss the flop with AK I usually bet about 3 BBs to push out other people who missed the flop and limit my losses if someone else hit. So that's what I would do after betting pre-flop and hitting a set.

If you limped pre-flop then play it as though you hit middle pair, top kicker. Throw out a very small bet and hope the opponent assumes you've got a weak hand.

In either case when the turn and river come, at some point you have to bet for max value. If your opponent isn't betting / re-raising then you have to do the betting for them and just hope they are strong enough to stick with it.

Think of it like an anti-bluff. You want to tell a story which is the opposite of what you actually have. With a bluff you want to tell the story that you have a great hand when you don't. With an anti-bluff you want to tell the story that your hand is weaker than it really is.
 
Martin Carreira

Martin Carreira

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In the case of low pairs, if I do not compromise much of my stack, I try to see the flop with the possibility of flirting a set and thus be able to take advantage of a hand that is very difficult to guess for the rivals. regards

 
tauri103

tauri103

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After watching other people who play by your side, if you know that this pot is yours. It is important to have confidence in your game and with a set you have every reason to be. You can impose a big raise. You must once and for all make others doubt. You must succeed in making them believe that you only want to take the pot. For pride or challenge, you may be able to find customers.

In any case, it is better to impress your opponents, compel them to play and bet rather than not profitable a hand like this. Do not forget that most poker hands are "rubbish hands" so enjoy!
 
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B1BOMBER

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I personally did not play small pocket pairs before I joined CC. But after reading some very good posts on playing them I took the advice of several CC members that said small pocket pairs could be a good asset. I used the advice in our live home games and won 8 out of ten games. I will continue playing the small pocket pairs for it has improved my overall game in my opinion.:D:D
 
ROman77

ROman77

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With pocket pairs in the early stages of the tournament is not worth playing .. you can try to enter the cheap Bank and look at the flop, but no more ..aggression on the lower cards should be included when your stack is very small at the table and when you have nothing more..I will tell you what and in senior carmanah is not always possible to take the pot ,in my case all dies in 60% of cases
 
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