Set Mining Preflop Strategy

[Erik343]

Hey guys!,
I am going to Las Vegas the last weekend in February!

I am always trying to tweak my game and fix leaks...

So, I was having preflop leaks playing too many hands. I tightened up and that fixed it I think.

So, I am trying to play small pocket pairs correctly now, like 22 - 77. I basically raise with 77 or higher in early position. In middle or later, I raise with all pocket pairs. And, if there is a raise or re-raise, I only call or raise with JJ, KK, QQ, or AA. This is a simple strategy, and I like it because it is easy to remember.

So, even if I was on the button, with like 55, I would always fold to a raise here, even if there were like five other callers before me.

So, I am trying to add some set mining to my game. I normally play $1/$2. When I am in late position, I will call a $10 bet in hopes to take down a $200 pot. Although, I have a book called Donkey Poker, which is very good! It says, statistically that if you set mine for $10 against one opponent you will lose more often than most. But, if you call a raise, where three people called that raise, you will profit. You profit more vs multiple callers because you are more likely to get called down instead of everybody folding.

My live no-limit cash game preflop question is simple: to cold call a raise, while in late position, how many callers before me do there need to be in order to be profitable? (To clarify, if there are three callers, then I am playing against four opponents, as there are three callers and one raiser…) I cannot find any information about this on the Internet. I might also start logging stats to find what's profitable or not? Also, assume 100 BBs stacks for me and the other opponents.

I did find information about this, but it was for limit lol, my question is about no-limit.

Thanks guys

Erik W.

Not sure if this belongs in the Cash Games Strategy forums? I am new to this forum… Remember that this is not an online poker question, it is for live $1/$2 no-limit cash games…

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

I'm sure we're all excited to hear about your results. Be careful playing small pairs especially in early/out of position especially since you're not going to hit a lot sets and you're going to be 1st to act with little pairs with over cards on a flop. The other thing is to be careful when you hit a set. You have to be able to read a board texture to notice if the board has draws on it, just don't think I have a set its all in time, NO, pay attention to the board and play accordingly!!!!

Its a good ABC123 strategy if you're visiting a new casino but you can't do this on a regular basis because you wouldn't play enough hands and folks would spot you for playing like only 1 hand like an hour while waiting for a pair which is really low amount of hands for $1/2 live so they would catch on but for someone visiting a new casino then that's ok and you should be fine.

I would also go when the rec players/ folks that get off work like in the evenings and weekends are at the casino and not when there's nothing but grinders looking for someone to pay their electricity bill, lol.

But really, good luck and if you're into buffets, a post about doing good at the poker table and that you enjoyed a solid buffet afterwards would be a nice ending.

The answer to your question is in Week 2, Day 9: Dueling Concepts and Reverse Implied odds in the 30 Day Poker Course here at Cardschat. Just go to poker strategy at the top of this and click on 30 Day Poker School and its on the right hand side of the page. Or you can just put that into Youtube search and Collin Moshman with the vid should pop up.


Again, think about board textures and Reverse Implied Odds!! GL

 

[ProblemPlaya]

Basic rule of thumb is can you stack them for 10x your investment....so if they raise to $12, if you can win a $120 pot from it, it's profitable to set mine. Position helps immensely. So don't set mine short stacks.

 

[coolDadJimbo]

i would call 55 on the BTN with multiple people in the pot... you have pot odds and position. the perfect set mining scenario

 

[magnus369]

Man, this is a question that the GTO can solve easily, but let's break it down to better understand, basically using software we realize that the sweet spot is in pots with three or more players, and you being preferably in late position, because in this way your bets in short would not need to reveal their strength but can be seen as an attempt to steal and thus players tried more floats. Now comes a point that for me is not clear mathematically speaking for your $10 call to be profitable the objectified pot should be a little bigger, $300 would be enough, and it would also be good to observe the aggression factor of the villain, since this would facilitate the pot building process. In multway pots I prefer to play pairs 44~TT, because this way I also avoid other set minings and coolers, and always be careful in scary edges as all cards of the same suit, or possibilities of combos of larger full houses.

In summary, the spot that has the highest implied odds for pocket pairs is with 3 or more players and you in late position. More players, more payers.