Poker is like playing pocket pairs. How to play small pocket pairs

Small pocket pairs are a range of hands that include pairs from 22 to 66, the rest of the pocket pairs will already be considered medium or high. These low pairs appear to be deceivingly strong hands and often cause a lot of problems for inexperienced players because they overestimate them.

Poker School Rating:

Difficulty level 2/5

Need to know 7/10

Small pocket pairs usually mean pairs from 22 to 66.

A small pocket pair preflop will be ahead of most of all starting hands, with the exception of higher pocket pairs. However, they will be very difficult to play with them postflop if you do not improve in any way.

Well let's find out how to play small pocket pairs correctly ...

The main problem with small pocket pairs

When you hold a small pocket pair, chances are good that the flop will be overcards to it. This means that often on the flop you will have underpairs to the board, and with them it is very difficult to try to figure out where you are - in front or behind.

If we bet and get called, it gives us very little information about the relative strength of our hand. Our opponent can have higher pairs, draw hands, lower pairs, or any other hand. Just betting and calling the flop won't tell us too much about our opponent's hand, and it will be a little expensive to keep betting the turn and river to figure out where we are.

Small pocket pairs and sets

The true strength of small pocket pairs lies in the fact that they can be amplified before the flop is set. A set is a combination where you collect three cards of the same rank to your pocket pair, as opposed to trips, in which you have the same three cards, but two of them will be on the board, and only one will be your pocket card. Sets are very strong and hidden hands, you have the potential to make a lot of money with them, since opponents will not often expect to see them from you.

Thus, instead of trying to figure out whether we are ahead or behind with a small pocket postflop, more often than not, we will only need to determine: either we hit the set, or we fold. Trying to play a small pocket postflop without improvement is not very positive and enough difficult game so try to avoid it.

With small pocket pairs, your main goal is to either flop a set or fall if you miss.

Pot odds and the math of hitting a set

The probability of hitting a set on the flop with a pocket pair is 7: 1, which means that we will only get it on one of the eight flops we see. And this probability will not be very good compared to the pot odds given to us. Preflop we rarely get good enough straight pot odds to call for a set mining.

So basically the pot odds offered to us will mean that we will pay too much for something that will not happen often enough to recoup our costs. But there is one important component that we have not yet taken into account in our equation - this is potential pot odds, which we will receive when hitting the set.

It is the potential pot odds that make small pocket pairs profitable.

Pot odds are how much we expect to win after we hit our hand. And I want to tell you right away that the potential odds for a set are HUGE... It's not uncommon for most players to lose huge pots to sets when they hit the flop well enough, as they won't often expect to see an opponent's set.

Set strategy and small pocket pairs

There are two main requirements for playing small pocket pairs:

1. Opponents must have relatively deep stacks. At least about 70bb +.

2. I would avoid calling raises over 7bb preflop.

1) Play small pocket pairs against opponents with deep stacks.

The deeper our opponent's stack, the better. This is because we do not expect to get into the set very often, but if we do get into it, then we want to receive a decent payment for it. If our opponent has a short stack, then the reward that we will receive for the set we have collected when putting all-in will not cover all our costs for calling raises not preflop, since we will receive a set only 1 time and 8.

The deeper the stack, the better our potential pot odds, and the higher our potential reward, and therefore the larger the + EV of our call per set.

2) Call preflop raises up to 7bb.

The bigger the raise preflop, the worse our pot odds are, and the less profitable it becomes to call a set from a distance. The standard preflop open-raise is 2.5-4bb, which is enough to call the set.

Our potential pot odds are very high when we hit a set, so we can afford to call slightly larger raise sizes.

Don't be afraid to call 7bb raises (or maybe a little more, depending on the situation) with small pocket pairs. This may seem like a lot of money to you, but your reward for hitting a set should cover those costs.

Advanced strategy for playing small pocket pairs

If you have strong enough postflop play, raising pocket pairs preflop can be even more profitable for you. This will give you the initiative in the hand, which will allow you to sometimes pick up additional unnecessary pots, as well as win huge ones when you hit a set.

However, if you are just a beginner, just trying to deal with small pockets, then it will be much better and easier for you to choose the more passive way of playing them - through a call, not a raise. Both methods will be beneficial, so choose the one with which you feel more comfortable. Raising preflop with pocket pairs will be more beneficial, but only if you know what you are doing.

Potential pot odds and sets

I have already touched on this topic, but I would like to emphasize the importance of stack sizes again to reinforce.

If our opponent has a short stack, then our potential pot odds will drop significantly, since our potential winnings in this case will be much lower when we hit the set. Conversely, if our opponents have deep stacks, then we will have huge potential set odds.

The shorter our opponent's stack, the lower our potential odds. The deeper our opponent's stack, the better our potential odds.

This means that we have to create favorable conditions for ourselves even preflop. If our opponent has a short stack, we should avoid calling big raises and try to get into the pot as cheaply as possible, or not enter it at all. Whereas deep effective stacks allow us to call slightly larger preflop raises.

Conclusion

As you may have noticed, the strategy of playing small pocket pairs is mainly tied to the concept of potential pot odds. Pot odds explain the reasons behind the small pocket strategy, so do your best to research this topic as well.

The whole article is essentially based on the basic idea of ​​seeing as cheap a flop as possible with small pocket pairs and continuing only when you hit a set. If this is the only thing that you learned from this article, then do not worry, because it will already save (bring) you a lot of money in the future.

Don't be afraid to call big preflop raises with small pocket pairs, but be prepared to bury them if you miss a set. It is simple, but at the same time very effective strategy with pairs from 22 to 66.

Pocket pairs are not easy to play. In this article, we'll look at how to play these hands optimally in 8 different situations. In each situation, we discard external factors and consider ICM in a vacuum. For example, if you are on the final table, or on a 9-handed bubble, the correct play can be very different. We'll also assume there is a standard ante, approximately 10-12.5% ​​of the big blind.

An important caveat to the advice below is that "optimal play" will not always be optimal. (Sounds confusing, I know!). Correct play always depends on many factors. But these are good lines of play for these situations. Let's start with the 1st example.

Situation number 1

So it's your turn. The effective stack size is 10bb or less.

The best option: go all-in

With an effective stack of 10bb or less, you can usually shove all-in any pocket pair from any position.

Low pocket pairs are a near zero decision from early position with 10bb stacks, which isn't too bad when your only alternative is to gradually lose the blinds. When you have less than 20bb on the button or in the small blind, it is often best to push all-in with low pocket pairs on a short stack.

Situation number 2

A player opened in late position and your effective stack size is 25bb or less.

The best option: 3-bet all-in

When your effective stack is 25bb or less, you can 3-bet all-in on small pocket pairs from late position.

This tip definitely depends on who opens first. For example, if tight player opens from the cut-off, then pushing all-in for 25bb from the button with 22 would be too bad a decision. We have to attack players who open wide, then you have good fold equity.

But in general, this tip is good for 3-bet shoves when you are in the blinds with a low pocket and the button is the aggressor.

Situation number 3

You are in early position with an effective stack size of 15-40bb.

The best option: fold

With an effective stack of 15-40bb, you should often fold small pockets from early or middle position.

Small pocket pairs are good short stacks because you can simply push them all-in in the hope that opponents will fold, or you can play a coin. They are also good with deep stacks where you have good implied odds to hit the set. But mid-stacks of around 25bb are not good for opening with low pocket pairs. You don't have any blockers against your opponents' 3-betting ranges, and you usually have to fold when faced with a 3-bet. Calling with these hands looks pretty bad post-fold.

Also, you have bad implied odds to hit the set.

Situation number 4

Villain opens up and you get an estimated odds of 20: 1 or better.

The best option: flat call

In order to profitably flat calling low pocket pairs when faced with a raise, you ideally need an implied odds of 20: 1 or better.

Inferred odds are the pot odds that can be expected based on opponents' future bets. For example, if your implied odds are 20: 1 or better, then when faced with a min-raise with an effective stack of 40bb, you can profitably flat-call with low pocket pairs.

If the implied odds are worse, you can still call sometimes. For example, in the case of murky pots, when closing the action, you can make a profitable call with an implied odds of 10: 1 (although in this case, putting all-in might be even more profitable).

But be careful about calling small-pocket raises if your implied odds aren't that good.

Situation number 5

The player opens and you consider 3-betting light with an effective stack over 25bb.

The best option: fold or call

While there are some exceptions, you can generally find hands that are better than small pocket pairs for your light 3-betting range.

You don't have blockers against your opponent's range to keep fighting for the pot against 3-betting. When faced with a 4-bet, you usually have to fold. When you call, these hands don't play well postflop. Hands like QTo (offsuit) or 76s (suited) meet at least one of the above criteria and will look better for a light 3-bet.

So in these situations you should flat-call if your perceived odds allow, otherwise you are forced to fold.

Situation number 6

You are in the big blind and a player shoves all-in 10bb or less from middle or late position.

The best option: call

When faced with a 10bb all-in from middle or late position, you can call in the big blind with low pocket pairs.

Using Nash ranges, calling 10bb all-in with low pockets is a profitable move. But there is an exception: if your opponent is pushing all-in 10bb from early position, then your calling range should start at 44 or higher.

Situation number 7

You lead preflop and your opponent checks you on the flop.

The best option : c-bet on dry flops and check back on coordinated flops.

Your opponent is unlikely to fold on a coordinated flop, and you have showdown value. On a dry flop, you bet more fold equity, which is a good indicator to get your opponent to fold overcards that have 25% equity or more.

Of course there are many exceptions, but this is still a good rule of thumb when in doubt about your line on a low pocket pair flop.

Situation number 8

The active cut-off player min-raises with 30bb and you have 55.

The best option: call

You can easily think of hands like 22 and 44 to be pretty much the same, but every increase in pocketing rank increases your hand's equity. For example, if your opponent goes all-in in the small blind and you put him in the top 75% range, then 22 is the underdog with 49% equity. At the same time, 44 are claiming 53% equity.

Based on this, in this situation, when faced with a cut-off opening with an effective stack size of 30bb, you should be ready to play a hand with every increase in the rank of your pair. Fold 55 won't be crazy, nor would flat-call with 22. But 55 has higher equity against his range (which, for example, should include all A-X hands) and is a stronger candidate for a pot against a wide range.

Translation: Dubova Diana

Good day! Welcome to the coach of the group course “BSS + HM” of the Academy of Poker - Denis “MISTERCSS”. Many of my students during the game session more than once see small pocket pairs in their hands, but only a few understand how to play such hands correctly. Most players underestimate the power of pocket pairs. I will describe the main points that will allow you to play small pocket pairs profitably.

First, let's decide which hands belong to small pocket pairs: this will include hands from 22 to 66, i.e. 22-66.

Preflop, depending on our position and the actions of the opponents in front of us, we can raise, call or fold. Let's take a closer look at each of these options:

Fold:

If you are unsure or unsure of how to play pocket pairs in any situation, you can simply press the fold button. This will allow you to avoid major losses.

Call or Limp:

I would like to begin my consideration of this point by limping with small pockets. I strongly recommend not to play this way, as we will be raised a lot and we will often be forced out of position to fold the flop without hitting our set.

The most common type of play, typical for small pocket pairs, will be a cold call (calling an opponent's raise). We will do this action both in position and without it, hoping to catch our set or somehow beat our opponent postflop, especially in position. Such a game will be especially profitable in multi-pot, because once we hit our set, we can pick up several stacks at once, especially when playing against weak players.

Raise or Reraise:

We will use the raise option mainly when we have the first word. The exception will be situations when we will be in an early position at a full table, and then, if passive players dominate at the table, then we can consider the option of playing small pockets from this position as well.

When it comes to reraising preflop with small pockets, I would not recommend doing this because we are turning our hand with good strengthening potential into a bluff. Often times, reraising with small pocket pairs will make sense when playing out of position (in the blinds).

To consolidate the theoretical material, I will describe one of the hands of my student, which, in my opinion, he played quite well:

The distribution takes place at a rather difficult limit - NL50 (the big blind is $ 0.5). We are in the cattof position. An opponent in middle position opens the trade with a raise of three big blinds (basically a standard raise size). We are holding a small pocket pair (55).

Fold here would be a very weak decision. So we have to choose between raise and call... As I wrote earlier, raising in this situation is turning a hand with good strengthening potential into a bluff. So all we have to do is call, hoping to catch our set or outplay our opponent on the flop in position.

All the other players folded behind us, so we are heads-up on the flop. We missed the flop (missed the set), so we need to choose our next action: either simply fold(which will not be an error in this situation); call, in order to pick up the pot on one of the following streets (float); or raise... I like all three options.

So which one should you choose? - you ask.

To make a decision, we must take into account the characteristics of the opponent and our table image. Also, to make our game less readable, we should not forget about the balance (we must perform different actions in the same situation). My student made a call, which is an acceptable choice.

The turn comes with a dozen of clubs, which covers the flush draw and also gives a possible trips to a ten. In addition, ten gives a full house of 33 and 77. Villain checks, and we must bet. Firstly, because we would like to take the pot here and now, and secondly, to protect against a flush draw on one card.

The opponent is checking / calling, and we should immediately think about his range. I see him check / call range as follows: 44; 66; 88; 99; JJ-AA; sluggish 77.33 or flush; flush draw on one card; possibly some straight draw. As far as Tx hands are concerned, I don't think the regular (statistically speaking) will give us a free card on such a dangerous board.

The turn comes 9, which closes the gutshot on 86 and 8J, and gives a full house of 99. Villain checks on the river, and I see no point in betting here, since only the best hands will call us, and all the worst hands will fold (in fact, we will isolate yourself against the opponent's spectrum). In addition, we can sometimes get an incomprehensible and unpleasant check / raise from our opponent.

If you have any questions about the article or distribution, ask them below in the comments.

If you want me to teach you how to analyze hands correctly and help fill your gaps in poker knowledge, come to my group training "BSS + HM", where I will answer all your questions.

Thank you all for your attention and good luck at the tables!

Note: if you do not understand any of the terms while reading this article, we advise you to refer to the poker dictionary section as you study the material, where you can find detailed interpretations of the vast majority of poker terms.

Small pocket pairs in poker(in poker slang, they are also called small pockets) are pairs from to. Stronger pocket pairs are referred to as medium or high pocket pairs. These small pairs are weak, their strength is deceiving, and they often pose a lot of problems for newbies who overestimate them.

So, we remember: under small pocket pairs are usually understood as pairs from twos - to sixes -

Small pocket pairs are stronger than most other preflop starting hands, but playing them postflop without improvement is challenging even for advanced poker players.

So let's figure out how to play small pocket pairs ...

Biggest problem when playing small pocket pairs

When playing with small pocket pairs, there is a high probability that the flop will be overcards (i.e. the flop will be cards that are stronger in rank than the rank of our pocket pair). In this case, we will very often have middle or low pair and it will be difficult to determine whether we will be ahead or behind our opponent.

If we bet and get called by our opponent, it also doesn't add to our understanding of the strength of our hand. Our opponent may have a stronger pair, a draw, a weaker pocket pair, and many other possible hands. Just a bet on our side and a call on our opponent will tell us almost nothing about the strength of our opponent's hand. At the same time, continuing to bet further on the turn and river seems to be a very expensive way to determine the relative strength of our hand.

Small pocket pairs and sets

True strength small pocket pairs occurs on the flop when our hand improves to a set. Recall that a set is a combination of three cards, two of which are in our hands, and the third is on the board. Another combination, trips, is also formed by three cards, two of which are on the board, and one is from our hand. A set is a very strong and well-disguised poker hand. With a set, you can win the entire stack of your opponent, since the latter may simply not suspect you have such a strong hand.

Instead of betting on the turn and river, playing small pocket pairs is often reduced to a simple strategy - fit or fold. We hit the set - play on, don't hit - fold. Playing a pocket pair with no improvement postflop is very expensive and difficult. Try to avoid further small pocket pairs without hitting in the future until you have enough experience with starting poker hands.

A rule of thumb for beginner poker players. Best strategy playing with a small pocket pair is as follows: hit the set on the flop - continue the game, miss - fold our hand.

Calculation of pot odds for hitting a set

The odds of hitting a set and a stronger combination on the flop are about 1 in 7. This means that we only hit a set on the flop once out of eight. These chances are very slim. Usually they are not enough to come on the flop in order to catch the network (set mining).

This means that such a game is not beneficial to us. But here implied odds come to our rescue (often they just say "implied").

Implied odds make it advisable to play small pocket pairs

The implies show how much we expect to win on further streets if we hit a winning combination. For a set, the implies are very large. Quite often players give up their stacks with a strong pair in their hands. And this is because they do not believe in the assembled set of the opponent.

Set mining How to play small pocket pairs

When playing with small pocket pairs, two prerequisites must be met:

1. Effective stack must be at least 80 BB
2. You can't call your opponent's raises over 5 BB preflop.

1. Playing with small pocket pairs in deep stacks

In deep stacks, the situation is much better. We'll hit the set just as often. However, if we can take the entire stack of the opponent, then it will be a very worthy prey. In the case of a small effective stack, hitting a set (or a stronger combination) and winning the opponent's stack will not pay off our preflop costs (at a distance) associated with calling an opponent's raise - after all, we will hit a set only about once out of eight.

2. Enjoy the opportunity to call a 7BB raise preflop

The larger your opponent's raise preflop, the less profitable it is to call such a raise due to lower pot odds. The standard raise size is 2-3 BB.

However, our implies for hitting a set are huge and we can afford to pay a little more to see the flop.

Don't be afraid to call a raise to 5 BB (and possibly more depending on the situation) with a small pocket pair. This expense pays off when you hit the set.

Advanced strategy for playing small pocket pairs

If you are strong postflop, you can try 3-betting instead of calling your opponent's raise. You get the initiative, and this can provide additional winnings beyond hitting the set and winning your opponent's stack (with a continuation bet on the flop).

However, beginners who are just starting to master the wisdom of playing with small pocket pairs should choose the passive path and limit themselves to the standard calling of an opponent's raise preflop. Both approaches are beneficial, so choose the type of rally that is more convenient for you. 3-betting preflop with a small pocket pair provides a higher value for money, but requires a good understanding of the game.

Implied odds and sets

We have already dwelt on this aspect, but we want to revisit it to point out the importance of stack sizes.

If your opponent is short stacked, our implies drop significantly (due to the low effective stack size). The reason is that if the opponent hits the set and wins the entire stack of the opponent, the size of the win will be relatively small. Accordingly, when playing in deep stacks, the winnings increase, at the same time, the implies grow.

The smaller the effective stack, the smaller the implies. The larger the effective stack, the larger the implies.

This means that we have a lot of options to play after an opponent raises preflop, and we should avoid calling the raise from short stacked opponents. On the contrary, we can afford to call a big raise from our opponent in deep stacks. because in this case we get excellent implied odds.

Conclusions on how to play small pocket pairs

As you probably noticed, the strategy for playing small pocket pairs is based on the use of implied odds. The implies explain the usefulness of the strategy of playing with small pocket pairs. You should definitely get to know more about implies.

The strategy described in this article is based on calling a raise with small pocket pairs and continuing to play postflop only when you hit a set. Otherwise, you will fold your hand. If this is all that you learned useful from this article - do not be upset. You have saved a lot of money!

Don't be afraid to call big preflop raises with small pocket pairs, but don't spare your chips and fold if you miss a set on the flop. This is a simple effective strategy game with small pocket pairs from twos to sixes.

It is always very exciting to look at your pocket cards and see a pair there. Pocket pairs can turn into a set, and a set can turn into big win... While small pocket pairs are one of the easiest hands to play in No-Limit, they can pose serious problems for unwary players. In this article, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of small pocket pairs.

A small pocket pair is a great hand for a multi-handed pot.

Small pocket pairs are a really great hand for multi-player pots. You can often find yourself at a table where most of the flops are seen by four, six, even eight players. Small pocket pairs are just a dream come true in these games because they form the sets that you can consider to be the best hand in most situations. The more opponents you have, the more likely there will be an unsuspecting top pair player among them who will be happy to pay your set. Simple enough. But I have two points to make about playing pocket pairs in a pot with multiple opponents.

First, be careful when playing really wild games. These games are not that common, but I have played several times in games where three or more players watched almost every flop for 15-20 big blinds per player ($ 75 or $ 100 in a $ 2- $ 5 game). If in order to see the flop you have to pay $ 100, even in a "crazy" game where you will almost always get your set paid (when you get it), then most likely your chances will not be enough for such a drawing of small pairs to be profitable ... Remember that you will get a set (on average) 1 time out of 8.5. And besides, when you receive it, you are not guaranteed a win or payment at all. After calling your opponent's big raise preflop, you may also find that the opponent behind you will move all-in. So keep an eye on your stack sizes and make sure you have enough funds to make up for your losses if things don't go as planned.

Secondly, if several players in front of you have limped into the game, then limping behind them is not always the best idea. Sometimes it is better to raise even if you are sure that almost all of your opponents will call your raise. It depends on the size of your stack and the stack size of most of your opponents. The deeper the stacks, the more advantage a raise has.

If a raise with a weak pocket pair seems odd to you, think about this. There is no doubt that playing a small pocket pair in a six-player $ 5 pot when most players have stacks of around $ 500 is profitable. Playing a small pair in a six-player pot for $ 10 when there are about $ 1000 in stacks is doubly profitable. Of course, this proportion cannot always be observed, but I think the main idea is clear. When you are in a favorable situation for you, the larger the bet size you can collect from your opponents (without significantly reducing the bet-pot ratio), the more profit you can derive from this situation. Thus, it can often be wise to make a small raise with a small pocket pair in a pot with several players.

A small pocket pair is a good one-on-one hand.

Small pocket pairs are also good for heads-up play, especially if you are in position. While in multi-handed pots the main value of this hand is determined by the resulting sets, in Heads-Up you should often expect to win the pot with an unimproved hand. For this reason, position is extremely important. If you are in position, it is easier for you to get to showdown with your weak pair cheaply (when you need it).

But you don't always have to check your unimproved pocket pair before showdown. Sometimes you can value bet.
For example: Game $ 2- $ 5. A loose player bets $ 25. You call from the button with 7 7. The blinds are folded.
Flop T 8 4. Your opponent checks and you check.
Turn - 2. Your opponent checks and you check.
River - 2. Your opponent checks again.

You can value bet $ 50. Since your opponent has checked three times, you can almost be sure that your hand is the best. Often suspicious opponents will call your raise with hands like 3-3 or A-Q.

Of course, you shouldn't automatically place bets on the river with all of your unimproved pocket pairs. But against opponents who like to show bluffs, you will have the opportunity to make additional profits from your small pocket pairs.

A small pocket pair is a poor hand to play in reraised pots.

A situation in which small pocket pairs look especially weak is reraised pots in a heads-up game. If you open a trade, your opponent reraises the pot (or so) and everyone else folds, you should usually fold as well.

For example: You open a trade with a bet of $ 20 in a $ 2- $ 5 game with 4-4. The button reraises to $ 70. Against most players and stacks of any standard size, you should fold your hand.

The problem with calling $ 50 is that it will be very difficult for you to win enough money (when you get your set) to make up for losses in hands where your pair has not improved. For example, with a starting stack of about $ 500, you would have to bet your entire stack almost every time you hit a set in the hope of making a profit. Even if you know that your opponent has a strong hand to reraise prefloor, you cannot expect him to call your all-in every time. He may have AKs that he missed the flop with. He can have Q-Q on a flop containing an ace or a king.

In practice, you won't be able to put your opponent on the stack often enough (or even close) to justify calling a reraise just in the hope of getting a set. To justify calling your opponent's raise, you need to win pots in other ways (for example, winning some pots at showdown without making your hand stronger, or by bluffing). However, it is unlikely that a small pocket pair could win the pot without improving. And since small pairs rarely flop draws, they are also a pretty weak bluffing hand.

So small pocket pairs are best folded in response to a reraise (unless your stacks are extremely deep and your opponent likes to push his entire stack into the pot).

Conclusion

It's nice to look at your cards and see there a small pocket pair - thoughts immediately appear about winning a huge pot. In a multi-handed pot, this is an excellent hand, but watch out for big preflop raises. And don't be afraid to make medium-sized raises if your stacks are deep.

In heads-up play, these hands are also great, especially if you are in position. And in some situations, you can value bet these hands even if they are not strong.

But if someone reraises preflop, don't automatically call - that's a mistake. Calling big reraises with small pairs is absolutely unacceptable. Sure, it's great to get a set in a huge pot, but it doesn't happen often enough to be profitable over the long haul.

Translation: Havana (Pokeroff)