Copyright 2007 Full
Tilt Poker
June 29th, 2007
(View all Online
Poker Lessons)
Poker Lesson: Playing Small and
Medium Pocket Pairs in No-Limit
Hold'em
Author: Greg Mueller
Ring Game Play
In ring games, I like to build a really small pot when I have
these hands in early and middle position. Sometimes I'll make
a min raise; other times I'll just limp in. I want to keep the
pot small when I have a small or medium pair because I lay them
down if I'm faced with a large re-raise.
If I min-raise or limp in and an opponent makes
a small raise, I can call, but if I open with a big raise and
my opponent comes over the top, I'm not usually getting the right
odds
to call. By keeping the pot small, I have a better chance of seeing
a flop and I may pull other players into the hand. Then if I do
flop a set, someone's going to pay me off. To me, the biggest
moneymakers in No-Limit ring games are small sets, like 2s and
3s, because they're so disguised.
A lot of players get overly aggressive with the
middle pairs: 8s, 9s, and 10s. They raise before the flop with
them, but if the blinds fold, they're only going to win a small
pot. I'd much rather try to win a big pot by flopping a set. If
the flop comes J-8-2 and I have pocket 8s while my opponent has
a hand like K-J, I'm going to win a big pot a lot of the time.
If I'm in late position and have a small or medium
pair, I'll raise in hope of taking the blinds if nobody else has
entered the pot. If one of the blinds calls, I'll try to win the
pot with a bet on the flop, but if both blinds call my raise,
I'll be more cautious. Against multiple opponents I'm trying to
flop a set. If I don't and there are several overcards on the
board, I'll check if it gets checked to me and I'll probably fold
if one of my opponents bets. If I'm in late position and someone
in early position raises pre-flop, I'll generally just call and
hope to flop a set.
Tournament Play
In tournaments you have to treat small and medium pairs much differently
that you do in ring games. You have to play them more conservatively
because you can't usually rebuy. In fact, I will often fold 2s,
3s, 4s and 5s under the gun in tournaments. In ring games, I always
play these hands because of my implied odds. Even if I lose 15
of these hands in a row, I can always rebuy. In a tournament,
if I lose five times in a row, it's going to really hurt my stack.
How I play small pairs in tournaments
often depends on the size of my chip stack. If I have a big stack
and get dealt a pair of 3s or 4s, I might raise, hoping to win
the blinds and antes. However, if I'm on a short stack and in
late position, I might just move all-in.
In tournaments I try to stay away from middle pairs
because they can cause big problems and tough decisions. Let's
say I call a pre-flop raise with pocket 9s and the flop comes
10-4-2. In a ring game, I would check and call or possibly check-raise
trying to find out if my 9s were good. In a tournament, however,
that's scarier because you really have to be careful about the
amount of chips you use to get this information.
My decision is easy when there's an Ace or King
on the flop, but when the flop is 10-4-2 and I've got pocket 9s,
it becomes very difficult. You can't fold every time, but you
don't want to get too crazy in these situations either. Middle
pairs are so difficult to play that I notice that I often find
my best tournament results come when I simply stay away from them.
The beauty of small and medium pairs is that they
very rarely get you into trouble. However, when they do, it really
hurts. When the $2,500 No-Limit
Hold'em event at this year's World Series of Poker* got down
to the last three tables, I opted to defend my blind with pocket
3s. The flop came J-8-3. My opponent and I got all our money into
the pot, but as it turned out, he had pocket 8s. When you do flop
set over set and you have the bottom end of it, you really get
punished. But when that's not the case - and it usually isn't
- you're going to be in great shape.
Full
Tilt Poker Referral Code
Downloaded
from the World Wide Web on June 30, 2007:
http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/pro-tips-
archive.php?player=Greg%20Mueller&tip=107 |