Ask the Poker Pro - Playing Pocket Pairs

Home > Poker Pro > Week 2 Date: July 21st, 2006 By: Tight Poker Staff

Q: Dear Poker Pro,

How do I play low pocket pairs?

- Anonymous

A: Hello. A very common question and difficult one to answer. Pocket pairs are difficult hands because there are no set guidelines on how one should play them. Even strong pocket pairs like JJ, QQ, KK and even AA can be difficult to play, as many players expect these to be very strong hands, but often end up losing the most when holding this type of hand. I will try to give my best answer on how to play low pocket pairs, but must say that only many hours of experience will be able to tell you the best way to play them, because it changes in each situation.

Low Pocket Pairs in Low Limit Games

If you are in a loose-passive game, you will want to limp with all of your pocket pairs in any position. A loose-passive game is one that has many callers and not many bettors or raisers. This is good for pocket pairs, because low pocket pairs are very weak hands when playing against many people. However, if they are able to make a set, it turns into an extremely strong and profitable hand.

Your odds of hitting a set are 8:1, which means that you will make a set 1 out of 7 times you play that hand. This means you need at least 7 players in the hand in order to make it correct pot odds (read the poker odds page if you need more information on what pot odds are.) However, with implied odds, you only need about 4-5 players in the pot to make it good for you to draw. Only in the low stakes game will you come across poker games where 4 to 5 players regularly see the flop.

For the more advanced players, you will want to use your position to determine how to play your pocket pairs. If you are in early position, you are much better folding your low pocket pair because you do not know how many callers there will be in a pot. If you call with 22 in UTG for example and 2 people call, this is a terrible situation for you because you are not getting the odds to draw to a set and you are almost certainly not going to win the pot with a pair of twos. This is why playing in late position is much better, because you can see how many limpers are in the pot before deciding to call.

After you have seen the flop, if you have not made a set, the standard rule is to fold your hand. There is a rule called "No set, no bet!" which is a common saying because your pocket pairs are no good against an entire table. Even though many new players will see players on TV playing pocket pairs very strongly, TV is different because the players are usually only playing heads-up (1 on 1) and very advanced in what they do. Playing that type of style in a full-handed online game is a very bad thing to do.

The reason you do not want to call with low pocket pair, is because the odds of hitting a set on the turn is 22:1, which means you need 22 bets in the pot to make it a break-even play. There are almost no situations where there will be 22 bets in the pot, so you will want to fold almost all of the time here and wait until next time. You will soon realize that pocket pairs are a very patient hand of waiting for the right opportunity, so do not put too much value on them or you will become impatient and lose your shirt.

Aggressively Playing Low Pocket Pairs

Playing pocket pairs cheap and passively is one way of making a lot of money in the lower limit games if you wait around for sets all the time. In a tighter low limit game or a higher stakes game, pocket pairs can be played more aggressively. The reason they can and should be played more aggressive, is because tighter players tend to play better and will fold more often to a raise before the flop, giving you a better chance to isolate the big blind to a heads-up fight.

By isolating the big blind or another player, you can have a much better chance of winning the pot because you are not competing with many players to make the best hand. With unpaired hands like AQ for example, that player is looking to pair an Ace or Queen on the flop, turn or river in order to make their hand. With a pocket pair like 66 though, you already have your pair and are hoping that your opponent with AQ isn't pairing his or her hand.

Pocket pairs have a slight edge over overcards, so you want to push this edge as much as you can. This is why if the pot has not been raised, you will most often want to come in with a raise with your pocket pairs. Your hope is that your opponents will fold and you will with the small blind and big blind. If an opponent(s) calls or raises however, you will just want to call and see the flop.

Why Low Pocket Pairs are Difficult

The tricky part with low pocket pairs is when you see a flop, because almost all of the cards will be bigger than your pocket pair. If the flop comes A-T-5 for example and you hold 77, both the Ace and Ten are scary cards. Most players will freeze here and not bet out because they are scared that their opponent has them beat already. This is a valid fear, but the correct move at this point depends on all the factors already in play.

Instead of assuming the worse, you have to try and figure out what your opponent might be holding. He may have the Ace, or he may not. Perhaps he holds 88 and if you bet with your 77, he might fold thinking you have the Ace. Or maybe he holds JT and will fold his middle pair if you bet, thinking you have the Ace. On the other hand, you could be up against a tricky opponent, where if you bet with your 77, he could raise you with 22 as a bluff to represent the Ace. You now start to see all the possibilities that lie at the flop. The fact is, you require a lot of information to make your move and will never have enough to do so.

How do you get information then? The only real way is by past observation. Watching what your opponent did on hands previous to this one. Is your opponent aggressive or timid? Does he often fold on the flop or bet and raise? Does he call with a weak hand only to fold on the turn or will he call all the way to the river on a draw? Questions like these are what you should be asking yourself when you are trying to make a move with low pocket pair. Simply raising with pocket pair and folding if you don't hit a set is a losing proposition, because you will often be ahead of your opponent even if you don't know it.

So, like I stated earlier, low pocket pairs after the flop really depend not on the cards, but on your opponent. If your opponent has given signs of weakness that he will fold, then you should attack regardless of what the flop comes. If your opponent is tight and only plays big hands, you might want to save your battle for another occasion. In any regard, pocket pairs should be played situational and not by 'rules' when playing them aggressively outside of the "No set, no bet" guideline.

Selective Pocket Pair Facts

A pocket pair isn't that strong because against any two overcards, it's only a slight advantage. For example, QQ is only a 7% edge over AK if both are all-in against each other. However, just on the flop, overcards like AK only have a 30% chance to catch a pair. With low pocket pair, if you are thus able to isolate an opponent, you will have a mentally superior advantage on the flop knowing that the majority of the time your opponent will fold his or her hand outright if they haven't paired (unless you are playing a tricky opponent.)

I realize this is a lot of information to take in at once, but learning the right way to play pocket pairs is not an easy task. I hope this is able to help you out, but simple experience will give you the necessary tools to help you know what do to in those tricky situations. Good luck.

-Poker Pro

Answers from the Poker Pro

Ask a Poker Pro is a weekly column dedicated to answering any and all questions from beginning, intermediate or advanced players of texas hold'em. Question and answer columns from the Poker Pro are archived below for your reading enjoyment.

July 14th, 2006 - Week #1: How to Read Players
July 21st, 2006 - Week #2: How to Play Pocket Pairs
July 28th, 2006 - Week #3: Bankroll Management
August 2nd, 2006 - Week #4: Are Online Poker Sites Rigged?

 Ask Your Question Now!

Your Name:
Email (optional):
Question:

Getting better at reading people? Then play at PokerRoom.com, a recommended site by the Poker Pro for beginning poker players.