The Value Of Pocket Pairs In No Limit Poker
http://www.articlesgambling.com/read/34/The-Value-Of-Pocket-Pairs-In-No-Limit-Poker
Adam Scribe
By Adam Scribe
Published on August 14, 2008
Article discussing the value of pocket pairs and how position plays a huge part in how you bet.
1
When playing no limit Texas Holdem online or in a land based casino you will often find yourself dealt with a pocket pair. A pocket pair is a hand consisting of two cards of the same rank such as 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, KK and AA.
Obviously the higher ranked the pocket pair the more chance it has of winning against any other random hand with a pair of Aces being the strongest of all.
The top three ranked pocket pairs (AA, KK, QQ) should be rasied one hundred percent of the time in any position, they are strongest when facing just one opponent but if you attempt to play them in a family pot you will come up against a range of flush draws and straight draws who will all have correct odds to call your bets most of the time.
By raising 4-5 times the big blind you are forcing out the potential drawing hands and will usually find you're against smaller pocket pairs or strong face cards, both of which you dominate, the trouble comes when this heavily dominated pairs hit their three of a kind on the flop. This is when you will need to think about how the opponent has played previously and adjust your aggression to suit.
Pocket pairs from 22 to 88 are very vulnerable and you will find that if you play them incorrectly you will lose more than you win in the longrun. In full ring tables these hands do not warrant raising in early to middle position, you're looking to creep in as cheaply as possible and hope you hit a set. In late position you can look to raise these if you feel the players who have limped in are weak and fold too often to your raises.
Pairs of 99, TT and JJ are the trickiest to play correctly, whether you raise or call is heavily dependant on your opponents styles and your position. In 6-max games you should be raising these hands nearly all the time however in full ring games you should consider playing them conservatively unless you're in late position and you feel you have the strongest hand.
Obviously the higher ranked the pocket pair the more chance it has of winning against any other random hand with a pair of Aces being the strongest of all.
The top three ranked pocket pairs (AA, KK, QQ) should be rasied one hundred percent of the time in any position, they are strongest when facing just one opponent but if you attempt to play them in a family pot you will come up against a range of flush draws and straight draws who will all have correct odds to call your bets most of the time.
By raising 4-5 times the big blind you are forcing out the potential drawing hands and will usually find you're against smaller pocket pairs or strong face cards, both of which you dominate, the trouble comes when this heavily dominated pairs hit their three of a kind on the flop. This is when you will need to think about how the opponent has played previously and adjust your aggression to suit.
Pocket pairs from 22 to 88 are very vulnerable and you will find that if you play them incorrectly you will lose more than you win in the longrun. In full ring tables these hands do not warrant raising in early to middle position, you're looking to creep in as cheaply as possible and hope you hit a set. In late position you can look to raise these if you feel the players who have limped in are weak and fold too often to your raises.
Pairs of 99, TT and JJ are the trickiest to play correctly, whether you raise or call is heavily dependant on your opponents styles and your position. In 6-max games you should be raising these hands nearly all the time however in full ring games you should consider playing them conservatively unless you're in late position and you feel you have the strongest hand.