Pocket
Pairs: Jump Start Your Game
After
years of play, the masters of the most popular poker
game in the world, Texas Hold’em, have perfected
their skills at bluffing, strategy, slow-playing and
reading other players. But the one thing it doesn’t
take an expert to know is that the pocket cards in
Hold’em hold all the power.
This
is the time of the game where the most important
decisions are made. You have to evaluate position;
whether the game is loose or tight; the skill level of
your opponents; and the number of players who have
already called. All of these components, along with
those two cards face down in front of you, will
determine whether you get in or get out.
Because
five of the seven cards dealt in Hold’em are
community cards, the game is about what you have in
the hole, not about chasing pairs. The reason? If you
improve, your opponent usually will too. If you
don’t consistently start with higher cards than your
opponents, no matter how many years you’ve put in at
the tables, you will not come out a winner.
If
you draw pocket pairs, where odds run 16-1, consider
yourself lucky, and in good position to grab the pot.
But you still have to know how to play them correctly,
whether you’re sitting with a pair or deuces or a
monster pair of aces.
High
Pairs
If
diamonds are a girl’s best friend, pocket aces are a
Hold’em players’ soul mate. You have a huge
advantage with this pair, and the first thing that
should go through your mind is maximum profit. But
don’t get greedy and scare away the entire table
away. You want at least two to three callers left to
pluck before the flop. Anymore callers than that and
something strange might occur by the time the river
comes up. In others words, a big pair plays well
against a five-player table, but loses steam to a
10-player table.
Second
to aces, of course, are pocket kings, which are almost
as powerful. Your main concern here is letting in
drawing hands with a suited A-X. You’re still coming
from a strong position because an ace will flop only
once every eight hands.
A
pair of queens is nervous time. You have the
confidence of a monster hand, but the trepidation of
getting hit with a king or ace overcard, a card that
opponents will more than likely play. Jacks can be
played like queens, hitting the table with a big
raise, betting on the flop, then hoping everyone
folds.
Low
Pairs
It
is important to understand the value of small pocket
pairs. These hands fall under the category of playing
well with very few (heads-up) or several (6 or more)
other players. When you do decide to play a small
pair, your ultimate goal is to flop three-of-a-kind,
also known as a set. If you have 5-5 and the flop
doesn’t produce the third 5, start thinking of an
exit strategy. So, you have to think economy class
when getting to the flop, playing your small pair as
cheaply as possible. The cost to see the flop with a
small pair should be no more than a single blind bet.
And since it’s rare that a set will be beaten by a
higher set, having two’s in your pocket is only
slightly worse than a set of nine’s. As with any
hand, your position makes a difference on how to play
a low pair as well. Since they’re not strong raise
material, early position hurts. Middle is OK in a
loose game and, if you’re aggressive, a raise if
you’re near the button.
The
most important advice when playing pocket pairs?
"Never marry small pocket pairs." This means
you must be ready to fold if you do not make a
set on the flop.
