play pocket pairs right or don't play them at all

If You Flop Two Pair




Be very careful. What you are looking for is to flop the set. If the flopped pair is higher than your pocket pairs get set to drop your cards like hot rocks. You are not married to them and there is another hand coming right up. Chasing pocket pairs all the way to the river can cost you lots of money and damage your average winnings per hour.



Making The Set With Your Pocket Pair



If you flop the set with your pocket pair you are in very good shape. If you have picked a seat carefully you will have a loose aggressive player on your right. He will do your betting for you if you want to slow play the hand. Just be wary of any straights or flushes that can beat your three of a kind. pay very close attention to the board and run the possible hands through your mind. You should be playing at a set slow steady pace, no matter your hand. It is only when it has come down to you and the loose aggressive player that you begin to reraise him.



Alternately you can slam the raises and reraises into everybody right from the get go. If you reputation is not set in stone as a tight aggressive player this may be the better strategy.



Pocket Pairs Look Better Than They Are



Especially after a long bought of garbage cards. It is tiring not to be able to play in lots of hands in a row and pocket pairs may tempt you to play in a hand that you shouldn't.



Pocket Kings are almost the same as Pocket Aces. You have only one overcard that can beat you and it will come about 22 percent of the time on the flop. It is best to eliminate as many players as you can before the flop. Someone holding Ace/Six can be convinced to drop. But someone holding pocket aces is sure to raise you back. Start limping and stay to see the flop as cheaply as you can. If an Ace flops, drop. If a King flops you have improved your hand.



If you have Pocket Jacks be very careful. About 45 per cent of the time, an Ace, King, or Queen will flop and no Jack. Limp into the pot as cheaply as you can but be prepared to throw the Jacks away if you see an overcard on the flop. If you are in late position and no one has raised yet then you do so and try and steal the blinds.



Pocket Tens is a very difficult hand to play. It is just so damn, well, middle ground. One the one hand you can beat lots of other pocket pairs, but on the other lots can beat you. Be extra special very careful when playing Pocket Tens.



All the other pocket pairs from Pocket Nines on down will have an overcard flopped more often and not without flopping a set. Be prepared to fold these cards pre flop if faced with any kind of raise. If you can limp in and see the flop with, pocket sixes, do so. Make no mistake about it, when you call this bet you are gambling, for sure.