Playing small pocket pairs well starts with a strong preflop plan. Use our preflop poker checklist and start playing 22-66 better in your next session: www.splitsuit.com/free-preflop-poker-checklist
I've watched videos like these multiple times over the years and it's funny how over time the more I progress, the more info I glean from the videos. I've probably watched this one 5 times over 2 years and I think I've picked up something new every time
No set no bet, and yet people fret when the board is wet, they forget to jet and are met by their opponents that let you think your pair will net you some $$$
I’m not even trying to see a flop with deuces . Im trying to steal pre flop or I’m out . Especially more then 4 or 5 handed . Playing deuces just isn’t worth the headache
In short handed play (4 or less) do baby pairs increase in value due the odds of the other opponents having any two cards are better (opposed to a desirable hand)? If so in these situations do you 3Bet in easy position and call in the blinds if there are only limps or min raises?
@@adamskibrapmanlolage agreed. About a 3rd or fourth of the time everyone else has hit nothing. Dueces vs KQ or AK before the flop has 52% to win the hand.
@@adamskibrapmanlolage It's all in how you play them.... If you hit the set 12% of the time, you can be very profitable if you can play them without your opponents catching on that it's what you have until its too late. Especially with these low pairs, you can extract a lot of chips from your opponents before they even have an inkling on what's coming.
helpful video. the biggest "leak" in my beginner game right now is that i play pocket pairs too aggressively and thus lose big pots with them as i get pot committed early and am almost forced to call raises on later streets. will definitely be more wary in the future
I hate small pairs, I prefer to open raise, that way if I get a call I can assume they have high cards and the flop is a lot more telling. Problem is with limping in and not catching a set, it's really hard to bluff when any card on the board is a higher pair than yours.
"I couldn't possibly explain all the strategy in 6 minutes, so instead I've told you basically nothing other than to point out that small pairs are tough to play postflop." I mean, you can't take credit for "with a little information, you're in a better position to play postflop" without providing even the slightest indication of what "how to play postflop" looks like. This is a nice effort but I'm afraid I agree with others who have pointed out that this is either "duh" info for intermediate-advanced players, or not enough info to really help beginners. Other than the advice to avoid open-limping which is just general basics and not really specific to "baby pairs."
What do you think about 3betting baby pairs from position? In micro stakes, I find this play works because you have your 12% flopped sets, plus on dead flops your range has overpairs so you see a lot of villains check fold to a cbet
I'd advise against it. You'll lose more money in general folding to 4 bets or getting check-raised on the flop than you'd make from flopping sets. Even if your opponent is opening wide, this is generally not a good idea as you'll often not make much money even if you do hit your set. After all, your range has a lot of overpairs that will deter them from calling. This also opens you up to getting exploited if you ever end up showing down the baby pairs. Your opponents can start 4-betting you light or stack you off with premium hands (i.e. set-over-set). Maybe it is acceptable to pick one small pair and 3-bet it as a bluff every once in a while to balance your range or if you think it can induce spewy play, but I would definitely not make that play as a default. Remember that the reason that set-mining can be profitable is that villain's range will be ahead of yours most of the time so they will often call or raise with strong hands that lose to a flopped set. When you 3-bet, that is no longer the case, as your opponent will put you on a much stronger range. For example, if you 3-bet 44 in position and the flop comes KT4, your opponent is going to put you on a lot of top pairs/strong kicker, overcards with broadway draws, overpairs, or even TT/KK when you c-bet, raise, or check-overbet the pot on later streets. If you simply call the raise, they can put more medium strength pocket pairs, middle pair/strong kicker, or top pairs/weak kicker in your range and be more likely to c-bet or call you down.
i’m here after shoving pocket 4’s 7 bb left in stack. small blind wakes up with pocket q’s. i think most of the time i’m flipping maybe i’m wrong but i’m definitely on tilt currently
You didn't mention heads up. Helmuth went all in with deuces heads up. Years later, Dwan shoved against Helmuth with a baby pair. In both cases they won, without and with showdowns if memory serves. Any pair is huge in a heads up situation.
I'm new but it seems like if someone is squeezing and you suspect they don't have a pair, if you can get the isolation you should play through with a baby pair correct?
Before I call preflop with my baby pair I check to make sure nobody in there is too short for obvious reasons. Second I look to see what my position is like because in the event that I do hit a set it's going to be much easier to get more money out of the opponent if I'm in later position assuming the stacks are deep enough. The last thing that I sometimes forget to do pre that also really matters is whether or not the opponent that raised or maybe a different one in the hand is a player who actually will give you the implied odds that you assumed you would get if they have an actual good hand. Some players can get away from Aces, some don't very much. Some players get aggro with ace-king high, some don't. Also being out of position when you flop your set puts you in a situation where you either need to check raise or lead to get max value. the problem is that these kinds of lines can alarm better players especially if these better players noticed that you're not that balanced when you're donk betting flops or check raising on the flop. So if a player I perceive is pretty good in the game is raising from later positions, I don't get that excited to call in early position with baby pairs. Firstly because if that player is good they may be able to get away if you flop your set and secondly when they raise from later position they could have hands that they don't even care about at all meaning you'll get paid insufficiently. Makes much more sense to call the raise when you're in later position as a general strategy that a lot of players use is to raise better hands in earlier positions which are the kind of hands that you want to crack.
What do you mean “flops a weak pair” - are you saying the board comes 3 different cards not hitting your set - so the “weak pair’ is what you had already?
That was explained around 1:40. But essentially it's when your pocket pair did NOT flop a set and ALL board cards are above it. So 33 on KQ5 is a weak pair, but 55 on A92 is not.
Over the weekend, I had a Q8 suited and opponent had pocket 2s. Don't remember pre-flop action but somebody raised and called. Flop came out 2 Q Q. We both slow played and checked. Next card a 7, doesn't affect so he raises, I called. River 2. So he lands a bomb while I have a boat. Pretty unlucky haha (I had gone all in after the 3-bet). Pocket deuces never works when I have it though.
Of course it would be a very predictable strategy against good players, but I'm playing NL2 and as far as I know, most people don't pay attention to such things at these limits. Thanks for the reply !
im not sure i dont limp hardly at all unless im trapping in early position sometimes players wont even know you limped and think they can open safely maybe it could get you to a cheap flop or see the river cheap but im not sure if its a profitable move i hardly ever limp unless im planning on limp raising as a trap really
did I miss it? to me, pocket pairs are good until you ge nothing on the flop. then I fold if there is a substantial bet. I love playing them, because they are not icked up by others when you do hit the set.
I somewhat disagree. I will often flat pre-flop with baby pairs even in early position, because of the fantastic implied odds. When baby pairs hit sets they are often very hidden and allow for massive pots. I think it's worth it for that reason alone.
+hoopsrule44 against bad players, I totally agree. But if you do this with even slightly-thinking players they won't fall for it (they'll either isolate you a ton preflop or simply won't pay you off when you get active on a low board postflop)
I almost always limp baby pairs in early position with 50bbs plus as a raise in later positions is affordable. I think the odds of smashing the flop and doubling up with solid postflop play (or having the best single pair on showdown) outweighs the stack erosion of calling and missing.
The Poker Bank "I think we have to call preflop in certain situations.In cash games for example you have to see the stack of the other players and yours.If most stacks are sufficiently high and also ours (about 10-15 3-bets),This is profitable because when you hit the flop you can take all the money to your opponent if you play well".Someone said me this,is a good way of thinking in your opinion?
Lastellaofficial it's over-simplistic and relies too heavily on hitting hands. Good poker isn't played based upon just trying to hit hands...it's based on betting and bluffing at proper frequencies.
Ill play baby pairs only if I think I can get table numbers down to maximum 3 pre-flop.. heads up is best.. as long as villian doesn't have a bigger pair
Permanent Quandary If the price is right and/or the implied odds are good enough, sure. But calling every 3bet with a small pair is a recipe for disaster.
On line poker is a scam,you cant beat poker bots,a guy won 40,000,000 on line and won all big tournaments and won big playing cash games on line for big money.This person could see everyones cards.When the FBI caught this guy and found out that he could see everyones cards,Partypoker dropped the charges and he walked away free,because if it went to court then that was the end of Partypoker.All sites are scams,many pros who got scammed with these bots are waiting they court date to get their money back.Its all one big scam,you are better playing in a casino where you can see the people you are playing.
What is so complex about playing small pairs? Try to see a cheap flop and either hit a set or check down against overcards that miss. If you miss your set and get bet into, fold. What am I missing?
@@ThePokerBank I understand that, you are on a much higher level than I am. Pocket pairs come along so rarely that I hate to just pick up the blinds with them, or worse, be forced to fold preflop against a hefty raise or reraise. I am one of those players who probably limp calls too often.
Recently I've been chasing small pairs it gives me more of thrill busting a big pairs with small pairs, the other day I had 22 and I went all in preflop I got quads :) today I had 55 I raised a descent amount the flop flopped a22 post flop went all in K10 turn came j River came 7 I busted that guy with my 55 low pair. 😎
In Limit, I don't play anything under TT, unless either there are very many in the pot already without (hence, I'm in late) or maybe I'm heads up against a blindstealer. Otherwise I consider anything under TT a loser in the long run. You're always only drawing to two outs. You're very rarely get lucky to get a Full House.
I've lost count how often I see someone calling with a small pocket pair. Miss the flop ,then call and prey all the way to the river. In fact, even when many of these players hit their set. They rarely win a big enough pot. Due to too much slow play and timid betting. On top of that when they hit a set and the board + action on future streets get scary. They almost never fold.
James. Help I can't sleep! 2$NL utg with 77 and 490$ in a deep, loose game, I open to 6$ and it folds to the button, who 3 bets to 18$. He has 500$ and is an action junkie. LAG without brakes. Time to setmine. Profitable vs a spewbacca? Help! I call. Flop (suits irrelevant) 7K5. I check, he checks. Turn J I bet 25$ he calls. Riv is an 8. I bet 100$ he raises to 200$ I call I call? Sir did I make a poor call oop pre? Did I make a terrible call on the river? Do I jam the remainder in every time? Was it fear that prevented me from jamming? Or do the KK 88 JJ combos and 46 suiteds create a calling range with my hand being so powerful? Please help sir. You are a brilliant teacher. Thanks
Top players rarely open-raise baby pairs in full-ring games from early position. 6-max or from the cutoff onwards (full ring), sure, you should definitely open raise all your pocket pairs by default. Raising 22-66 UTG in a full-ring game, however, is definitely -EV. Hell, it might even be correct to fold 99 UTG against certain opponents and stack sizes.
Yeah yeah yeah. Live poker is 98% skills 2% run bad. If poker was purely mathematical statistics, any bookworm could go crush it. If u think otherwise, it’s bc u don’t play. Ei: AA vs KK, flop comes K85. Skill is a huge factor on how u play the hand out. Skilled players would lose the minimum and not blame on luck. Just he 2% run bad factor of the game.
Everything is situational. Things can differ based on the amount of players, table position, bet sizes, stack sizes....your play should be according to what is happening at the table, not science.
does this topic really need its own video? Ducks are the easiest hand to play in holdem, you either hit your set and raise, or you miss it and fold, the rest is common sense
Equity: The percentage of time you win a hand by the river. We often compare the equity of the range of hands you have versus your opponent's range (see below) or often just the specific hands as well. Common pre-flop equity situations: under pair vs overcards is generally around 55% equity for the pocket pair (it wins slightly more than half the time); pocket pair vs higher pocket pair is roughly 20% equity. This is distinct from expected value (EV), which also takes into account potential bets on later streets. Open-limp: Everyone in front of you folds. You call the big blind instead of raising (which would be an open-raise, generally 2.5-3.5x the big blind). Position: The order in which the players act. If you have position on someone, it means that they have to act first. If you are out of position (OOP) to someone, if means you have to act first. Generally speaking, when you have position on someone, you have an advantage because you will know more about their hand than they know about yours. You generally want to pick stronger hands to play when you are out of position to account for the advantage players have acting behind you. The positions in a full ring (9 players) game, in order of who is first to act pre-flop are: Under the Gun (UTG), UTG+1 (creative, I know), UTG+2, Lojack (LJ), Hijack (HJ), Cutoff (CO), Button (BTN), SB, and BB. UTG/UTG+1/UTG+2 are referred to as early position. LJ and HJ are referred to as middle position. The CO and BTN (late position) are generally where you will make the most money as you will have position on most players pre-flop, are often in a position to steal the blinds when the table folds around to you, and will usually (always in the case of the BTN) have position on all the other players after the flop. The big blind (BB) and small blind (SB) have the unique situation where they have position on all the other players pre-flop, but are out of position post-flop. Ranges: Rather than considering only your specific hand or trying to guess at villain's specific hole cards, you consider the combination of hands either of you could have. Example: You open-raise with 99 UTG and the button calls. Flop comes AJ6. If you were only looking at your specific hand, this would be a check-fold or check-call most of the time with 3rd pair. If you were considering the range of hands that you can have, then you will often c-bet (see below) that board as a bluff because your range of hands should include a lot of strong aces (AT+) when you raise from early position. C-bet: Continuation bet. Pre-flop aggressor bets the flop to continue to tell the story that they have a strong hand. You generally c-bet strong hands (top pair good kicker, overpairs) for value, as well as mix in some bluffs with some weaker hands so your opponent will sometimes pay off your value hands. 3-bet/4-bet/etc. : A name for pre-flop re-raises. The first raise is the open-raise. If you are re-raising the open raise, it is called a 3-bet. If you are re-raising a 3-bet, it is called a 4-bet and so on. Generally you only want to be making this type of play with premium hands or if you have a strong hand and your opponent is playing loose and raising with pre-flop weaker hands. Implied odds: When are drawing to a very strong hand (sets+) that is well disguised, you are likely to make a lot of money when it hits. Your implied odds are affected by how strong your opponent's hand is or how well their range hits the board (the stronger their hand is, the more likely it is that they are to call or raise you while being way behind or drawing dead), as well as how deep the stacks are (the deeper, the greater the value of implied odds as you potentially earn more money when you hit your hand). Set-mining: A common situation where you often have great implied odds. You call a pre-flop raise with a small pocket pair and hope to flop the set against someone with a strong hand and fold otherwise. The 1/8 chance that you hit the set, you will often make a ton of money. The other 7/8 of the time, you lose one pre-flop bet. Blockers: Briefly explained in the video. Your hole cards will affect the potential hands your opponent could have. Using blockers is a somewhat advanced topic that usually comes into play on draw-heavy boards. Example: You have AcJh on a board of Ah9cTc 8c 2s. Because you block the nut flush with Ac as well as some straights with your J, it is less likely that your opponent has made a straight or flush and you can more confidently call a river bet. Squeeze play: A situation where there is an open-raise and caller(s) in front of you and you decide to 3-bet large, often as a bluff with medium/medium-strong hands. Example: Blinds $1/$2, LJ raises to $6, CO calls, you raise to $27 from the big blind as a squeeze. LJ and cutoff folds and you take down a $15 pot. The reason this often works is that you are telling the story that you have a premium hand (JJ+/AQ+), while the pre-flop caller(s) will often have playable hands with decent equity, but not premium hands (otherwise they would 3-bet). By re-raising over the top, we can often get the caller(s) to fold their equity, giving us a greater chance of taking down the pot. We should be careful about squeezing when the original open-raiser has a very strong range (they raised from early position or are generally a tight player) because we might get 4-bet on or otherwise lose to a stronger hand.
The Poker Bank I couldn’t disagree more. I watched this video, had zero clue wtf you were talking about, then read this dude’s comment and it made perfect sense.
Great comment! Really useful info and well written, I usually don't understand the terminology that these videos have and walk out pretty empty-handed :/
The purpose was to understand how the hands hit the flop, common issues with them, and understanding how to visualize their profit making potential. That being said, it was more simple than many of our other videos...
fucking bullshit, I had a full house 2 over K's with a pair of 2's and was all in but my opponent had quad K's with only an AK card. the 3 K's came in the flop, turn, AND river. fucking bullshit online poker game.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Playing small pocket pairs well starts with a strong preflop plan. Use our preflop poker checklist and start playing 22-66 better in your next session: www.splitsuit.com/free-preflop-poker-checklist
I've watched videos like these multiple times over the years and it's funny how over time the more I progress, the more info I glean from the videos. I've probably watched this one 5 times over 2 years and I think I've picked up something new every time
No set...then jet
No set no bet, and yet people fret when the board is wet, they forget to jet and are met by their opponents that let you think your pair will net you some $$$
@@EllisAidan to bad, you have thrown away your easy get
I’m not even trying to see a flop with deuces . Im trying to steal pre flop or I’m out . Especially more then 4 or 5 handed . Playing deuces just isn’t worth the headache
Unfortunately, no matter how much I try to think about how I play my hand, my head saying pocket 2s never lose will always win out in how I play
Most likely hand to hit a set
i think that only applies for tournament, cash i dont think so haha
i feel opposite, 22 is such a weak pair i feel like it will always lose unless it hits a set
2 2s, you may lose.😅
Setmining? Nah I’m quadmining
Ahahahhahhahaaha
Weak. I'm always RoyalFlushMining.
Really enjoy the work thats put into this video. Helps my learning with nice visuals. Keep it up!
+capitonymical thanks Capiton!
+The Poker Bank Well done, been watching poker videos close to a year. By the far, most extracted from these videos. Good programs as well.
love the style of your videos. Great coverage of tons of common scenarios
comfortability, also called comfort
alsofuckoffnaziboy
lolwat
c'mon have some compassionativity.
They're just trying to sound cleverer
No that way he uses it follows perfect English grammar. Soooooooooo
I love all split suits' videos. Thanks, split!
In short handed play (4 or less) do baby pairs increase in value due the odds of the other opponents having any two cards are better (opposed to a desirable hand)? If so in these situations do you 3Bet in easy position and call in the blinds if there are only limps or min raises?
Every-time in doubt go All in!
play them cheap or don't play them at all, when you strike with them, capitalize
Great stuff James Grinding science at its best.
Key to setmining? Believe in the heart of the cards
in my opinion the pairs are really easy to play
its either you get the nuts or nothing i mean you have 2 outs so its really easy to play
Extremely unprofitable if you play them just for sets.. they are very easy to win pots with without a set
@@adamskibrapmanlolage agreed. About a 3rd or fourth of the time everyone else has hit nothing. Dueces vs KQ or AK before the flop has 52% to win the hand.
@@adamskibrapmanlolage It's all in how you play them.... If you hit the set 12% of the time, you can be very profitable if you can play them without your opponents catching on that it's what you have until its too late. Especially with these low pairs, you can extract a lot of chips from your opponents before they even have an inkling on what's coming.
Niccolò Ivarson yea before flop but as this video says you’ll be 4 pair on the flop with only two outs,are you calling a Cbet then?
Jessie what tables do you play at, would love to take your stack since you clearly are braindead if you only setmine with pairs
Fold - early position
Raise - late position
Post flop - set or jet
Great videos as always James.
helpful video. the biggest "leak" in my beginner game right now is that i play pocket pairs too aggressively and thus lose big pots with them as i get pot committed early and am almost forced to call raises on later streets. will definitely be more wary in the future
YOU THINK UR ISULDER ALL OF A SUDDDEOOON OHHH I GET IT SCRUB!!!!!!!!!
I hate small pairs, I prefer to open raise, that way if I get a call I can assume they have high cards and the flop is a lot more telling. Problem is with limping in and not catching a set, it's really hard to bluff when any card on the board is a higher pair than yours.
Subscribed man.... Geez. at this point, im convinced that your channel is 100% gold. Thank you, so much info learned here for a newbie like me. 🙏
You're very welcome Kibs! And welcome to the channel =)
"I couldn't possibly explain all the strategy in 6 minutes, so instead I've told you basically nothing other than to point out that small pairs are tough to play postflop."
I mean, you can't take credit for "with a little information, you're in a better position to play postflop" without providing even the slightest indication of what "how to play postflop" looks like.
This is a nice effort but I'm afraid I agree with others who have pointed out that this is either "duh" info for intermediate-advanced players, or not enough info to really help beginners. Other than the advice to avoid open-limping which is just general basics and not really specific to "baby pairs."
I think they are incredibly easy to play post flop...... You either make a good hand or you have trash.
Would you please make a video about unsweated connectors Eg. 78o 9To etc...
+Ali Mazloum I'll put that idea on our list of possible topics to cover in the future :)
What do you think about 3betting baby pairs from position? In micro stakes, I find this play works because you have your 12% flopped sets, plus on dead flops your range has overpairs so you see a lot of villains check fold to a cbet
I'd advise against it. You'll lose more money in general folding to 4 bets or getting check-raised on the flop than you'd make from flopping sets. Even if your opponent is opening wide, this is generally not a good idea as you'll often not make much money even if you do hit your set. After all, your range has a lot of overpairs that will deter them from calling.
This also opens you up to getting exploited if you ever end up showing down the baby pairs. Your opponents can start 4-betting you light or stack you off with premium hands (i.e. set-over-set).
Maybe it is acceptable to pick one small pair and 3-bet it as a bluff every once in a while to balance your range or if you think it can induce spewy play, but I would definitely not make that play as a default.
Remember that the reason that set-mining can be profitable is that villain's range will be ahead of yours most of the time so they will often call or raise with strong hands that lose to a flopped set. When you 3-bet, that is no longer the case, as your opponent will put you on a much stronger range.
For example, if you 3-bet 44 in position and the flop comes KT4, your opponent is going to put you on a lot of top pairs/strong kicker, overcards with broadway draws, overpairs, or even TT/KK when you c-bet, raise, or check-overbet the pot on later streets.
If you simply call the raise, they can put more medium strength pocket pairs, middle pair/strong kicker, or top pairs/weak kicker in your range and be more likely to c-bet or call you down.
i’m here after shoving pocket 4’s 7 bb left in stack. small blind wakes up with pocket q’s. i think most of the time i’m flipping maybe i’m wrong but i’m definitely on tilt currently
You didn't mention heads up. Helmuth went all in with deuces heads up. Years later, Dwan shoved against Helmuth with a baby pair. In both cases they won, without and with showdowns if memory serves. Any pair is huge in a heads up situation.
I'm new but it seems like if someone is squeezing and you suspect they don't have a pair, if you can get the isolation you should play through with a baby pair correct?
is this for limit or nl?
like negranu always says with JJ or less keep calm and don't overplay
Before I call preflop with my baby pair I check to make sure nobody in there is too short for obvious reasons. Second I look to see what my position is like because in the event that I do hit a set it's going to be much easier to get more money out of the opponent if I'm in later position assuming the stacks are deep enough. The last thing that I sometimes forget to do pre that also really matters is whether or not the opponent that raised or maybe a different one in the hand is a player who actually will give you the implied odds that you assumed you would get if they have an actual good hand. Some players can get away from Aces, some don't very much. Some players get aggro with ace-king high, some don't. Also being out of position when you flop your set puts you in a situation where you either need to check raise or lead to get max value. the problem is that these kinds of lines can alarm better players especially if these better players noticed that you're not that balanced when you're donk betting flops or check raising on the flop. So if a player I perceive is pretty good in the game is raising from later positions, I don't get that excited to call in early position with baby pairs. Firstly because if that player is good they may be able to get away if you flop your set and secondly when they raise from later position they could have hands that they don't even care about at all meaning you'll get paid insufficiently. Makes much more sense to call the raise when you're in later position as a general strategy that a lot of players use is to raise better hands in earlier positions which are the kind of hands that you want to crack.
Great clip, as usual.
thanks Tom!
Good video, i really needed to know this
This is the info I needed.
Umm, stupid question. What does it mean to 'smash' the flop?
buy her drinks, show her her a good time then take her home
What do you mean “flops a weak pair” - are you saying the board comes 3 different cards not hitting your set - so the “weak pair’ is what you had already?
That was explained around 1:40. But essentially it's when your pocket pair did NOT flop a set and ALL board cards are above it. So 33 on KQ5 is a weak pair, but 55 on A92 is not.
EXACTLY
Love the videos, what re-player are you using to demo the hands ?
+Aidan Coonan Thanks Aidan! It's PT4 with a custom replayer theme.
Nice vid !
Cheers!
Over the weekend, I had a Q8 suited and opponent had pocket 2s. Don't remember pre-flop action but somebody raised and called. Flop came out 2 Q Q. We both slow played and checked. Next card a 7, doesn't affect so he raises, I called. River 2. So he lands a bomb while I have a boat. Pretty unlucky haha (I had gone all in after the 3-bet). Pocket deuces never works when I have it though.
what's set or jet?
Ruben Gutierrez
“Jet” out of there 🙂
Hit your or don’t put another penny in the pot.
AKA check/fold
nice video!
Why is it wrong to limp with small pairs ?
It's not always. But if you always limped small pairs your limping range would be very face-up and good players would punish you for it.
Of course it would be a very predictable strategy against good players, but I'm playing NL2 and as far as I know, most people don't pay attention to such things at these limits. Thanks for the reply !
Limping your small pocket pairs sometimes opens you up to getting squeezed. It also usually means you win less money when you do hit your set.
In addition, you can sometimes just take down the blinds or win the pot with a flop c-bet in position.
im not sure i dont limp hardly at all unless im trapping in early position sometimes players wont even know you limped and think they can open safely maybe it could get you to a cheap flop or see the river cheap but im not sure if its a profitable move i hardly ever limp unless im planning on limp raising as a trap really
does flopzilla work on mac?
+Julian Walker it does not. you would need a windows machine OR you could run a windows partition on your mac using a virtual machine.
The Poker Bank it works on mac using an app called "cross over" -but i can't seem to get holdEq to do the same.
Get a real computer
did I miss it? to me, pocket pairs are good until you ge nothing on the flop. then I fold if there is a substantial bet. I love playing them, because they are not icked up by others when you do hit the set.
Thank you, now i know how to play my big pair
Great video... thanks!
What’s a 3 beat
Great videos! Keep going!
Thank you!
Even if you hit three of a kind on the flop it's important to bet alot to protect your hand.
I somewhat disagree. I will often flat pre-flop with baby pairs even in early position, because of the fantastic implied odds. When baby pairs hit sets they are often very hidden and allow for massive pots. I think it's worth it for that reason alone.
+hoopsrule44 against bad players, I totally agree. But if you do this with even slightly-thinking players they won't fall for it (they'll either isolate you a ton preflop or simply won't pay you off when you get active on a low board postflop)
I almost always limp baby pairs in early position with 50bbs plus as a raise in later positions is affordable. I think the odds of smashing the flop and doubling up with solid postflop play (or having the best single pair on showdown) outweighs the stack erosion of calling and missing.
skycanth1969 if the table will allow it, sure. But if the table will attack limps it becomes a problematic strategy very quickly...
The Poker Bank "I think we have to call preflop in certain situations.In cash games for example you have to see the stack of the other players and yours.If most stacks are sufficiently high and also ours (about 10-15 3-bets),This is profitable because when you hit the flop you can take all the money to your opponent if you play well".Someone said me this,is a good way of thinking in your opinion?
Lastellaofficial it's over-simplistic and relies too heavily on hitting hands. Good poker isn't played based upon just trying to hit hands...it's based on betting and bluffing at proper frequencies.
Ill play baby pairs only if I think I can get table numbers down to maximum 3 pre-flop.. heads up is best.. as long as villian doesn't have a bigger pair
So do you call a 3 bet?
Permanent Quandary If the price is right and/or the implied odds are good enough, sure. But calling every 3bet with a small pair is a recipe for disaster.
+Permanent Quandary "I gambol wichuuu" hahaha. Try saying this when you do it too hehe.
Hi dude,i really enjoy your videos.Wanted to ask you if "downswing" is a real thing or is it just a superstition.
Thank you! A downswing is a real thing...but rubbing a lucky rabbit's foot in an effort to get out of that downswing is superstition =)
Are all of your videos really just ads for Flopzilla?
On line poker is a scam,you cant beat poker bots,a guy won 40,000,000 on line and won all big tournaments and won big playing cash games on line for big money.This person could see everyones cards.When the FBI caught this guy and found out that he could see everyones cards,Partypoker dropped the charges and he walked away free,because if it went to court then that was the end of Partypoker.All sites are scams,many pros who got scammed with these bots are waiting they court date to get their money back.Its all one big scam,you are better playing in a casino where you can see the people you are playing.
@@supremeleaderarmy9164 won more money than you will ever win nickle and dime merchant,so get back in your box and be quite there's a good little boy.
Sets are sneaky.
In the first level on an MTT
Step 1: limp
Step 2: get a ser
Step 3: wait for someone to shove
Then I call and villain shows freaking straight
Hey James, are diamonds and hearts your favorite suits? :)
I love all 4 suits equally...but the blue/red combo from the diamonds/hearts really pop on the blue background imo =)
Deuces never loses, this a fact
What is so complex about playing small pairs? Try to see a cheap flop and either hit a set or check down against overcards that miss. If you miss your set and get bet into, fold. What am I missing?
While that's a common strategy with these hands, it's incredibly simple to beat.
@@ThePokerBank I understand that, you are on a much higher level than I am. Pocket pairs come along so rarely that I hate to just pick up the blinds with them, or worse, be forced to fold preflop against a hefty raise or reraise. I am one of those players who probably limp calls too often.
@@mikeberry2332 Being aware an the issue is the first step toward fixing it =)
Recently I've been chasing small pairs it gives me more of thrill busting a big pairs with small pairs, the other day I had 22 and I went all in preflop I got quads :) today I had 55 I raised a descent amount the flop flopped a22 post flop went all in K10 turn came j River came 7 I busted that guy with my 55 low pair. 😎
And how much money have you donked off chasing bad beats with those same small pairs?
In Limit, I don't play anything under TT, unless either there are very many in the pot already without (hence, I'm in late) or maybe I'm heads up against a blindstealer. Otherwise I consider anything under TT a loser in the long run. You're always only drawing to two outs. You're very rarely get lucky to get a Full House.
View variance in this playlist is insane! Why? Algorithm optimisation?
Don't need to comment on this one, except 'thanks' 🇳🇿♠️
man thanks for this videos.
I've lost count how often I see someone calling with a small pocket pair. Miss the flop ,then call and prey all the way to the river. In fact, even when many of these players hit their set. They rarely win a big enough pot. Due to too much slow play and timid betting. On top of that when they hit a set and the board + action on future streets get scary. They almost never fold.
+Mitjitsu For real, SO many players get ridiculously attached to a low pocket pair, even though it rarely pays off.
Baby pairs are deadly. More deadly than AK. Confused all players when it becomes triplets
James. Help I can't sleep! 2$NL utg with 77 and 490$ in a deep, loose game, I open to 6$ and it folds to the button, who 3 bets to 18$. He has 500$ and is an action junkie. LAG without brakes. Time to setmine. Profitable vs a spewbacca? Help! I call. Flop (suits irrelevant) 7K5. I check, he checks. Turn J I bet 25$ he calls. Riv is an 8. I bet 100$ he raises to 200$ I call I call? Sir did I make a poor call oop pre? Did I make a terrible call on the river? Do I jam the remainder in every time? Was it fear that prevented me from jamming? Or do the KK 88 JJ combos and 46 suiteds create a calling range with my hand being so powerful? Please help sir. You are a brilliant teacher. Thanks
It's been a year I'm in to poker with cash and I think that baby pairs are great hand to lose money
Agreed
You can talk negatively about any hand in poker and say not to play it. But you see all the top players in the world open pairs period.
Top players rarely open-raise baby pairs in full-ring games from early position. 6-max or from the cutoff onwards (full ring), sure, you should definitely open raise all your pocket pairs by default. Raising 22-66 UTG in a full-ring game, however, is definitely -EV. Hell, it might even be correct to fold 99 UTG against certain opponents and stack sizes.
Wow .....Verry Verry more Thanks Mister whit 22-66 now i know HOW TO PLAY THIS
Any pair all in thats it!
i play ducks like aces lol. hasnt failed me yet
I FEEL U ALRIGHT
I feel like I’m watching a video about how they play poker on Mars.
weird
Fold or shove.
22 is a weak pair b4 and after the flop 100% of the time not 88% I think.
+MrStevie57 well it's a set 12% of the time, so the other 88% of the time it's a weak pair =)
Right I get it ty.
I like the way you say baby pair. haha.
Yes but don't you hate it when you fold a baby pair to a 3 bet only to see you would have flopped a set.
See a flop for as cheap as possible. LIMP. Don’t fold fold early position
Never play these hands in full rings. They are too weak. You can get away with them in cash games, because single pairs often win those pots.
Yeah yeah yeah. Live poker is 98% skills 2% run bad. If poker was purely mathematical statistics, any bookworm could go crush it. If u think otherwise, it’s bc u don’t play.
Ei: AA vs KK, flop comes K85.
Skill is a huge factor on how u play the hand out. Skilled players would lose the minimum and not blame on luck. Just he 2% run bad factor of the game.
Everything is situational. Things can differ based on the amount of players, table position, bet sizes, stack sizes....your play should be according to what is happening at the table, not science.
10.8 is 11% not 12%
Set OR BETTER = 10.8 + .98 + .24 = ~12%
My favorite pocket pair is pocket 4's. It just looks so innocent when a 4 hits the flop most times it will burn your opponent
thats why u lose every game isnt it
but u will beocme a millionaire i know just time it takes for u cuz ur speical
a little salty over pocket fours and your taking it out on me????
I don't understand why you fold to 3 bets with baby pairs? Especially if you're closing the action and the SPR is correct, feels like a call everytime
does this topic really need its own video? Ducks are the easiest hand to play in holdem, you either hit your set and raise, or you miss it and fold, the rest is common sense
Lance Hedges but a newer player doesn't yet have that common sense, and thus a video like this helps them understand those principles faster.
No, we don't understand. I don't know what a single one of those terms mean. I understand what Lance Hedges said completely though.
Equity: The percentage of time you win a hand by the river. We often compare the equity of the range of hands you have versus your opponent's range (see below) or often just the specific hands as well.
Common pre-flop equity situations: under pair vs overcards is generally around 55% equity for the pocket pair (it wins slightly more than half the time); pocket pair vs higher pocket pair is roughly 20% equity.
This is distinct from expected value (EV), which also takes into account potential bets on later streets.
Open-limp: Everyone in front of you folds. You call the big blind instead of raising (which would be an open-raise, generally 2.5-3.5x the big blind).
Position: The order in which the players act. If you have position on someone, it means that they have to act first. If you are out of position (OOP) to someone, if means you have to act first. Generally speaking, when you have position on someone, you have an advantage because you will know more about their hand than they know about yours. You generally want to pick stronger hands to play when you are out of position to account for the advantage players have acting behind you.
The positions in a full ring (9 players) game, in order of who is first to act pre-flop are: Under the Gun (UTG), UTG+1 (creative, I know), UTG+2, Lojack (LJ), Hijack (HJ), Cutoff (CO), Button (BTN), SB, and BB.
UTG/UTG+1/UTG+2 are referred to as early position. LJ and HJ are referred to as middle position.
The CO and BTN (late position) are generally where you will make the most money as you will have position on most players pre-flop, are often in a position to steal the blinds when the table folds around to you, and will usually (always in the case of the BTN) have position on all the other players after the flop.
The big blind (BB) and small blind (SB) have the unique situation where they have position on all the other players pre-flop, but are out of position post-flop.
Ranges: Rather than considering only your specific hand or trying to guess at villain's specific hole cards, you consider the combination of hands either of you could have.
Example: You open-raise with 99 UTG and the button calls. Flop comes AJ6. If you were only looking at your specific hand, this would be a check-fold or check-call most of the time with 3rd pair. If you were considering the range of hands that you can have, then you will often c-bet (see below) that board as a bluff because your range of hands should include a lot of strong aces (AT+) when you raise from early position.
C-bet: Continuation bet. Pre-flop aggressor bets the flop to continue to tell the story that they have a strong hand. You generally c-bet strong hands (top pair good kicker, overpairs) for value, as well as mix in some bluffs with some weaker hands so your opponent will sometimes pay off your value hands.
3-bet/4-bet/etc. : A name for pre-flop re-raises. The first raise is the open-raise. If you are re-raising the open raise, it is called a 3-bet. If you are re-raising a 3-bet, it is called a 4-bet and so on. Generally you only want to be making this type of play with premium hands or if you have a strong hand and your opponent is playing loose and raising with pre-flop weaker hands.
Implied odds: When are drawing to a very strong hand (sets+) that is well disguised, you are likely to make a lot of money when it hits. Your implied odds are affected by how strong your opponent's hand is or how well their range hits the board (the stronger their hand is, the more likely it is that they are to call or raise you while being way behind or drawing dead), as well as how deep the stacks are (the deeper, the greater the value of implied odds as you potentially earn more money when you hit your hand).
Set-mining: A common situation where you often have great implied odds. You call a pre-flop raise with a small pocket pair and hope to flop the set against someone with a strong hand and fold otherwise. The 1/8 chance that you hit the set, you will often make a ton of money. The other 7/8 of the time, you lose one pre-flop bet.
Blockers: Briefly explained in the video. Your hole cards will affect the potential hands your opponent could have. Using blockers is a somewhat advanced topic that usually comes into play on draw-heavy boards.
Example: You have AcJh on a board of Ah9cTc 8c 2s. Because you block the nut flush with Ac as well as some straights with your J, it is less likely that your opponent has made a straight or flush and you can more confidently call a river bet.
Squeeze play: A situation where there is an open-raise and caller(s) in front of you and you decide to 3-bet large, often as a bluff with medium/medium-strong hands.
Example: Blinds $1/$2, LJ raises to $6, CO calls, you raise to $27 from the big blind as a squeeze. LJ and cutoff folds and you take down a $15 pot.
The reason this often works is that you are telling the story that you have a premium hand (JJ+/AQ+), while the pre-flop caller(s) will often have playable hands with decent equity, but not premium hands (otherwise they would 3-bet). By re-raising over the top, we can often get the caller(s) to fold their equity, giving us a greater chance of taking down the pot. We should be careful about squeezing when the original open-raiser has a very strong range (they raised from early position or are generally a tight player) because we might get 4-bet on or otherwise lose to a stronger hand.
The Poker Bank
I couldn’t disagree more. I watched this video, had zero clue wtf you were talking about, then read this dude’s comment and it made perfect sense.
Great comment! Really useful info and well written, I usually don't understand the terminology that these videos have and walk out pretty empty-handed :/
I just love your videos, however I didnt like that one. Didnt understand the purpose of it, maybe I missed something?
The purpose was to understand how the hands hit the flop, common issues with them, and understanding how to visualize their profit making potential. That being said, it was more simple than many of our other videos...
The Poker Bank Thanks for the reply. Hope you keep up with the awesome content (:
We will!
Well that program is trash. The Chance to Hit 3 of a Kind at the Flop is ~12 % and Not ~ 11 %
No don't teach the fish!! Oh wait, grandma at the casino doesn't know how to use RUclips.
But grandma is an excellent setminer!
Small pairs are 10 10 to 2 2 asshole big pairs JJ to AA
fucking bullshit, I had a full house 2 over K's with a pair of 2's and was all in but my opponent had quad K's with only an AK card. the 3 K's came in the flop, turn, AND river. fucking bullshit online poker game.
Gustiyan Mahardika in the long run shit like this wont happen often
I firmly believe these nerdy poker players suck at poker
Not online they don't
this video tells you absolutely nothing
Just admit it; baby pairs suck. But... the chances of having pocket deuces are the same as having pocket aces.
instructions no clear, went all in with deuces pre flop and lost it all . dislike
man these are the most overrated hands
Comfortability?