Posted Thu May 25, 2006 11:03 am GMT by busterstra
I get low pockets alot and never have much luck. Normally I bet only if they're suited. What's the best stragety?
Did you know that participating in a poker forum can help you improve your own game? Be it by sharing experiences or simply asking for help, participation in a forum helps you focus and keep 'on topic' which will help you improve your game. You can learn from other players feedback and from their experiences. Why the THP poker forums? We offer one of the best managed texas holdem poker forums available, and the community within is far more friendly than those typicaly found on other sites. We've made a 'lurkers edition' of the poker forum available here on Holdem Poker Online, but we encourage all visitors to register and join in on the conversations on TexasHoldem-Poker.com
Posted Thu May 25, 2006 11:56 am GMT by Sean_in_NJ
Fold preflop nearly 100% of the time.
Posted Thu May 25, 2006 12:31 pm GMT by UrAteUp
| Sean_in_NJ wrote: | | Fold preflop nearly 100% of the time. |
and most times even if they are suited. If your playing in a 10 player game you can almost bet someone has a higher card or possibly two of that suit. Those type cards are best played in late position and rarely into a heavily raised pot.
Posted Thu May 25, 2006 1:18 pm GMT by busterstra
Thanks alot! late position / low pot good to know.
Posted Sun Jun 11, 2006 5:36 am GMT by 72o
You don't have bad luck. Only about every 10th hand is a big hand. Rag hands are the norm and good players dont't play more than about 20% of their hands. Except if they are bluffing, of course...
Posted Sun Jun 11, 2006 5:56 am GMT by supafrey
| 72o wrote: | | You don't have bad luck. Only about every 10th hand is a big hand. Rag hands are the norm and good players dont't play more than about 20% of their hands. Except if they are bluffing, of course... |
I must be absolutely horrible then.
Posted Sun Jun 11, 2006 9:14 am GMT by UrAteUp
| supafrey wrote: | | 72o wrote: | | You don't have bad luck. Only about every 10th hand is a big hand. Rag hands are the norm and good players dont't play more than about 20% of their hands. Except if they are bluffing, of course... |
I must be absolutely horrible then. |
The worst...  ...thats why you make such good money playing poker... 
Posted Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:07 am GMT by supafrey
LAG is the new TAG. Hyper LAG will be next.
20% is far too low for my tastes. 30-35% with a fullhanded table is fine if you trust your post flop. If you just want to win money and not "rake it in huge", i'd recommend a % from 10-15%.
Posted Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:23 pm GMT by turkeyspanka
Yeah. I used to tend to limp in or raise a little bit pre-flop with low pocket pair. I realized real quick that it was a bad idea. I think I must have lost everytime I played them. If you think about it it's quite obvious. You'll hardly ever hit trips, and you'll prolly get beat by a higher pair.
Posted Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:45 am GMT by shorn7
I am with supa here. If I am not seeing at least 30% of flops, then I am having a really bad run of cards. Especially in NLHE where post flop play is much more important than preflop hand selection.
Posted Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:55 am GMT by tame_deuces
Playing a little loose preflop doesn't make a proper lag. 
That's just nutpeddling for advanced players.
Posted Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:55 am GMT by 72o
Usually you throw away small pocket pairs without hesitation. But there are situations when small pocket pairs can be useful. For example, a notorious bluffer raises in early position and you got pocket sixes on the button and everybody else folded. Then it may be a good idea to call. Often the bluffer got only a rag ace or a suited connector and if the flop doesn't show a big card you are likely to be ahead.
But this play is tricky and i don't recommend it to a beginner. The bluffer may reraise you with nothing and without a good read on him you are lost.
Posted Sat Jul 15, 2006 1:09 pm GMT by groton
why fold PAIR's
only if someone i see as tight raises a good amount will i ever fold a pair preflop
to many ways to make a monster hand.
Posted Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:45 pm GMT by ToyMachine22122
Depends on the comparison of the blind cost to your chip stack. If you're up, I'd play em, just to see what comes out on the flop. If nothing helps you on the flop I'd check/fold or, if there is 1 or 0 cards that are a 10 or higher I might decide to bluff (ex a flop of 5 9 2 with pocket 7's).
If you're down, fold low pocket pairs, but try to play middle pocket pairs like 7, 8, and 9 if nobody raises before you.
As for suited hands, I personally play any that contain a Jack or above, and play some that contain a high card of 10. That's mainly because I hate to miss out on any flushes I could have caught, and they happen often enough to be worth it to me. It's kind of an advantage because a lot of people will fold hands like Queen/5 suited, and so there's a good chance (especially if there are 6 or less people at your table) that if you've got like Jack/6 suited you've got the highest flush.
For suited connectors, I pretty much follow the same rule as for a regular suited hand. Mainly because I have bad luck with straights and, for some reason, I catch many more flushes than I do straights. I think the last game I played I caught 4 flushes plus 1 that I would have caught if I hadn't folded PF, but the whole time I caught only 1 straight.
Posted Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:37 am GMT by shorn7
| Quote: | If you're up, I'd play em, just to see what comes out on the flop. If nothing helps you on the flop I'd check/fold or, if there is 1 or 0 cards that are a 10 or higher I might decide to bluff (ex a flop of 5 9 2 with pocket 7's).
If you're down, fold low pocket pairs |
This doesn't make sense. You should never play a hand or not play a hand based on how you are doing in a session. The cards coming up now have no memory, so what has happened in the past is irrelevant to right now. Make good decisions at every point in every hand...that is the goal.
The key decision for whether to play small/medium pairs involves the players already in the hand, how deep they are, if it has been raised, your position, and who is left to act behind you. As a general rule, these hands are big money makers in NL and should most often be played for up to 1 raise assuming that the raiser and you are both deep enough to make it profitable (say at least 20x the current bet or up to 5% of your stack...in more than 10% of your stack, u generally should fold the lower part of the range 22-88, and in between 5-10% it is a judgement call). Exceptions would be if there was a loose re-raiser behind you that could come over the top and push you out of the pot, I might tend to let some of these go (and look for a better table/seat).
Always look at stack sizes before deciding to play these hands for a raise. Sometimes even if you do flop your set and take the raiser's stack, it isn't enough to compensate for all the times you call and miss, so be careful with them.
Posted Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:55 pm GMT by Ryan_j37
small pocket pairs are a absolute goldmine in low stakes NL. Its so easy to stack ppl when you flop a set. Some fool with top pair will almost always pay you off. The implied odds are definetly their to make them profitable.
Posted Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:17 pm GMT by 72o
If there are three or more players in the pot its not likely that a pair of sixes holds up. For example, if three players called the BB in front of you preflop its not very likely that a raise will scare them away. Many players call even a raise to 5xBB preflop once they decided to play their hand. If you raise 55 to 5xBB in this situation you have to expect to get called by two or more players. And if you make a huge bet or even go all-in to scare even the loosest player off you are in danger to go broke. So its better to throw a 55 away.
There are many situations where a small pocket pair can get you into lots of trouble.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:56 am GMT by Ryan_j37
| 72o wrote: |
If there are three or more players in the pot its not likely that a pair of sixes holds up. For example, if three players called the BB in front of you preflop its not very likely that a raise will scare them away. Many players call even a raise to 5xBB preflop once they decided to play their hand. If you raise 55 to 5xBB in this situation you have to expect to get called by two or more players. And if you make a huge bet or even go all-in to scare even the loosest player off you are in danger to go broke. So its better to throw a 55 away.
There are many situations where a small pocket pair can get you into lots of trouble. |
The more players in the pot the better when you hold low pocket pairs. Its all about implied odds. Its very easy to stack ppl when you hit a low set, theyl never see it coming. they are also very easy to get away from when you dont hit. Imo its always profitable to limp/ call a small raise if you hold low pocket pairs as the implied odds are definetly there. Keep in mind im talking about low stakes NL. If your talking about a different game i apologize. Also the chance of getting a flush is so low Suited cards should be played the same as their not suited conterparts.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:06 am GMT by UtrechtSlim
A 3BB/4BB preflop raise usually indicates high cards like AK, AQ, AJ, KQ. I usually call these bets with a low pocket pair. If a low flop comes, the bettor will have missed it and I am likely still the favourite. Of course when I am holding 44 what I really hope for is a flop like AK4. Ive won huge pots on these moves, although I admit ultratight players would dismiss this strategy.
|
|
