Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:36 am GMT by Oasis
Hey gang,
What's the best way to play a small pocket pair that matches the lowest card on the flop? If I’m in position I’ll normally limp through with a small pocket pair to see the flop. If I don't hit anything I’ll check/fold.
I'm talking limit games here, and finding it so hard to scare people out of the pot due to this. Players just end up calling and calling and calling... and eventually I get out drawn out on the river or something ridiculous like that. I'm playing the low stake games and sometimes I feel it's impossible to play good poker against some of the players here.
This has happened several times tonight, so any tips would be appreciated greatly.
Cheers.
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Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:41 pm GMT by UrAteUp
Switch to NL...thats the best advice I have to offer. Because if I comment anything about pot sized bets on the flop...then people will say I misread the post again. So since I caught this one as a LIMIT hand...I really have no comment other then switch to NL where you can pot bet and get some good money out of your set.... 
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:49 pm GMT by vyni
That's all you can really do in limit, raise what you can, hoping someone hit the top pair and tries to reraise. If the put together a straight or flush... or a higher set... just watch the board and keep pressing. So long as there's not 4 suited on the board (3 scarry too, but not enough to fold a set) or the makings of a straight. If they hit, well that's poker.
Limit allows you to hang on longer with weaker hands, but can really restrain pots on your monster hands 
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:54 pm GMT by Dave B
Unless you are against a bigger set, you WANT as MANY people as possible to chase your set. You will win 75% against a flush draw (instead of 64% if you had top pair vs a draw). Also, if you are lucky enough to make a boat when they make their flush/str8, then you will REALLY get paid off.
Sure, you will have bad runs where 2-3 sets in a row get sucked out, but in the long run, these hands play off BIG TIME.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:25 pm GMT by xDiamond_CutteRx
OK, I'll give you one example of how I might play 55 from the button.
Say 3 people limp in to me, I call, and both the blinds come in. That puts 6 small bets in the pot total.
The flop comes Q-T-5 with the Q  and the 5 . The SB and BB check, and the UTG player bets. If the other two players call, I would probably just call here. Let's say both the blinds fold. There's 10 small bets, or 5 big bets in the pot now.
The turn comes a blank, say an offsuit 3. If the action goes the same again, bet-call-call, I would definitely raise here, or re-raise if it's been raised before you. Your hope here is either to build a bigger pot and win the majority of the time, or you force the UTG to re-raise with something like top pair, to give the other players poor odds at drawing at their flush and straight draws (at this point, there are 12 big bets in there, and having to call 2 more, they would still be getting odds, but not as good of odds as if they had to call only one bet).
The river should play itself. If the river comes a blank, bet and raise. If the board pairs, bet and raise. If the flop comes with a , 9, J, K, or A, you should probably just call one bet or check if it's checked to you. If it gets to be 2 or 3 bets before you, consider folding (if say the K comes and there's a bet and 2 raises before you, this is an easy fold).
With most sets, top, bottom, or whatever, your goal is just to get as much money in there as possible, because set over set confrontations are quite uncommon.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:27 pm GMT by JonnyBoy
Dave hit it. I'll add that most of the time when you flop a set with calling stations, check raise the turn especially if you are in early position. That will usually thin the field to the river.
BTY, "Trips" are one hole card with a pair on the board, a "Set" is a pair in the hole and the other card on the board.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:09 pm GMT by Oasis
Diamond, I basically play them like that also. However, most players at the micro levels don't care about pot odds and push and push. Maybe I just had a string of bad luck and all those backdoor flushes and gutshot draws hit on river.
Bleh. Wasn't a good night last night.
| Quote: | | really have no comment other then switch to NL |
Hehe, yeah I want to get started with some NL games and make the switch from limit but still not as confident as I think I should be. I'm currently reading Super System so we'll see shortly. Limit is too mechanical and I feel as though I can't take control of the game. He is a very aggressive player and that probably got me more worked up because after reading some of the things he described (typically for NL play) I tried this approach in my limit game. Bad idea.
Thanks for the replies.
Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:14 pm GMT by xDiamond_CutteRx
If you want to play a better Limit game, try Stud or Stud 8-or-Better.
The more players chasing, like Dave said, the better. If they don't want to play with the odds, good for them. It's more money in your pocket.
Don't listen to UrAteUp about NL. It is not necessarily an easier game, and has both pros and cons as compared to limit.
Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:29 am GMT by arras
| xDiamond_CutteRx wrote: |
Don't listen to UrAteUp about NL. |
...or about limit
Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:52 pm GMT by mortaleclipse
| xDiamond_CutteRx wrote: | | set over set confrontations are quite uncommon. |
hmm I would disagree.
Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:31 pm GMT by xDiamond_CutteRx
| mortaleclipse wrote: | | xDiamond_CutteRx wrote: | | set over set confrontations are quite uncommon. |
hmm I would disagree. |
You don't count less than 2% of the time as uncommon?
Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:00 pm GMT by Jefecaminador
This is the same guy that says calling a 10xBB raise preflop with 54 a good move.
Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:52 am GMT by mindgame
Limit is my game. You flop a set, even if it's low, and you take every bet and every raise you can. Maybe four hearts hit the board on the river, you slow down. That hand isn't good enough to slow-play in limit, but it's a big winner most of the time. Jam the money in.
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