First I want to thank everyone for the replies to my previous question. I've learned quite a bit from just that one post... so... many thanks for the replies.

One thing that I have noticed. I seem to be folding quite a few of the Pocket Pairs that I have when I am in the SB. Especially 22 - 88. This also applies to the suited connectors that I am dealt. I'm thinking this is a fairly serious leak that I have... just don't know what my leaks are... (got that from the stickies... so that lets you know I've been doing my homework)

My thinking is...

for example... if I have 22 in the small blind and it is raised in EARLY/MIDDLE POSITION prior to me... I have to call 1.5 small bets to continue. Folding doesn't seem like the correct play. The problem is... I don't know why that is the incorrect play. One a side note... is folding Pocket Pairs in the SB the wrong play? I can see folding to a 3bet or cap.. but not to just a raise.

I've been searching the forms for something similar to this, just haven't found anything.

Looking forward to the replies and learning something new.

Thanks...

When one player has raised and it's folded to you in the SB I would recommend either raising or folding; never calling. Sure, there might be a few hands that you can profitably call in the SB in your current games, but in general it's exploitable by really good players. This is because the BB is getting great pot odds to overcall, while your preflop admission of weakness allows the preflop raiser to c-bet frequently on the postflop streets and put you under pressure. In that case you're really not getting the implied odds to hit a set, and the reverse implied odds are huge.

It depends on the position and tightness of the open-raiser but I might for instance raise pocket pairs sixes and above and fold the rest.

+1

I'm afraid that playing small/mid PP's in SB is not as simplistic as the example in your post suggests despite the "discount" you are getting. Whether to play them depends a lot on where the raise came from, how many players have already entered the pot (either before or after the raise) and how tight/loose and passive/aggressive the game is. Generally speaking, you want to be sure of multiway action with small pairs given that you will be in the worst position postflop with a very vulnerable hand. Basically you are looking to flop a set or better. As you will only flop a set on average once in every seven attempts, they play better in loose and somewhat aggressive games. These conditions will put you in good stead to make a lot of money if you flop a set or better.

In this case I'd snap fold 22. When deciding whether to 3 bet or fold(as phil correctly advised) you need to consider what the bottom of the raisers pocket pair range is, and whether or not he's pocket pair heavy. Against a standard tag range from 5 off the button, I'd expect him to have 77+ and a decent amount of broadway combos, so I'd be 3 betting 99+ hoping to get the pot heads up. If he's pocket pair heavy then I'd tighten up because there are less hands in his range that I beat. If he likes to cap, that's another reason to tighten up. If he's broadway combo heavy then that's a reason to loosen up.

Postflop, if I have the initiative and it's heads up I'll be looking to bet fold or bet call depending on the board. Even if he's bluff raising some but not too much, then bet folding is still the play. If he's bluff raising too much then you're going to get owned if you c bet fold the flop and turn a lot, so you need to tighten up your value bets and always bet call. This read takes a while to develop and relies heavily on gameflow. Now what to do on the turn when your flop bet gets called and your hand is a bluffcatcher is another problem. If you're betting all of your value hands on the turn then your checking range is only draws and bluffcatchers, which is easy to play against. If your opponent is bad then this isn't a concern, but if he's good he can value bet the turn knowing that you'll never raise. Can you see the solution?

If there's an open raise and folded to me, my standard line would be to rr with 66+. I'd be more liberal with the 3!s when the raiser is in late position. Coldcalling to hope and flop a set 2-3ways is not a good ideasince you don't get the odds you need for that. Better to raise, get it HU and create some fold equity if you wanna play. I don't mind CCing if there are a few limpers/coldcallers in the pot as well.

This for 6max anyway.

ETA: Obv this is also very dependent on who raised and what I know about him/her.

I think this is actually the most important factor in whether I'm raising or folding. When a player opens UTG who I know as very tight player who tends to play a pretty polarized range UTG, I'll 3! just about any PP (I always ditch 2's; why? IDK. I hate 22.) just because I have a decent understanding of what they're raising range is UTG. I can then play each street accordingly. Conversely, if there's a laggy player opening UTG, I understand his raising range could be very wide. I'd tend to raise for value more here. Probably 10's+.

OTOH, if UTG opens the pot with a raise and there is one or more CC'er, I'll call as well with any PP. I think implied odds are favorable if you flop a set or better, though I might be wrong with my terminology and logic (which is frequently the case). And as with any small PP, it's easy to ditch on a totally whiffed flop. In this same instance, though, 10's and up are still getting 3!.

In this situation I'm not crazy about calling from the small blind because you will be out of position post flop with an under pair. If the villain has a wide range maybe I might 3bet and wait for the flop. If the BB and the original raiser both call I would check fold unless I hit a set. If it is just me and the original raiser and he does have a wide raising range I guess I would probably bet each street unless he raises or donks the turn or river then I would likely fold.

What's the opener's range here? That really matters. (And are we playing 6-max, nine-handed, or what?) And how tight or loose is the BB?

In general, unless you are reacting to specific tendencies of the opener and possibly the BB, you should be playing raise-or-fold from the SB for the reasons philnewall gave. What hands should you be raising with, then?

If we can get the BB to fold, then we are getting a bit of overlay from their dead money. We're laying 2.5 bets to win the 4.5 bets in the rest of the pot (the opener is not going to fold, and if they do, all the more reason to 3-bet). We only need 35% equity to turn a profit.

In reality, sometimes the big blind is going to call or four-bet, and sometimes the opener is going to four-bet; and we are going to be out of position for the rest of the hand. Moreover, equity arguments work best when we are showdown-bound.

I think a cutoff of 45% equity is a good one here. The possibility of dead money from the big blind is certainly worth something.

So take some time out with Poker Stove, Equilab, PkrCruncher on your phone, or whatever, and see how various pocket pairs fare equity-wise against various opening ranges. I'd try ranges of 5% through 40% at 5% increments, and for each of these, find the smallest pocket pair that has 45% equity against that range. (It's instructive to do the same with other sorts of hands, e.g. offsuit A-X, suited K-X, and so forth.) Put the result on a sticky that you can keep by your online gaming setup.

Even if you don't put up a sticky by your monitor, doing this will help you get a feel for what sort of range you want to defend the SB against what sort of player. You are going to pay differently versus a loose opener in the CO than you are when a nit opens UTG in a 9-handed game.

ETA: Watch out when you do this equity calc for suited connectors! They don't play well out of position unless they have high card value as well. Suited AK will often win unimproved, while suited T9 has to hit to win, and it is tough to leverage those implied odds when OOP.

Well said by AlanBostick, but I'd like to add that looking at pure equity (since it assumes AI before the flop) is simplifying it a bit imo. The bigger part of most raisers hands are made up of non-pair hands such as AT, KJ, KT QJ A8s etc who all have 6 outs to beat our 66 and we all know how hard it is to hit the flop. Those hands are going to have a hard time to continue on many flops and will fold incorrectly with f ex KJ on an Axx flop or AT on a Qxx board. Just a couple of more cents... :P