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When to play pocket pairs When to play pocket pairs

09-07-2010 , 02:59 PM
Hi everyone, new to the forum.

Just wondering at what point would you fold a pocket pair re: value.
If you hit a set you may win big, but if you miss 4 times first,
even if you eventually hit, you could still be -50% in the process.

Thanks.

Clarification: weak/mid pocket pairs.
Really, I'm just concerned about the value of how many BB each is worth.

If I have early position, I will usually call BB and if I get raised well then...

Last edited by Ven; 09-07-2010 at 03:09 PM.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-07-2010 , 03:49 PM
09-07-2010 , 06:27 PM
Thanks for the reply Rusty.
I read the threads and figured out the 5-10% rule.

Then, not 10 minutes after that,
I was in a game and dealt pocket 6's.
Villain raise 12 BB's. I call (10% of my stack).

I flop a 6 and hit my set.
But no, he did not have AA/KK/QQ ... he flopped a nut flush.

Ouch.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-07-2010 , 06:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ven
Thanks for the reply Rusty.
I read the threads and figured out the 5-10% rule.

Then, not 10 minutes after that,
I was in a game and dealt pocket 6's.
Villain raise 12 BB's. I call (10% of my stack).

I flop a 6 and hit my set.
But no, he did not have AA/KK/QQ ... he flopped a nut flush.
Look through the first few pages of this forum, there is a post about playing a set on a 3-flush board.

I think 10% is not conservative enough, personally, unless you're playing people who will stack off pretty much every time you get there.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-07-2010 , 06:58 PM
I am reading it now.

Part of me wants to think that if he flopped nut flush, so be it.
And it's EV+ for me in the long run to shove these situations.

This hand was played a little differently.
(sorry I don't have the hand converter software)

Quick summary:
We both have good hands, his obvious better than mine.
It was a battle of sucker bets and checks.

I sucker bet the flop, he calls.
I check the turn, he checks also.

I sucker bet again, he raises but not a huge raise.
I raise again, he shoves I call.

Gah.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-07-2010 , 08:51 PM
Go with max 5% of your stack as a rule. Go to closer to 10% if two players (minimum one fish) are involved.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-08-2010 , 02:39 AM
for me its really player and position dependent, depending if the player is weak or strong. also sometimes if u call, player to your left may start calling because of "pot odds" which will create a huge pot. so when u hit means yum yum.

the thing is i don't see why people flat call a mid pp like 5 6 7 on a re raised pot, with like 3 players. hard to stack better players.
When to play pocket pairs Quote
09-09-2010 , 10:45 AM
Usually set mining isn't profitable.

The 5-10 rule is an old rule of thumb and is not so useful anymore.
A couple of years ago there were lots of full-ring nits who made a living just set-mining. If your opponent's pre-flop raising range is mostly big pocket pairs that will often flop overpairs to your set, you will be getting the money in post-flop when you do flop a set quite frequently.

But players have widened their pre-flop raising ranges, so set-miners will often make a set against 8-high, rather than an overpair, and make only a c-bet postflop rather than an entire stack. Also sets actually have less equity when they do get the money in, because they will often be up against big draws or better made hands, which have far more than the ~10% equity an overpair will generally have.

Set-mining is profitable only if you can earn on average at least 12 times the preflop bet you have to call when you hit your set and you win. Usually this isn't the case.

Last edited by xxl_w1; 09-09-2010 at 10:56 AM.
When to play pocket pairs Quote

      
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