Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnum1111
Small pairs should be folded up front. This is especially true if the game is at all aggressive and there has been any 3 betting going on.
Open limping is bad poker and you are just asking to be exploited by aggressive players.
Good, aggressive players will identify all open-limpers as fish and proceed accordingly. Do you want the other players to think you are a fish? Personally I raise 6x the bb + any limps when I am trying to hammer limpers. I got that technique from Sky Matsuhasha's blog and it works pretty well. It gets folds. Or what is your alternative, to call? Do you call 7x, out of position, heads up, and hope for an 11-1 shot. That's not a good way to make money in poker.
Pocket 5's is not +EV from early position. A fold is in order.
You should not raise and make the pot bigger with a hand that is -EV (unless you've got something else going for you, like position and/or fold equity or fish hunting). You especially shouldn't be doing this when you are so out of position.
Pocket 5's are ok to raise from late position when you have good fold equity versus the remaining opponents. What you are really hoping for is a fold or to get to the showdown cheap.
Limping behind is different from open limping. I would gladly limp behind, when in late position, with small pocket pairs. Same with completing the small blind in a limped pot and maybe calling a small raise from the bb depending upon the pot odds I am being given. Cold calling a raise with small pairs is usually, yuk. Maybe if it is already like 4 way when it gets to me I might throw in a couple chips to see the flop, but usually you are burning money by cold calling raises with small pairs - especially heads up and/or out of position.
GL Magnum
I agree with Magnum — generally.
However, small pairs when they flop a set are deceptive and can stack a preflop raiser with A-K or A-Q when you hit that 7.5-1 shot.
And if your potential return (implied odds) is greater than 7.5-1, it is worth a shot. Also if you miss your set with a small pair, it's an easy hand to get away from.
Sometimes a min-raise (3 or 4x) the BB in small or micro-stakes games will fend off a bigger raise and add to the deception of your hand. However, that is very exploitable and you are subject to a three-bet from an aware opponent.