Low Pocket Pairs
When you play Texas Holdem on TitanPoker.com you’ll find out soon enough that you’ll get low pocket pairs fairly often and it’s important that you know how to play them. Low pocket pairs can definitely win you some money, but they can also lose you money if you’re not careful when playing them. In this article we’re going to look at some tips you can use when you have low pocket pairs so that you can maximize your earnings and minimize your losses on them.
Pre-Flop Tips
* In early position before the flop you probably won’t want to raise the pot with low pocket pairs unless you want to see where you stand in the hand although this isn’t always the best move. If you raise and happen to get re-raised then you’re going to be in a tough position and not have a clue where you stand in the hand.
* I recommend playing slowly in early position on Carbon Poker with low pocket pairs so you can try and see a cheap flop. If someone raises the pot then you need to determine whether you want to call although I normally don’t call more than 4-5x the big blind.
* If you’re grateful to be in late position with low pocket pairs then you’ll need to see what everyone does in front of you. Again I usually would fold low pockets in late position if there is a big raise in front of me that is more than 4-5x the big blind. If you have a couple players who called and no one raised then I would suggest trying to just call and seeing the flop cheap. If no payers in front of you called then you could try raising and taking the pot down right away.
After-Flop Tips
* The goal on the flop is to hit your set, but this doesn’t happen that often and if it doesn’t you’ll need to determine where you stand in the pot. If you did hit your trips then you should be in the lead in the pot and will need to determine what to do based on the other cards on the flop. If there are straight or flush draws then you’ll want to try and take the pot down immediately, but if the flop is a rainbow then you could try slow-playing the pot.
* If you don’t hit your set on the flop on pkr.com then low pocket pairs will usually be no good anymore because normally someone will hit a higher pair on the flop. I usually fold my low pocket pairs after the flop if I don’t hit my set because most of the time it doesn’t come after the flop and you will lose most pots with only one small pair.
As you can see I don’t think too strongly of low pocket pairs as I believe they cost players more money then make them money. Unless you’re using a PokerStars Cheat or are getting into the flop cheap then I don’t suggest playing low pocket pairs because if the set doesn’t come then you’re usually out of luck in the hand.