Low Poket Pair Odds

[TheDudeChad]

Two words: Implied odds

When you flop a set, you can make a TON of money. You will get almost unlimited action from anyone with top pair or if your lucky, someone who caught two pair. When you have this situation, you can expect double your money by the end of the hand

These implied odds make the call preflop very justifiable, even if the pot odds aren't.

I love playing pocket pairs. Another reason is because when the flop is low and you have an overpair. Ie. you have 77 and the board is 652. People with A high will call your bets because they can't figure out what you called with that is that low. They are very deceiving.

[salt_bagel]

Sorry to jump into a big discussion with my first post, but this is a neat topic.

I love low pocket pairs because you can play them on either end of the spectrum, depending on position and your opposition. Any pocket pair is a favorite preflop over any non-pair, and you can outrace any one other person (in no-limit). In some cases against the right type of player I will reraise a pocket pair if I think they are coming with AJ or A10. Reason being I get the option of trapping them after the flop or getting a free card, especially if the flop comes junk. Mind you, this is only if I'm isolated in a high limit game. You can sometimes win bluffing at the pot in later rounds also if someone puts you on a high pair.

I think the problem everyone has with pocket pairs is bettability after the flop when overcards come. I think your money and your moves have to be made preflop with a low pair, because you get frozen unless you hit your set. But in the right situation, you can make yourself comfortable.

The math that comes into play is as follows:
For any particular card on the flop, chance of someone else having it is:
23% with 2 players
35% with 3 players
and up.

But also take into account what others might be calling and raising with, and you can eliminate a lot of numbers. As you might realize, loose players will eat up your pocket pairs, but aggressive, tight players can be had if you set them up.

[BMiller1980]

Fold low pocket pairs when you are in early position. You can get in trouble quickly if you face a couple of raises. The only exception is if you are playing a game where there arent many preflop raises. If you do call in early position, don't be afraid to fold if you face a big raise in a no limit game, or a couple of raises in a fixed limit game.

[Jables]

With a low pocket pair I will alwalys limp in to see the flop. If there is a raise I will most likely fold, and a re-raise is an automatic fold. If I don't get a set on the flop I will usually check/fold unless the betting is cheap.

[Ciso_B]

I will play any pocket pair, providing there are no raises too agressive..chances are my opponent has a higher pocket.

A good thing about pocket pairs are that when you make your set, its difficult for your opponents to read that you have, also if you raise a bit pre flop and overcards come, you can take a stab at it..The table may think you hit and you can maybe steal the pot (providing everyone checked, and preferably few people at flop)..If you are raised then you can release it anyway.

Just my thoughts on pocket pairs.

[sp3tz]

You have to also take into account implied odds and the type of game you're playing. If I'm playing NL and no heavy raising and re-raising has been going on(especially from tight players) I'll call and see the flop. If I miss, I'm out. If I hit it I'm going to bet it, it's that simple. I love low pocket pairs simply because from my experience I usually win alot or lose peanuts. In limit poker I'll almost always go in with them and pray to hit my set, because where I play the 5 or so fish that usually play at a table, call any bets down to the river

[zeroswarm]

Well I havent been keeping any records but I reckon I only see the flop with a low pocket pair about 60% of the time. Obviously I would like to see it EVERY time but as I'm playing in NL tournaments theres often lots of preflop action which I do not really want to get heavily involved in with a hand like 3 3 or something.

Moving half your chips in to the middle with a low pair preflop would be like raising a loaded gun to your own head. You might not be immediately dead but one twitch and your surely in trouble.

[PokerStudent]

If you trust calculators you should consider a number of factors such as a number of players in the pot, current pot, future contribution to the pot, etc. Below is an example of calculations for 2c 2s pair with current pot 40 and expected future contribution by each player 70.

As you may see the bet depends on the number of people in the pot


N of pl.| Odds Call/Fold/Raise
_______________________________
2 | 50.2% or 1.01:1 raise
3 | 30.6% or 1: 2.27 call
4 | 22.0% or 1: 3.55 call
5 | 17.8% or 1: 4.62 fold
6 | 15.5% or 1: 5.45 call
7 | 14.1% or 1: 6.09 call
8 | 13.3% or 1: 6.52 raise
9 | 12.5% or 1: 7.00 raise
10 | 12.0% or 1: 7.33 raise