Intermediate Pocket Pairs in No-Limit Hold’em

I am going to arbitrarily define an intermediate pocket pair (IPP) as a pair smaller than jacks that is more likely to make middle set than bottom set. Let’s use tens down to sevens as the zone that we are discussing. These pairs have some chance to be an overpair on the flop, but are a decided underdog to do so. Furthermore, when they are an overpair, they still can be a shaky hand. First, there is a decent chance that someone will have a bigger overpair, especially if the pot has been raised preflop. Second, if there is no open pair on the flop, the rank of the boardcards is compressed into a smaller zone, meaning straights are a larger threat than usual, especially in an unraised pot. Third, when there is a smallish open pair on the flop when we have an overpair, we still have to worry about someone having trips.

All of these comments about having a flop that gives us an overpair to the board while still leaving us in a risky position show that we do not have the relative safety of a larger overpair, so the main value of the hand is being able to flop a set. However, we know that the chance of flopping a set is slightly worse than one out of eight times, so it is only the lure of a big payoff that brings us into the pot if an opponent’s preflop betting indicates a probable better hand.

Before I denigrate intermediate pocket pairs too much, let me say that they are an important hand in no-limit hold’em, because of their ability to double up your stack when hitting a set. These pairs are large enough that they can make middle set rather than bottom set. Even though set over set is rare, it is exactly this situation that gives you one of the most delightful scenarios in no-limit hold’em, doubling through someone at almost no risk of a drawout after the money goes in. Also among these highly desirable layouts is flopping a set when your opponent holds two big cards and flops top pair. You definitely want to see the flop with an IPP, which to me is a good reason in deep-stack games for limping in from up front, as opposed to open-raising.

As the number of opponents dwindles, the chance of winning the pot with less than top pair increases. After several opponents have folded, the attractiveness of open-raising (as opposed to limping) increases. If opening, I tend to raise with tens and nines from middle position, and go down to eights and sevens from the hijack position (two seats in front of the button). Good players are not in exact agreement about where the line for each particular hand should be drawn, but the general principles that I have outlined are part of mainstream poker theory.

What I have outlined above is mainly for deep-stack poker, especially in cash games. Tournament play is a horse of a different color; your typical stack-size ratio after a few rounds of play should be in the area of 10 to 30 times the big blind in chips. Even if you have more than this as a result of good fortune early on, an opponent is likely to be in the range of 10 to 30 that I mentioned, because the smaller stacks have come under pressure to play a pot. In these situations, moving in with an IPP is far better than blinding off your money without a fight. This is especially applicable if the tournament has reached the point where antes are being used to supplement the blinds.

If you do elect to open-raise with an IPP, I am of the opinion that you have to call an all-in reraise by a single opponent if you are getting odds of 2-1 or better on your money. For example, let’s suppose that you open for four times the big blind and someone moves in. There are 9.5 big blinds in the pot, not counting the reraised amount, so a reraise of 10 big blinds more (such as reraising a 4,000 wager to 14,000 all in) puts you in the position of needing to shut your eyes and call against any reasonably normal opponent. My experience is that the other player has a hand better than yours only around half the time, considering that any big ace figures to move in. For situations in which you are getting less than 2-1 odds, as occurs when the reraise is to more than 14 big blinds in the situation that we have been discussing, you can start taking into account factors such as whom you are facing and how he is playing.

Let’s suppose that in a tournament, you are not the opener; someone open-raises, and you have a short stack and hold an IPP. What are the guidelines that you should follow? The first one that I suggest is never to call if you are putting 20 percent or more of your stack in; either raise or fold. Trying to get a good flop to a pair is not a policy that will be profitable when you do not know what your opponent has. Too often, you will guess wrong, as your opponent has the initiative from his preflop raise and will probably force you to hit the flop. You may either fold the best hand or allow your opponent to see the flop and beat you when he would have folded to a reraise. What should your flop strategy be if you call instead of reraise all in? Do you try to flop an overpair and fold if unsuccessful? Good luck with those pocket eights. Do you put in all of your chips if you catch a flop with no ace and not more than one overcard? Having these requirements will still leave you vulnerable to an opponent who has a worse hand than yours before and on the flop, but bets a scary board and drives you out. In a tournament, a short stack will often play two deuces like two aces, out of desperation.

My preflop formula for an IPP is simple: A short stack bets all of his chips when he either thinks he is the favorite or is so low on ammo that there is no more wiggle room.

When is there no more wiggle room? Suppose that the structure is 500-1,000 blinds with a 100 ante, and you are playing eight-handed. In two more rounds (perhaps the average length of time that it will take you to find another spot to gamble), you will have put in 4,600 in blinds and antes. So, with 10 grand, if you dog it and have to wait two more rounds before gambling, even if you win, you will only get back to about where you are right now — which is in mortal danger.

When I have less than 10 times the big blind, I would rather take an IPP and play it for all of my chips than look for a better spot later. Even a tight player who raises the pot may have A-K or A-Q. In fact, even tight players feel the pressure of tournament situations and can be caught with less hand than you might think, especially if they are in fairly late position. It is far better to gamble that you will catch a player with a light hand, or draw out on someone, than put your faith into quickly finding a better spot for your chips. Don’t die without a fight!

To sum up, with an IPP, be conservative with a deep stack and aggressive with a small stack.

Bob Ciaffone has authored four poker books, Middle Limit Holdem Poker, Pot-limit and No-limit Poker, Improve Your Poker, and Omaha Poker. All can be ordered (autographed to you) from Bob by e-mail: [email protected]. Free U.S. shipping to Card Player readers. Ciaffone is available for poker lessons at a reasonable rate. His website is www.pokercoach.us, where you can get his rulebook, Robert’s Rules of Poker, for free. Bob also has a website called www.fairlawsonpoker.org.