Playing the Small and Medium Pairs

Small and medium pairs create many tricky decisions in limit hold’em games. They demand taking many different approaches depending upon the volume and texture of the current situation. Plus, they’re a commonly dealt hand. You’ll be dealt wired deuces though sevens about 2.7 percent of the time, making how efficiently you play them critical to your overall poker results.

I picked up the 7 7 in second position in an eight-handed mostly loose-passive afternoon $40-80 limit hold’em game at the Bellagio. In similar spots I will often raise this holding when there is a high probability of winning the blinds or being able play short-handed against readable opponents. But in this texture of game, I limped, thinking that I was likely to be able to play the hand against a volume field. But the poker gods hoodwinked me. Only one player limped on the button, the small blind called and the big blind knuckled. We took the flop four-handed for one bet, not the way I had anticipated the hand playing out.

The way the hand played left me wishing I had raised, resulting in a thinner field or immediately picking up the blinds. But I was where I was, and there was no point in Monday morning quarterbacking myself now. I reflect on how a hand played after it’s over and try to learn from any mistaken thoughts I might have held. But that’s for later. While playing, I try not to let my mind wander so I can focus only on the moment. That said, the key word is try, my mind is not always cooperative.

The flop came J 4 2. Both blinds checked to me, and I fired a wager, Mr. Button raised me, the SB folded and Mr. BB called the raise cold. I was in a dangerous spot. If I was beat I had only two wins.
The pot was laying me 9-1, not nearly a good enough price to draw to a seven, one of which was the 7 and might just get me into trouble. That said, there was also a possibility that my hand could be good. The button was prone to raise in position for free cards and was also capable of bluffing. And Mr. BB didn’t have to have a jack or better to call the raise, he was likely to call with any pair, gutshot or backdoor draw. There was also a possibility I might also get a “two-for-one”

discount if Mr. BB held a jack and Mr. Button checked the turn. I took one off, knowing it was a marginal spot.

The turn card came the Q. Mr. BB led, I folded, and Mr. Button paid off the turn and river and I was shown the 10 3. I think Mr. Button likely held a jack and I was in the worst of all scenarios, already trailing and also facing a flush draw. I lost equity on the hand, although in different scenarios that would play identically, I might have made some.

Later in the same session, I picked up the 6 6 on the button. The field folded to a fellow to my immediate right who lives to rob blinds, who, unsurprisingly, raised it to $80. It was a ripe situation for me. Mr. Blind Robber’s range included many hands that possessed an undercard, as well as holdings that might even posses two undercards or a smaller pair. I slid in the three-bet of $120, the blinds folded, and Mr. Blind Robber called.

The flop came 10 5 4, Mr. Blind Robber checked to me, I bet, and he check-raised. I thought his range included any pair or better as well as a wide range of bluffs. I called, unsure of whether I would raise the turn or not.

The turn card came the 3, and Mr. Blind Robber wagered again. I thought about raising. But if I raised, he wouldn’t lay down a better hand. If he was bluffing, it would keep him from betting further. Mr. Blind Robber often kept bluffing on multiple streets. That said, there is value to raising if it folded him, thereby preventing him from drawing out. Was the equity of the potential extra bet worth assuming the risk of getting drawn out on? Other factors also existed, but I thought it was worth the risk. I just called.

The river came the Q and Mr. Blind Robber fired again. I called, and he showed me A 4, I turned over my sixes and stacked the pot.

These two examples speak to merely some of the tribulations of playing small pairs in an aggressive game. Every situation has its own unique qualities depending on its texture . Since pairs generally have two or fewer wins when beat, they are unlikely to suck out when beaten, limiting their value considerably. This fact tends to create tough decisions, causing me to sometimes fold winners and other times to pay off while drawing slim. Those are both extremely poor equity situations you should definitely seek to avoid.

Conceptually, medium pairs, and to a lesser extent small pairs, do well heads up against opponents whose postflop hand play is poor. In such situations you can obtain better value when you are good and get away from it more often when you’re not. Small and medium pairs also do well in volume pots with a cheap entry price, presenting the opportunity for acquiring hefty equity when you flop a set. Small pairs can also play well with position against an aggressive blind robber who is likely to have two overcards, though the value of that situation really depends on how well each of you play each other postflop. They do play very well against an opponent who has one overcard and one undercard. And, of course, all pairs play very poorly against a bigger pair.

You need to be situationally selective in your play of pairs. Try to avoid spots where you are forced into tough decisions. Try to analyze how the hand is likely to play and if there is a way in which you can play your pair profitably. And don’t overvalue them against two overcards. While they are about neutral running them “hot and cold,” they tend to play poorly against quality opponents who know how to extract more value from you than you do from them.

Take a look at your pair play. Are you finding yourself in a lot of difficult situations with them? Could some of the lost equity situations have been skillfully avoided? How you play these hands is often the difference in being a long-term winner or loser.

And winning is waaay more fun! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman in 1989. Should you wish to any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-396-6575 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You can also find him on Facebook.