Back to Limit Hold'em - Playing Bottom Two Pair

I play mostly pot-limit poker nowadays. After having played limit hold'em professionally for about three years, the beautiful game of pot-limit Omaha came my way. I was fortunate enough to be very successful in it right from the beginning (winning a lot more than I was entitled to), and I put all of my energy into improving my game by thinking and analyzing – and practicing, of course. Nowadays, I play limit hold'em only when there's no pot-limit Omaha game available, or if the limit game looks better than the big-money game – which is hardly ever the case. However, unlike many other big-bet poker players who look down on limit hold'em (claiming it's a mechanical game, played by grinders trying to eke out a living), I still like the game. Even though I agree that big-bet poker requires a lot more skill than limit poker (in addition to discipline and patience to wait for the best hand, other poker skills like heart, courage, and playing the players are very important), limit hold'em requires a lot of skill, as well – even though it's on a different level.

In this column, I'll discuss a hand that can cause you quite a bit of trouble when playing limit hold'em: bottom two pair. While a lot has been written about playing big cards before and after the flop, there is not much information available regarding this complex hand. The information that is available regarding bottom two pair goes something like this: "When you flop bottom two pair, you should be very aggressive with your hand. You have to charge people to draw out on you and try to eliminate as many players as possible, because even though your hand is probably the best right now, it is still extremely vulnerable." If you ask any player how to play this type of hand, he probably will say, bet the hell out of it. I disagree.

You're in a standard $10-$20 hold'em game and you're on the button with the 10 8. Three people limp in, and you call, as well. Six players see the flop, K 10 8. The blinds check, and the under-the-gun player bets and gets called in two places. What should you do? According to common poker wisdom, you should raise, but I (respectfully) disagree. The problem for you is that many turn cards might cripple your hand. You don't want to see any ace, king, queen, jack, 9, or 7 come off the deck. Even though it is likely your hand is good right now (it would be fair to assume that the UTG player has top pair and a good kicker, A-K or K-Q, for example), what will raising accomplish for you? The callers (who are probably on some kind of straight draw) will simply call your raise (assuming the UTG player does not reraise; if he does, you may have to fear your bottom two pair might not be good after all). If the callers make their straight on the turn and bet, the pot is not big enough for you to call (you have a maximum of only four outs to improve to a full house), and your flop raise has cost you an extra small bet. My advice would be to simply call and see one more card before committing any further. If a dangerous card comes off, the action in front of you will dictate your course of action (raise/call/fold). If a safe card comes off, the UTG player will probably bet again, maybe one guy in the middle will call, and then you can raise. You're waiting one round before committing fully. Then, when you think you are still good on the turn, you make your opponents pay the maximum, giving them the worst possible odds in trying to improve. When you raise on the flop, you have to survive two cards to have your hand stand up, and investing too much on the flop will only entice your opponents to stay until the river – which is not what you want with a hand this vulnerable.

If you're a decent player, there are only two positions where you can flop bottom two pair: in the blinds or near the button. If you regularly play hands like 10-8, J-9, or 8-7 from early or middle position, you might want to take another look at your hand selection. However, you're very likely to come up with these hands in the blinds, especially in unraised pots. Let's take the same hand as before, the 10 8. You have called from the small blind, and once again six players see the flop, K 10 8. You might be tempted to go for the check-raise here; I know this would be the first thing I would consider with this hand and this flop. However, going for the check-raise is not automatic. If you figure the under-the-gun player has two big cards and is fairly aggressive, you might choose to bet out, hoping he will raise and thereby put a lot of pressure on the other players: They will have to call two bets cold (unlike situation No. 1, where they already had one bet in). On top of that, there is the danger to them that you might pop it again, so they will need a fairly strong hand to continue in the pot.

If you do decide to check on the flop rather than bet out (which would seem "natural," being in the blind), you do not necessarily have to raise right now. I would check-raise a bet only from late position (to try to force the other players out and play the hand heads up); if the UTG player is the first bettor and there are two or three callers when the action gets back to me, I will opt for the same play as in the first example: simply call to see the turn card cheaply. Once again, when a danger card comes on the turn, you will simply check and let the action behind you dictate your best course of action; if another king comes (counterfeiting your bottom two pair), you simply check and fold. If a small card comes, the UTG bettor will definitely bet again, maybe one or two people will call, and then you can raise, putting a lot of pressure on all remaining players. The UTG bettor will have a hard time calling your check-raise with just one pair, especially because he's sandwiched between you and the player(s) behind him, who might or might not call, as well. You now have gotten your money in as a big favorite, and you will need to survive only one more card (the infamous river card).

Bottom two pair is a difficult hand to play well, and requires a lot of "feel," judgment regarding possible future actions, and the ability to put your opponents on a hand. It's silly to invest a lot of money on the flop by raising when lots of turn cards will force you to lay down your hand, especially when some of your opponents already have put money in. This having been said, if it's possible to get the hand heads up against either top pair or some kind of straight draw, you should do everything you can to eliminate the other players, by betting the hell out of your hand (just as common wisdom says you should).