Puny Pocket Pairs

We all love seeing pocket aces, kings, queens, and jacks. They are premium hands, but for every A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or J-J, we also get 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, and 2-2. These holdings may make us uneasy. They seem too good to throw away, but not nearly good enough to play. Correct play of these tricky hands can make a significant difference in our long-term profit.

Before discussing specific hands, let's review the general plan for puny pocket pairs. In a full game, you almost always should fold them unless you can get in for one bet with little chance of a raise behind you, or unless six or more players are in. Since for either of these things you must have very late position, you should fold these tiny pairs in early position. I know you remember when you limped in from under the gun with pocket threes (or maybe even open-raised), got a few callers, hit a 3 on the flop, and dragged a monster pot. These sorts of things are the optical illusions of poker; they look huge at the time, but they cover many small leaks.

Shorthanded play: These small pairs do go up in value when playing shorthanded. When you have only one opponent, a ready-made pair is reasonably powerful, and even against two players with overcards, your hand is very competitive.

The fact that your hand is a favorite does not make it easy to play, however. Overcards will usually flop, and if you do not flop a set, you will not really know if you have the best hand or not. In shorthanded situations, aggressive opponents will frequently bet whether they have hit the flop or not, giving you significant playing problems. No matter what you do, you will make mistakes, but using good judgment in playing these hands will result in a good long-term profit.

Let's take a look at some hands from actual play.

5-5 on the button: In a fourhanded $15-$30 game, my opponent has the 5 5 on the button and raises after the other player folds. The small blind folds, I call, and we see a flop of K 7 2. I check, and he bets. There are only two possible cards I can hold that will match the board and beat his fives, so he certainly figures to have the best hand. He is hoping I will fold, of course, but I call.

Interestingly, because there is no possible draw on the board, the chances that my call indicates a real hand have gone up a lot. I cannot have two overcards, and while I might be playing a hand like A-10 for value, I am more likely to give up with no pair and no draw. My opponent should therefore be concerned.

The turn is the J, and I check. He could check and see the river card for free, then call one bet on the river to see if I am bluffing. Or, he could try betting, to keep from giving me a free card in case I really do not have a pair yet. I think he should check here, planning to call one bet on the river, in case I have something like A-2. If he gets very lucky and hits a 5, he can surprise me with a raise.

At the table, the player did bet and I check-raised. Now what? Should he think I am bluffing some sort of straight draw? If I have a pair higher than his fives, he has almost no chance (22-to-1) to catch up. If I am on a draw with, say, Q-10 (would I really call the flop with this?), I still have 14 outs. Despite the small chance I am bluffing, I think he should fold. Had he checked, the same bet he just put in could have been used to see my hand and perhaps win the pot.

For the record, in real life, he called my raise and my bet on the river. I had flopped two pair with a K-7, so I won. I believe my opponent lost two large bets more than he should have.

3-3, hand No. 1: In a different $15-$30 game, again fourhanded, my opponent picks up the 3 3 in the big blind. After a fold, I raise from the button. Shorthanded, I will do this with a variety of hands, although I fold on the button far more than most shorthanded players. The small blind folds. My opponent, a true maniac in the big blind, reraises, and I call. In general, I think just calling from the big blind would be the preferred play.

The flop comes Q 9 8 . In the actual situation, the maniac bets, I raise, and he reraises. When the 5 comes on the turn, he bets again into this seemingly safe card, and I raise. I could be on a draw and be making another fancy raise, but I think this is the time to fold the baby pair. He has played strongly to this point; I have no way of knowing he does not have a real hand (a queen, for example), and I am still raising. Even if he does have the best hand, it is not a crime to fold once in a while. And the chances are excellent that he is behind. If he remains skeptical, he could call the raise and call the river.

For what it is worth, the maniac three-bet, and I capped it (online, we cannot go more bets, even heads up). The river was the 8, pairing the board, and he called my bet after checking. I had the 7 6 for a straight made on the turn. Sure, I got lucky, but I think my opponent put in far too much action. After my turn raise, if he thought I was bluffing, he simply should have called me down.

3-3, hand No. 2: This time I hold the small pair, 3-3, in the big blind, playing $30-$60. Everyone folds to the small blind, who raises. He is the type who raises from the small blind with a large variety of hands, many of which he would be correct to call or even fold. I think about reraising, but I just call.

The flop comes A 8 6, and he bets. I am not crazy about this flop, but it is far too early for me to consider giving up. A raise might not be a bad play here, because if he has a hand like K-J or Q-10, he will probably lay it down, and I would like that very much. I would not be sure I was beat if he reraised, though, and if he is bluffing, I would like him to bluff off more money. I call.

On the turn, the 6 pairs the board, and he bets again. This is a good card for me, because it cannot hurt. If he was ahead, he still is, but if he was behind, he certainly did not help. I call, hoping he is still bluffing and will give away more money on the river. In retrospect, I think I should have raised. My small pair is still vulnerable, and I would like to win the pot right now. If he plays back here, I will fold, but it is very hard for him to do that as a bluff.

The river is the K, making the board A 8 6 6 K and putting a possible flush out there, as well as an extra overcard. My opponent bets, and I have a difficult decision. The board certainly looks scary, but I decide this is a clear call. He is very unlikely to have a pretty good hand. Chances are excellent that he either has a monster (like a full house or a spade flush) or is bluffing. If he has a king, say, and just got lucky, he almost certainly would check (planning to call), because he cannot stand a raise. After all, I may have made a flush, or been slow-playing a big hand myself.

Well, we all know it is a lot easier to make nothing than a huge hand, so my call on the river is clear, even though the board has become frightening. I am getting 6-1 on the call, and he simply cannot have that many great hands.

I called and won, but since he mucked his cards without showing, I can't tell you what he had. Even though I won the extra bet, though, I still regret not raising the turn.

Wrapping it up: Small pairs are playable in shorthanded situations, but you need to be very careful with them. Look for chances to get away from your hand when you run into real pressure. Look for chances to play them aggressively early, to help you find out where you stand. And do not be afraid to make those occasional crying calls on the river, especially if your opponent keeps betting into very powerful boards. You will certainly lose your share of these showdowns, but if you have good judgment in these tricky situations, you will win enough to show a significant profit.