When you get two cards of the same ranking in poker, like 5-5 or K-K, they are known as pocket pairs. Pocket pairs are one of the most powerful pairs you can get in poker.. There are many things you need to know about pairs and how to play them to excel in poker.
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Types of Pocket Pairs
There are three categories of pocket pairs in poker: Premium Pairs, Medium Pairs, and Small Pairs. Premium pairs have higher odds of winning than medium, and small pairs.
Premium Pairs – Pairs with the same high-ranking cards like Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks are called Premium Pairs.
- A-A
- K-K
- Q-Q
- J-J
These premium pairs are strong starting hands and are best irrespective of your position pre-flop. You can easily 4-bet to a preflop aggressor with A-K or smaller pocket pair.
It’s generally recommended to 3-bet your premium pocket pairs and reduce the number of players and get to the flop heads-up. No one wants to play against 3 players in post-flop.
Raise and re-raise more with premium pairs to extract value and reduce the number of opponents. Even with a hand like QQ, try to reduce players and get to the flop heads-up.
Medium Paris – Pairs with the same medium rank cards like 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, and 6-6 are called medium pairs.
- 10-10
- 9-9
- 8-8
- 7-7
- 6-6
To maximize value with medium poker pairs, focus on flopping a set since you have over 10-11% chance of hitting a set on the flop with medium pairs. Don’t hesitate to call in an early position and consider raising with these hands in a late position to narrow the field.
Small Pairs – Pairs with the same lowest rank cards like 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, and 2-2 are called small pairs.
- 5-5
- 4-4
- 3-3
- 2-2
Small pairs may look like nice starting hands but I will recommend you to dump most of them in an early position. They may seem tempting but fold them in an early position to avoid trouble post-flop. Yes, hands like 2-2 to 5-5 should be folded after a raise from any late position.
You can consider raising with small pocket pairs in late positions, but make big raises to intimidate opponents with marginal hands and make them fold their hands to gain value.
You can call pre-flop in a late position with your small pairs like 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 hopping for a set-mining. But these hands don’t seem to fare well post-flop.
What Are The Odds of Being Dealt Pocket Pairs
In case you play online poker, the odds of getting these pairs are much higher than normal. In reality, your odds of being dealt with any pocket pairs is just 5.9%, with A-A just 0.45%, J-J to A-A, 1.8%, and 8-8 to A-A being 3.2%
Tips to Play Pocket Pairs
Here are 2 tips on how to play your pocket pairs and what to consider before playing the pocket pairs.
1 – Stack Size Matters
Your chip stack size matters on the table, and it also impacts your gameplay. You should avoid raising with small pairs (2-2 to 5-5), specifically in early position.
For instance, if you hold the chip lead, it’s advisable to fold small pairs in an early position. However, if you have a short stack of 5-10 bigs and you are first to act, you can go for all-in in an early position with the intention of set-mining.
2 – Position
Position doesn’t matter with Premium pairs, but it matters when you hold lower pairs. It’s recommended that you don’t raise in an early position with small pairs like 3-3. Since you don’t have enough information about your opponents in an early position, It can be costly for you because you might face a re-raise from your opponent at the table.
However, you are seated on the button, you can call an open raise even with the lowest pair.
It can be beneficial as you are the last one to act in the pre-flop. You can even call the big blind if the price is right for you, and not humongous for your small pairs. If the big blind is known for squeeze play and forcing players to fold, you should avoid calling from the small blind position.
3 – Your opponents
You should read your opponents when playing pocket pairs. If your opponent is passive and calls a lot of raises, you may slow down with your large pre-flop raises with medium pairs. However, if they often tend to fold against a lot of late position raises, you can go for 3-bets with small pairs.
If your opponent is playing aggressively with marginal hands, you can play more low pairs in an attempt to set-mine and gain value. Your implied odds are set to go up when facing an aggressive player, or an opponent who plays a lot of hands. If you connect, you may secure a nice payday.
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