Low Pocket Pair Strategy
When you’re playing a ring table game and you’re dealt low pocket pairs it can become a tough decision on how you should play them. For the sake of this article we’re going to define a low pocket pair as anything 7’s and lower. The problem with low pocket pairs is that you don’t have many options to make a hand except a set generally and if you don’t hit your set then chances are an opponent has a better pair. You can lose a lot of chips and get in a lot of trouble by playing low pocket pairs and we’re going to look at some tips you can use to assist you in your decision.
One strategy you can use when you get dealt low pocket pairs is playing them slowly and limping preflop to see if you make your set. Generally if you don’t make a set and the board has three over cards then you’d fold to the first bet after the flop. If you do make a set though then your hand is going to be very well disguised and you should be able to get paid off nicely with it. If you do get your set then make sure you don’t slow play them too much because you can get caught losing to a straight or flush if you’re not paying attention. This is the strategy that I generally use when playing low pocket pairs in a ring table game. If the pot is raised preflop then I generally will fold if it’s a raise larger then 3x the big blind and if it’s a tight player I usually just fold outright to any raise.
A strategy that some players use is to come out strong preflop with a raise to try and win the pot then or at least make most of the table fold when learn texas holdem. If you do this though and the flop comes with three over cards you’re going to be lost in the hand. Most players will say you should come out firing with a continuation bet which you almost have to do in this situation and if you’re called or raised you’re most likely in trouble. The problem with doing this is that even if you fold to a raise you’ve already lost quite a few chips in the pot. The chances of hitting a set aren’t the greatest preflop and you don’t have many other options to win the pot which is why I don’t like this strategy of playing low pockets strongly.
If you’re going to choose between the two strategies above then I suggest picking the first one because it’s much safer. You’re not going to win with low pocket pairs very often unless you hit your hand which is why I suggest limping with them to see if you hit. If you don’t hit then you only lose the big blind that you called preflop which isn’t that bad. If you play them strongly and don’t bluff your way out of the pot, then you’re going to lose a lot more then the initial big blind. You don’t need to play every pocket pair you’re dealt either, you can always fold them a few times when out of position or facing a raise.
