Playing Small Pocket Pairs

[Insidestr8]

Speciosity raises the following question:

"I have a question...what is the proper way to play small pocket pairs ...say 2 to 5..? Speciosity"

I'll give you my thoughts on this and I invite others to share their thoughts, question my thoughts, etc.

Much depends on where I am in a tournament and my stack size, but my general default action lately is to try and see flops cheaply with small pocket pairs, so I'm usually going to limp in. With blinds small it doesn't cost me much to see if I can catch trips on the flop. If I catch my trips I'll try and maximize my payout and if I miss I'll likely get out of the hand cheaply.

What I almost never do is call a reasonable sized raise with small pockets. I think the odds of catching trips are about 1 in 10, so I don't see the point in calling a good pre-flop raise with small pockets if you're only counting on catching the flop. I'm a covservative player by nature, so if I miss my flop and am faced with 3 overcards after the flop, then I really don't like that position so I don't bother getting involved with the hand.

Now if you're in a mood to be more adventurous/imaginative, you can consider making a 3x or 4xraise with those pockets. But if you do this and you are called pre-flop, then I suggest betting on the flop regardless of what it is. If the thought is garbage, then there's a good chance your opponent missed the flop too so your bet may well take down the flop. If on the other hand the flop has an Ace, then the bet is still a good idea since your pre-flop raise will make your opponent think that you have a hand such as A-K or A-Q and if they just limped in pre-flop then hopefully they do not have a strong Ace themselves and will respect your bet enough to fold. There is of course risk in this type of play, so I'm personally not likely to do this early in a tournament.

What I do like to do with small pockets later in a tournament is to be aggressive with them pre-flop. Once the blinds are a fair size, and if you're only faced with limpers before you, then I like the idea of making a very large raise pre-flop with the small pockets. By very large raise I mean something that will take down the pot right there, or at worse get me one caller. By making the large bet first (and not calling the large bet) I will likely take down right there most times, and the times that I'm called, hopefully I'm in a coin flip against something like A-K to A-J. I am likely to make this move with either a small stack (since I'm willing to take the chance to double up), or with a large stack (since my exposure isn't that great). I'm less likelly to make a play like this with a medium stack since I have more time on my side and I may well wait for a better opportunity down the road.

I'm not sure if I've answered your question Spec, but I don't think there is a clear answer to your question so I'm just giving you some of my thoughts on how I approach this type of hand and I'm happy to carry on the discussion with you or anyone that wishes to jump in.

Str8

[Speciosity]

your thoughts are my thoughts..generaly. I would add something to the mix tho.
I believe that I am a conservative better. little pocket pairs scare me..lol.
But Chasers scare me even more.....I often dont have the courage to make
sizeable bets when known chasers are involved. In tourneys my main objective
is to make the final table.it is then that I often change the way iI play and
become aggresive. that is of course IF I have a sizeable stake.lol.... Speciosity