Small Pocket Pairs Pre Flop

Playing small pocket pairs before the flop can be an interesting challenge. You may actually have the hand that would win if there was a show down right then, before the flop. The game of Texas Holdem does not work that way, however.

Deuces through Sixes

Almost the only chance that you have to win with a pair of pocket 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s, is for your hand to improve. The main way that your hand can improve is by making a set or quads when the community cards start to come out. With your small pocket pair, that will leave you with 2 outs. With 50 unknown cards still in the deck, then you have 2 out of 50 chances to make your set. Since 3 cards come out on the flop, your odds of hitting a set are better than 2 to 1, but they are still better than 8 to 1 that you will not hit your set on the flop. If you make the decision to play your small pocket pair, then you need to be prepared to throw you hand away if you do not hit it on the flop. Chasing the set on through the turn and the river can become very costly, and is not a good investment.

Sevens through Jacks

Pocket 7s, pocket 8s, pocket 9s, pocket 10s, and pocket jacks are middle pocket pairs. These hands are better than the small pocket pairs in that they have a better chance of being able to win without improvement than the small pairs have. You are going to raise before the flop with one of these middle pocket pairs, but you are still going to be ready to fold your hand if things do not look too good on the flop or on later streets.

Aces Kings and Queens

These are the top 3 starting hands in the game of Texas Holdem poker. You must play these hands with the strength that they deserve. These 3 starting hands can conceivably win even if they do not improve. On later streets, this hand may not look as promising as it looks right now, but that it a decision for another time. As it stands right now, you probably have the best hand at the table and you need to play it as if you do. With this kind of a hand, you are not really looking for someone to trap.

The hands that you are the safest drawing against are the stronger ones pre flop, so those players will probably call your betting action and the more speculative draws will fold. This is exactly the way that you want it to happen. A player may think that having an ace and a king as starting cards is a really good hand, but this hand is completely dominated by a pair of pocket aces. You have more to fear, when you have pocket aces, pocket kings, or pocket queens, from the more speculative hands like middle suited connectors with their combo draw potential.