da pairs

[scotnt73]

Maybe this is a fishy question. Is it ok to play any pair as long as im willing to get away from it if i dont flop something? Does position matter if i have 22 and im out if i dont flop a set?

[Gomez22]

You're really stirring the cauldron with this one......

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It depends...... what's the table like? Are there any aggressive players still to act behind you? What kind of position do you have? Especially on the aggressives..... How well do you paly post-flop?

If you play extremely well post-flop, then I would say you can play any pair from anyplace (Some people here are gonna beat me down for this)......

If there are aggressive players still to act behind, I would say it kinda depends on how many limpers are in front......

I USED to play any paired hand from anyplace, but now I don't...... Just found that unless I flopped a set, I was dead in the water, and so were the bet(s) I had already put into the pot...... I used to be over-aggressive, trying to tame it down a little.

If it's a loose table, try it and see what happens. At a tight table, I would be more inclined to only limp with 66 or better from EP, 55 or better from MP, and maybe any PP in LP......

It all depends on reads and post-flop play, IMO.....

[Brian]

Hi scotnt,

I disagree with Gomez in that I don't think that how well you play post-Flop really factors into whether or not you play these. About 95% of the time you are folding them if you don't Flop a Set. The main focus of whether or not you play them is the type of table you are at.

UTG, you should normally be folding pocket pairs below 77 unless the table is loose. You'd prefer a loose-passive table when you play these sorts of hands, but not so passive that they won't pay you off when you hit your set. This type of hand thrives on implied odds, so you want to be relatively sure that you won't be raised before the Flop and that you'll have plenty of other people in the hand with you. Generally at the tables I play at, the players either aren't loose enough for me to limp with small pocket pairs UTG, or I will be isolated by a raise too often to make playing them UTG worthwhile.

In EP, I treat them the same as if I were UTG if there weren't any limpers before me. However, I almost always limp with them after a limper, because usually you'll get the odds you need to Flop your Set. When 2 people limp in from EP, even at a relatively tight table, this will encourage more to limp after you with hands they would normally fold. And, worst case scenario is that the player to your immediate left raises, knocks everyone else out but you and the original limper, and you'll be getting 7.5:2 to Flop your Set. Not the best, but not bad for a worst case scenario.

I treat MP the same as EP.

In LP, I will generally fold them if there has only been 1 limper to me. However, 2 or more limpers and you are good to go.

I almost always complete with them from the SB.

As far as playing a pair to a raise, do it only when enough people have already cold-called the raise, or will call after limping, to give you the odds you need to make your Set.

-Brian