Calling a flop bet with a small pocket pair

[sweetzer]

Odd how this thread deteriorated so quickly without the reasonable question of implied odds arising. At 17:1, if your bet closed the action on a 23:1 draw, implied odds should be considered, especially as in your example with a Ace on the flop, likely two players with Aces in their hands will take a turn raise to the showdown. One other sidelight of "taking one off" is that if you spike the turn, you will create a lot of grief and increased action for the remainder of the session. However, keeping the play of small pairs simple, flop a set or muck, will make your game a lot easier to play, especially when you start trying to stretch implied odds too much to fit a desire to "take one off".