Poker News

Dr. Scott Aigner, M.D.

I first heard this saying from T.J. Cloutier. After a few confrontations with small pairs the reason this saying holds true became clear. Small pocket pairs are a slight favorite over two over cards but they are big dogs to over pairs. In no limit hold em tournaments there are a lot of all in confrontations between a pair vs. two over cards because of the stack size to blind ratio. Barry Greenstein went twenty out of twenty in coin toss situations when he won the 2004 World Poker Open $10,200 buy in WPT championship. Johnny Chan won twelve out of twelve at the final table when he won the 10k WSOP championship in 1987. Obviously there has to be times when playing those small favorites are imperative to your survival. So when should you race in a heads up situation and when should you let those small pairs go? Below are several small pair situations and a few variables to help guide you.

1. You raised and an opponent reraises all in which is double your raise. This is a coin toss if your opponent has two suited over cards. You are receiving 3 to 1 odds to call. An under pair is anywhere from 4.18 to a 4.5 under dog to an over pair (depending on suits). If you call you are not risking any more chips. With a small stack yourself, you are going to have to play as you committed yourself when you made the raise. The toughest decision is if you will be crippled should you lose. A Medium stack limits your ability to play the smaller pairs just for this reason.

2. Your opponent is short stacked and desperate. He has the blinds coming up quickly and has to make a move. I am willing to call with a smallpocket pair from the blinds. With money already in the pot, I am receiving a fair price to play. I also will call with an ace type hand which might be a 3 to 2 favorite. The concern with this type of hand is that your opponent has a bigger ace. Knowing your opponent as well as the odds you are receiving are important considerations. Against a bigger ace or a pair higher than my kicker, I will be a 3 to 1 dog. A call that will give me these odds is often worth while especially if elimination of the opponent will move me up the money ladder. It also is helpful to have a wheel card or to be suited when contemplating this call. One has to be careful here as doubling up an opponent might not be worth the risk if you are a medium stack. With a small stack myself, I might have to take the chance, especially when I am the big blind. In addition, short handed tables allow one to play smaller pairs preflop from an earlier position. With a big chip stack your raises will be respected as your opponents are afraid of elimination. If I face a reraise by an opponent who can cripple me I will fold those smaller pair even if I had raised. The key to getting to the top three is to play your position, opponents, and stack sizes. There is no need to risk elimination when there are players who are short stacked. Next time you have a small pair remember that you want to avoid playing a hand that is a small favorite or a big dog especially when you don’t have money already in the pot.

Dr. Aigner is a board certified Urologist. He has multiple final table finishes in major tournaments including a WPO bracelet in 2001. You can contact him at

http://www.PokerStrategyForum.com

Filed under: Poker News