Pocket Pairs - Hell or Heaven Sent?

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Topical for some of the other conversations going on

Heaven- or Hell-Sent: Pocket Pairs in Hold ‘em

What would you do when you got a pair tens? Most of the guides, charts, and forum threads I saw on the net say one thing: the hand you are holding is a premium hand and you should raise with pre-flop. Unfortunately, they are sane enough not to tell you what to do after by listing all possible flop, turn and river combinations and their corresponding tips. This is where the use of guides ends. You’re on your own and usually, your opponents are not that bent on making you win.

Many new, inexperienced, and mediocre players relying on poker guides for survival lose money on post-flop betting with good, if not strong, starting hands. Some of them seem to forget to erase the “starting” from the hand even after the flop has been dealt. Flop changes the value and the odds you may have in pre-flop. It’s not just your cards anymore. You have three more cards to consider.

The Power of the Pair

Pairs are strong cards. Many poker hands contain at least a pair in them. Pocket pairs, strong as they are, are just like big motorbikes; give them to inexperienced, untrained and shaky hands and you give the receiver one way ticket to Neverland.

Many players classify pairs as strong cards and depending on their rank player should raise and call with them. Their strength, however, is enough to push you up or bring you down in any game, depending in how you use them. A pair is useful if the flop show another similarly ranked card, or a prospect of a set. A pair useless if not deadly when flop just won’t have any connection with the hand; twice as deadly if a player in that kind of game insists on betting on his ‘strong’ hand. Usually, the way players consider their hands determines the way the game ends for that particular player. Foolish players who think they can get away with their pair are forgetting that flop and the way other plays their cards also affect the strength and the odds of their cards; and usually they lose a lot of chips to the opponent with weaker hands.

In poker, your hand is your engine while the board is your rudder. Your hand determines how far you can go while the board tells you what direction you are taking. You should be able to know when to go overdrive or jump overboard. Guides won’t tell you what to do with your pair post-flop; your intuition will. So listen more, listen better to that tiny voice in your head; he may be telling something that could save you from losing more chips.

I have noticed that some poker players have distinct personalities of their own Like mike the mouth, or phil the brat , but they seem to push the envelope with the worst hands trying to force the weaker rookies out, but i admire daniel negreanu the most because he is great at calculating odds and
reading players. I have seen him time and time again read his opponents with uncanny ability. Im just shocked that he hasnt won the word series of poker but his time is coming.

I love getting pocket pairs and I usually try to ride them out even if they're not as good as 10s. I think playing pairs confidently depends on the player though and their strength of personality and ability to read well.

I have won many games bluffing high on even a low or mid-number pair so I'm always happy when I get them.