Hey! Need to know about pocket pairs? Obviously, that is why you came here. Come let me explain everything you need to know about pocket pairs. Read this article fully so that you will get all the vital information. Let’s get started.
First of all, we can decode the name itself, the term ‘pocket’ refers to the fact that a card belongs exclusively to the player holding them. This means any of his opponents will be allowed to see them, so technically we can say that it is in his pocket.
Examples:
Hold’em
2♠2♦
A♠A♣
5♣5♥
Omaha
K♣K♠T♠9♣
A♦A♠K♦J♦
5♣5♦6♠6♥
So it is quite easy in Omaha to have ‘double-paired’ hands which means holding two pocket pairs at the same time.
Pocket pairs also exist in Stud even though they are known as ‘wired’ or ‘split’ pairs depending on whether the pair is masked.
Wired pair – Both cards in the hole
Split pair – One of the pair cards is a visible up-card
Example of using Pocket Pair in a sentence – Pocket pairs are good hands in Hold’em because they allow us to flop a set.
In other words, a pocket pair in poker is when a player’s two private cards (hole cards) in games like Omaha and Texas Hold’em are of the same rank. For example, if a player has two Queens, they have a pocket pair of Queens.
A pocket pair will be in three varieties (if the flop, turn, or river matches, the pocket pair), a full house, or four of a kind. Nevertheless, the community cards may not improve the hand at all.
Poker Rules For Beginners: Step-by-step Guide
Table Of Contents
- 1 Poker Rules For Beginners: Step-by-step Guide
- 2 What Constitutes A Pocket Pair?
- 3 Types Of Pocket Pairs
- 4 How Do You Play Pocket Pairs?
- 5 Lowest Pocket Pair In Poker
- 6 Highest Pocket Pair In Poker
- 7 Example Of “Pocket pair”
- 8 Mistakes To Avoid When Playing Pocket Pairs
- 9 The Odds Of Flopping Sets
- 10 Betting Strategies For Pocket Pairs
- 11 Evaluating Pocket Pair Strength
- 12 Strategies For Different Flop Scenarios
- 13 The Role Of Opponent Types In Your Strategy
- 14 Bluffing With Pocket Pairs: When And How?
- 15 How To Read The Board With Pocket Pairs?
- 16 FAQs
1. Shuffle
The dealer shuffles the deck of cards well between every hand. Each player is dealt with hole cards – four cards in Omaha and two in Texas Hold’em.
2. Pre-Flop
This is the beginning stage of betting. At this stage, players have the option to call, raise, or fold, depending on the potential value of their starting hands.
3. Flop
The three community cards will be revealed in the center of the table. Players can start building their hands, and again choose to check, raise, or fold.
4. Turn
The fourth community card is turned face-up. The value of each punter’s hand starts to become much clearer. Players again check, raise, or fold.
5. River
The fifth and last final card is placed face-up, and now players are aware of the full value of their hand. This is the last chance for players to check, raise or fold.
6. Shutdown
This is the final state. The rest of the players reveal their hands face-up for everyone to see.
7. The Best Hand Wins
The punter with the most valuable hand wins the pot. Understanding hand ranking is important, check out the poker hand rankings guide.
What Constitutes A Pocket Pair?
A pocket pair happens in poker when the two cards dealt at the start of the game are of having the same rank, like two kings or two fours. The lowest pocket pair is the low pair of twos called the ‘Ducks’. Pocket pairs will give you a good chance to get a strong hand, such as a three-of-a-kind (a set) if another matching card shows up on the board. But, if your hand has not improved after the flop, smaller pairs will be hard to play and you might need to fold.
Types Of Pocket Pairs
There are several types of pocket pairs including Pocket Aces, Premium Pairs, Medium Pocket Pairs, Pocket Jiggities, Anthony and Cleopatra, and Pocket Fours.
Pocket Aces (AA): Think about the most powerful starting poker hand and a favorite of poker players.
Premium Pairs: Pocket pairs JJ and higher are considered premium, but can sometimes be folded before the flop.
Medium Pocket Pairs: Pairs from 99 to 55 are good preflop holdings, but shouldn’t be played aggressively.
Pocker Jiggities (JJ): A popular nickname for JJ, often used by younger punters in the streaming community.
Anthony and Cleopatra (AQ): The nickname for holding an Ace and a Queen.
Pocket Fours (44): This is also known as the Magnum, or nicknamed Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.
If both players have one pair, the player with the higher pair is the winner. The winner will have the better five-hand card combination if the players have the same pair.
How Do You Play Pocket Pairs?
Checking how to play pocket pairs? Here is the answer to your question.
While searching for the best way to play pocket pairs in poker, there are certain rules.
In Texas Hold’em, there is rarely a right way to play your cards. Most of the poker games just lie under bluffing and tricking your fellow competitor. However, holding pocket aces is just the correct strategy. But if you choose to call instead of making a big raise before the flop, and a king shows up on the flop, you will regret not raising enough to push out the weaker hands. Players don’t have to stick to the rules necessarily, but math does.
Lowest Pocket Pair In Poker
The lowest possible pocket pair is a pair of twos, also known as Ducks.
Lowest Pocket Pair In Poker nyt
As we were aforementioned, the lowest possible pair of twos is known as ‘Ducks’. These hands are the parts of what are called ‘small pocket pairs’ and can be tricky to play. The primary aim of these pairs is to hit a set, which typically means obtaining a third matching card on the flop. If you don’t try to improve your hand, it is hard to win with small pocket pairs, so make your move carefully.
Highest Pocket Pair In Poker
Pocket pair are strong starting hand in poker. The highest possible pocket pair is two aces, also termed pocket rockets.
Example Of “Pocket pair”
For example, a player might get two queens as their starting hand.
- He got two eights as a starting hand.
- Her two aces give her a strong starting hand.
- Even though he had two kings, he failed to a straight.
Mistakes To Avoid When Playing Pocket Pairs
When you are heading into something you should be very cautious. Players should clearly understand what they are going to play, the rules and regulations, and everything about it. Some common mistakes you should avoid while playing pocket pairs are listed below. Check them out!
Slow playing
The best strategy for playing low and mid-value pocket pairs pre-flop is to avoid simply calling and anticipating your tens hold up. This approach will lead to disaster against higher cards. Instead, take control of the hand and act quickly.
Adding value
Post-flop, a pair of nine often faces challenges.
It is quite easy to get associated with a reasonable pair and leave behind that a pair is not a strong hand and make sure you don’t add value to a weak hand.
Chasing a set
The chances of hitting a set are statistically low.
Continuing to the river while chasing trips after multiple betting rounds can be expensive.
Getting trapped
It will be difficult to walk away from a pot if you have overcommitted while expecting to improve your hand.
The Odds Of Flopping Sets
Flopping a set means making three of a kind with paired hole cards and a third matching card hitting the board on the flop. For instance, if you hold 2♥2♣ pre-flop, and the flop comes K♣2♦4♠, you have flopped a set of eights. With any of the paired card combinations, you have a probability of 11.8% flopping exactly a set. This means 7.5 -1 odds against flopping a set.
Betting Strategies For Pocket Pairs
Before playing any games you should have a set of strategies to tackle and win the game. The strategies depend on the strength of your hole cards. Strategy also depends on what stage the hand is in. If you are pre-flop, there are some fairly hard and fast rules; all backed by the statistical odds of you holding a winning hand.
Everything changes post-flop.
For instance, if one of the players is holding the top hand with a pair of aces, and the flop shows two kings, that player might lose if the other player is holding a single king.
The one sure thing is the statistical chance of pocket pairs winning pre-flop.
If you are someone who plays poker seriously, it is important to know the following information.
| Pocket pair | Chance of winning % |
| A-A | 85% |
| K-K | 83% |
| Q-Q | 80% |
| J-J | 78% |
| 10-10 | 75% |
| 9-9 | 72% |
| 8-8 | 69% |
| 7-7 | 67% |
| 6-6 | 64% |
| 5-5 | 61% |
| 4-4 | 58% |
| 3-3 | 55% |
| 2-2 | 51% |
Evaluating Pocket Pair Strength
The chances of being dealt a specific hand in Texas Hold’em are quite remote, at only 5.9%.
However, the weakest pair has a better than 50% chance of winning the hand.
This can be changed easily if the player considers the basics of how to play poker.
The number of players in the game could influence the strength of the pocket pair. The number of players is directly proportional to the possibility of another player holding a pocket pair, which means every additional player will increase the possibility of another player holding a pocket pair.
The idea of strong pre-flop play is to defeat other players off the hand. Once the community cards are in play, everything will change.
You can calculate whether your pocket pair is strong or not by calculating the probability that you are facing a higher pair.
| % Chance % that someone else is holding a higher pair | |||||||||
| Your hand | Number of players | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| A-A | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| K-K | 0.5% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4.0% | 4.3% |
| Q-Q | 1.0% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 5.7% | 6.8% | 7.6% | 8.7% |
| J-J | 1.5% | 2.9% | 4.3% | 5.8% | 7.1% | 8.6% | 9.8% | 11.2% | 12.9% |
| 10-10 | 1.9% | 3.9% | 5.8% | 7.7% | 9.4% | 11.1% | 13.0% | 14.7% | 16.4% |
| 9-9 | 2.4% | 4.8% | 7.2% | 9.5% | 11.7% | 14.0% | 16.2% | 18.3% | 19.8% |
| 8-8 | 2.9% | 5.8% | 8.6% | 11.2% | 13.9% | 16.3% | 18.8% | 21.4% | 23.8% |
| 7-7 | 3.4% | 6.8% | 10.0% | 13.1% | 16.1% | 19.0% | 21.8% | 24.6% | 27.2% |
| 6-6 | 3.9% | 7.7% | 11.3% | 14.8% | 18.0% | 21.1% | 24.5% | 27.4% | 30.7% |
| 5-5 | 4.4% | 8.6% | 12.7% | 16.6% | 20.0% | 23.5% | 27.1% | 30.3% | 33.5% |
| 4-4 | 4.9% | 9.6% | 14.0% | 18.1% | 22.4% | 26.1% | 29.5% | 33.1% | 36.3% |
| 3-3 | 5.4% | 10.5% | 15.3% | 20.0% | 24.1% | 28.3% | 32.5% | 35.8% | 39.3% |
| 2-2 | 5.9% | 11.5% | 16.6% | 21.4% | 26.0% | 30.4% | 34.7% | 38.3% | 41.9% |
If one player has a pair of aces, no one else can have a better pair.
Nevertheless, if the player is holding deuces, in a full game, the chance of someone having a better pair is more than 40%.
When to raise, call, or fold
In a poker game, pre-flop is the only point where a punter can be sure about the strength of a hand. However, players will not have a complete idea about how powerful their opponent’s hand is. Refer to the table below to know the play you should make, pre-flop.
| Pocket pair | Strategy pre-flop |
| A-A | Raise or re-raise in any position |
| K-K | Raise or re-raise in any position |
| Q-Q | Raise or re-raise in any position |
| J-J | Raise or re-raise in any position |
| 10-10 | Call early position, raise in late position |
| 9-9 | Call early position, raise in late position |
| 8-8 | Call early position, raise in late position |
| 7-7 | Call early position, raise in late position |
| 6-6 | Call early position, raise in late position |
| 5-5 | Fold early position to a raise, call the big blind, and late position |
| 4-4 | Fold early position to a raise, call the big blind, and late position |
| 3-3 | Fold early position to a raise, call the big blind, and late position |
| 2-2 | Fold early position to a raise, call the big blind, and late position |
Strategies For Different Flop Scenarios
Everything changes after post-flop. A pair – even aces – is only a pair. It will be the weakest poker hand, excluding the high card.
What you look for on the flop is a set (three of a kind).
The possibility of hitting three of a kind or better with a pocket pair is 12.7% or roughly 7 to 1.
| Pre-flop | Improved hand post-flop | % | ODDS |
| Pocket pair | Three-of-a-kind or better | 12.7% | 6.9:1 |
| Pocket pair | Three-of-a-kind | 11.8% | 7.5:1 |
| Pocket pair | Full house | 0.73% | 136:1 |
| Pocket pair | Four-of-a-kind | 0.24% | 415.67:1 |
Explore More:- How To Play & Win At 3 card Poker?
The Role Of Opponent Types In Your Strategy
No matter whether you are playing poker at home or on an online site, you can divide poker players into different categories. This will you to determine the best way to play against them when you pocket pairs.
Poker players can be classified into four types:
Tight aggressive
This type of player won’t play many pots. Whenever they do, they will represent with strength. These are generally competent punters. Don’t try to bluff with locket pairs against these players. They are comfortable raising pre-flop. If you have a high-pocket pair, follow the instructions mentioned above.
Loose aggressive
These types of players play more hands than their tight competitors. This makes them highly dangerous. The chance of bluffing and fighting for the pot is high.
Tight passive
Passive players tend to avoid fighting. These types of players are confined to playing only the hands they like and are likely to just call pre-flop. Tight passive players bluff with your pocket pair. If a player is making a solid raise pre-flop, tight passive players are likely to fold. These players play only a few hands.
Loose passive
These players are highly interactive and frequently do calling. They will stick on to stay in hand and are unlikely to be bluffed off a pot. Be careful with these types of players although they have a weak hand they will trump your bluff.
Bluffing With Pocket Pairs: When And How?
Actually, there is no when or how. Each and every game is unalike, however, bluffing is an essential part of the poker game. If a player is holding a low pocket pair, they should consider the following options:
Tight opponents
If the players are only playing monsters and folding the remainder. There is a possibility that these players will cave to your bluff.
Late position
If one player is in a late position and the rest of them are not making a move, this is the right time for the late player to bluff. Position is a crucial part of the game.
Deep stack
If a player is holding a mountain of chips, remaining players are rare to stay in the pot with a so-so hand knowing that players can effortlessly put them in.
Fish hunt
If you are able to find a weakness – raise pre-flop, checks post – a bluff will reduce the herd.
Rags flopped
If the flop is made up of low, different suits, the small pocket pair could still be strong. Try bluffing and hope your hand stays the best.
Mix it up
The main reason to bluff every so often is to keep opponents on their toes. Predictability is considered a massive poker failure, stay unpredictable.
How To Read The Board With Pocket Pairs?
While reading the board with pocket pairs, players can consider the below-given points:
Opponent: First consider who is your opponent. For instance, if you are playing against a fish, you might look for three streets. Be careful of raises from passive fish post-flop.
Board: Examine how the board rolls out. For instance, if the board comes out Acex or King XX without a Queen on it, you might have a second pair.
Effective stacks: Think about how deep the effective stacks are.
3-betting: Check out if someone behind you will 3-bet if you call IP.
Bluffing: Pocket pairs don’t bluff any of your competitor’s value hands such as AA, AK, QQ, or alternatively, they unblock those cards.
Additional Articles:- Video poker strategy: Unlocking the Secrets
FAQs
1. Who starts the pot in poker?
The player who is left to the dealer starts the pot in poker by making the very first bet, or ante, in the first betting interval.
2. How to deal with poker?
To deal with poker:
- Shuffle the deck.
- Deal two cards face down to each player.
- Burn a card, then deal the community cards: 3 on the flop, 1 on the turn, and one on the river.
- Conduct betting rounds after each deal.
- At showdown, reveal hands and award the pot to the best hand.
- Rotate the dealer button clockwise after each hand.
3. What is a poker face?
A poker face is a player’s facial expression that doesn’t reveal a person’s thoughts or feelings.
4. What is a straight-in poker?
A straight in poker is a hand of five cards in a sequence, irrespective of suit. The highest card in the straight determines the hand’s strength.
5. What does it mean to hit a straight in poker?
To hit a straight in poker means making a hand of five consecutive cards, like 5-6-7-8-9, despite of suit.
6. Does playing poker help Quant?
Yes, playing poker can help with quant trading as it teaches skills that are useful in trading including decision-making, risk management, and probability.
7. What is the planning poker method?
Planning poker can also be termed as Scrum poker or Pointing poker which is associated with the planning and estimation technique practiced by Agile teams after a product backlog has been created.
8. What is a flush in poker?
A flush is a hand that contains five cards all of the same suit, but not in sequential order, such as K♣10♣7♣6♣4♣ (a “king-high flush” or a “king-ten-high flush”).
9. How much do poker dealers make at Hollywood casinos?
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay range for a poker deal at Hollywood Casino is $44,000 – $74,000 per year. This includes the base salary and additional pay.
10. What does it mean to fold fast in poker?
Folding fast is the practice of folding your hand as soon as it is dealt, with and then moving on to the next hand.
