Playing Pocket Pairs in Shorthanded Poker Games

In shorthanded no limit hold’em, successfully playing your pocket pairs can be the difference between being a winning poker player or a losing player.
You need to take into account your opponents tendencies and your table image when playing your pocket pairs.
Poker Rakeback Online will look at how to play pocket pairs depending on if they are small pairs (22-77), middle pairs (88-JJ) and high pairs (QQ-AA).
In a short-handed game there are fewer players which means you should be raising with more hands than in a 9-handed game.
This is a good strategy because you may win the pot before the flop and you will still likely have a chance at the pot after the flop.
Also by raising a lot of hands you will get more action when you have a very strong hand.

Small Pairs

In shorthanded online poker games you should raise with a small pair from any table position.
The small pair is likely to be the best hand before the flop, but much less likely to be the best hand after the flop.
For this reason you should be raising to try to decrease the number of players in the pot or just to take the blinds.
If you are re-raised pre-flop you have to make a difficult decision.
You should take into account whether your opponent may be making at play at you, as well as look at how many chips both you and your opponent currently have.
In order for your hand to be the best after the flop you will likely to hit a set, which will happen about 1 in 8 times.
This means that you and your opponent both need to have more than 8 times as many chips as the re-raise and you have to feel as though you will be able to get more chips into the pot if you do hit the set.
If both of these things are true then the call would be the right move because the 1 in 8 times you do hit the set you will make more than the 7 times you miss the set combined.

Middle Pairs

Again, medium pairs are (88-JJ). They are much more likely to win the pot after the flop than small pairs even if they do not improve.
When playing medium pocket pairs you should still be raising pre-flop from all positions because there are still many cards higher which can be paired on the flop.
Even re-raising with medium pairs before the flop is often a good move because in short-handed games medium pairs are very strong.
Pairs can be best played when heads up against an opponent.
Therefore you should try not to call raises from early position pre-flop because this may encourage a lot of players to call and see a flop.
Instead you should re-raise and try to isolate the one player and deter other players from joining.
Position is more important when holding pockets than when holding unpaired hole cards.
This is because after the flop you will often have a fairly good idea of where you stand in the hand.
Middle pairs are the most difficult pairs to play and if you are able to make good decisions with these hands you will likely see your poker bankroll grow.

High Pairs

With high pairs (QQ-AA) you should raise from early position and the blinds.
You want your opponents to have to pay pre-flop for the privilege of having position on you.
Another option is slow playing, but this is a much more risky play and you need to take into account your table image and the other player’s styles to determine if this would be a profitable move.
For example if a player is constantly raising pre-flop when other players have limped, then this may be a good player to slow play against and try to get as many chips from him as you can.
Or if you have folded a lot of hands in a row then re-raising could likely lose your customers.
Mixing up your playing style is also important when you play poker online.

Summary

At shorthanded tables pocket pairs are almost always raising hands.
The difference in the size of your pocket pair lies in whether you re-raise or are re-raised pre-flop and how you play the hand after the flop.
Also, shorthanded your position matters a lot, especially for middle pairs.
You also need to factor in your table image and your opponents tendencies in order to make the best decisions possible when you hold pocket pairs short-handed.

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