Playing Big Pairs In No Limit Holdem

Big pairs are hard to play in no limit because they are strong but not super strong.  If you’ve played no limit for any length of time, you’ll know that you should play big pairs with aggression.  You’ll also know that that very aggression can get you into some serious trouble.

There are two major reasons you should play big pairs aggressively:

To win money from weaker hands

First, you want to get more money in the pot against weaker hands.  That is how you win money in poker, after all.

If people are trying to crack your big pairs by playing hands like 67s and 44, you need to make them pay while you have the best hand.  A big pair is going to win the majority of the time against any other hand so get that money in the middle.

After the flop, you want to continue that aggression because you will still have the best hand the majority of the time.  Now you are getting money from opponents who don’t know how to fold those weak hands.  They call with all kinds of junk, either because they think they have the best hand or because they are hoping to improve to a better hand.

To protect your hand

The second reason you want to play hands with aggression is to capture money from people chasing draws.  And when I say draws, I don’t just mean flush and straights.  I am also talking about all the other junk people chase:  whiffed aces, weak one pair to two pair combos and anything else that could end up beating your hand.

The aggression you play in these situations accomplishes two objectives:  it protects your hand from losing and it wins money from people who are chasing draws against the odds.

As the person protecting his hand, you have the ability to dictate the odds your opponents get for their draws.  If you bet $1 into a $10 pot, you’re giving your opponent pot odds of 11-1 which means he can chase pretty much anything.

If you instead bet $10 into a $10 pot, you’re giving your opponent 2-1 pot odds which gives him bad odds for pretty much every draw.  For more information about pot odds, check out my pot odds article.

How to avoid going broke against better hands

So you already know all about the importance of aggression, but now you need to worry about avoiding going broke when your opponent has a better hand.  All that aggression you’ve learned can get you into trouble if your opponent has a strong hand.

It’s all about the betting patterns.  If a tight player raises you on the flop, you’re going to have to look back at how he’s played the hand up to this point.  Did he raise preflop?  In that case, maybe he is raising you because he thinks he has the best hand.  Did he limp in from out of position and call a raise?  Maybe he has a small pocket pair and hit a set.

You’ll also want to look at the board texture.  If the board is dry and your opponent is raising you on the flop, it is slightly more likely that he has a hand weaker than a set because people tend to slowplay sets on the flop if the board is dry.  However, some good players know this and will raise you on the flop for deception.

If the board has possible draws showing, it’s going to be even harder to put your opponent on a hand.  In this case you’re just going to have to know the opponent and take notes on him.  He could be semi-bluff raising with a draw or he could be raising to protect a strong hand from those draws.

If your opponent just calls a bet from you on the flop and then raises on the turn, that should send up a big warning flag.  If you’ve shown strength by betting on the flop and the turn, few opponents will risk raising you on a bluff.  Plus the turn is a more expensive street to raise on because the pot is usually bigger on the turn.

The worst way to react to a raise on the flop is to push all-in without having a good reason to do so.  If you’re confused and don’t know what to do, pushing is the worst option because your pushes will usually fold out weaker hands and only get called by stronger hands.

Now if you’re up against an opponent who will call with a weaker hand, or you need to push to protect your hand against a draw, then go for it.  Just don’t resort to going all-in because you’re confused.

There are so many variable involved in putting an opponent on a hand that there’s really no simple method for choosing the best way to play your big pairs on the flop.  You just need to pay attention to your opponents and be on the lookout for actions that seem out of place.

Most of the time your big pair will be the best hand so don’t waste it by playing scared.  Put in big bets and raises on the flop so you can get that money.  Assume that your hand is the best and play it like it is until someone proves you otherwise.

If someone suddenly puts you on the defensive, it’s time to start thinking about a fold.  You’re the one with the big pair so you should be putting on the heat, not taking the heat.  Big pairs aren’t strong enough to handle all kinds of heat so you should fold before you ever go into check-call mode.

If you found this article useful, check out my article about big pairs on the turn.