April 30th, 2012 by Sammy

When you look down at your cards and you see a pocket pair, somehow you get excited with the possibilities as it can make a set and these sets can mean big pay for you. The small pocket pairs can be considered as among the most straight forward hands in no limit hold’em but they present some pitfalls for those who do not know how to use them wisely.

Multiway Pots

Small pocket pairs hold ground during multiway pots. If you have experienced playing live NL, then you know that there are a lot of times that a number of players draw something out of the flop. Having a small pocket pair is a good advantage since you have a good chance of making sets which will be the best hand for a round. You need to be cautious though since it might not just be you who made a set. If you think everyone will call, go for a raise instead of limping into the pot.

Heads up

If you have a good position, small pocket pairs can help you during a heads up. In multiway battle for the pot, you will know the real value of the cards when you get a set but in heads up, you have to handle unimproved hands and win the pot so position is very important. Position dictates if you can go for a showdown even if you have a weak pair. You can bet for value and squeeze some extra from your weak hand.

Reraised pots

Small pocket pairs do not do well in re-raised pots especially during heads-up. If you opened the betting but an opponent re-raises while everyone else folds, you might be better off by folding your cards. If you have unimproved small pocket pairs, you have a very small chance to win against a re-raise.

January 5th, 2010 by Sammy

Gavin is one of the goofiest people in the poker world. He’s been highly successful in poker tournaments, and now Gavin Smith has done a series of videos like this one to… make some money on the side.

They’re not hugely educational, are they?

May 16th, 2009 by Sammy

Poker tells can often be one of the most dangerous handicaps a poker player is faced with. While one can prepare for a number of kinds of card hands and lay strategies in place, mastering the art of concealing one’s emotions is a tricky task. Maintaining an impassive and neutral expression in the face of extreme emotions such as anxiety, elation and nervousness can be difficult; yet hiding these tell-tale signs is of ultimate importance because their presence can clue the opponents onto your strategies. Hiding these indicative signs is of ultimate importance and in this article we give you some advice on developing fixed practices to counter these clues.

In order to be able to conceal emotions from revealing all and mastering the practice of concealing these revealing signs it is important to first understand what habits and practices actually act as indicators. They are manifested in the form of behaviors that can either be seen or heard and can be used by strong players to gauge the strength of their opponents’ hands. Most newcomers to the field betray their state of mind and thus their playing position by unconsciously responding to their card hands and reacting on a mainly instinctive level.

These clues are broadly classified into three categories, on the basis of their form. When players react in the form of emitting sounds such as sighs or gasps the indicators are classified as audible. If the player has a noticeable physical reaction such as slumping of the shoulders or the chest expanding, the clues are said to be ‘visible’. And if the manner in which the play bets during the rounds is used to gauge the strength of the hand, the clue is classified into the category of ‘betting indicators’. Betting indicators become most important in the context of online games of poker where visible clues and audible reactions from the players cannot be used to discern the quality of the game.

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