Talking Poker, Making Money and Drinking Beer While Watching Sports on T.V : Middle Pair Strategy for NLHold 'em tournaments

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Middle Pair Strategy for NLHold 'em tournaments

For the purpose of this post middle pairs will be broken up into two categories Low middle and high middle.

22 - 77 Typically you are looking for spots that you can get in for cheap. In the early stages of tournaments many players “set mine” with these hands looking to trap their opponents and win a big pot. From early positions limping can be profitable, from late position a small raise can sometimes freeze your opponents allowing you to buy a 4^th card for free if they all check the flop to you. After the flop these hands should be played straight forward, meaning no set no bet from early position. No set no over pair no bet from late position. I like playing the flop passively with these hands because I believe more information is gained on the turn.

88 - JJ I think these hands should always be opened for a raise from any position, and 3bet against opponents you think are aggressive. From early position I want to play this hand for value. Open for a raise if you only get calls then I am going to C bet any flop that doesn’t have me crushed… I.e no A- K -9 board, no all suited connected boards. I will be betting all boards that have only one over card. One of the main reasons is to get information right there. I also like to vary my bet size here depending on if I think I have the best hand or not. If I receive any resistance then I must re - evaluate the situation. I think many times novice players give up to easily on these hands simply because they don’t improve on the flop. One of the most important thing to check for is if there are any draws on the board. This is crucial for two reasons.

1. Your opponent might be and that draw

2. You might be able to represent that draw on later streets.

From Late position I am betting any board that my opponents check to me, and will probably be double barreling most turns that are checked to me. Any donk lead should be raised for example blinds 100 -200 you raise to 500 get a caller and they lead for 400. Put pressure on these hands simply to regain control of the pot.