Going All In with Small Pocket Pairs

May 6, 2009

We’ve all been there at one point. You’re in a tournament, blinds are steadily going up. You need to make a move soon and you’re getting desperate. You suddenly find yourself looking at small pocket pairs. Should you make your move? Is it time to push?

Your instincts will tell you yes but you really should think again. By going all-in with small pockets such as threes or fours, the most you can hope for is a 50/50 situation. If you get called, you will almost always find yourself against overcards or worse, a bigger pocket pair. With your tournament life on the line (and if your stack can still manage it), maybe it’s more prudent to find a better spot.

But you’re hoping to hit a set on the flop. Why not? It could happen. After all, you will hit a set—but only around 12% of the time. So your main hope is that your small pocket pairs hold up. Against one player, this will happen around 50% of the time. If you get called by two players or more, your future is looking very bleak.

Of course, if you are extremely desperate and your chips are dangerously low, a 50/50 situation is an attractive proposition. When you think about it, even a 60/40 situation isn’t at all too bad if you only have a few blinds left. For this reason, some people prefer pushing with cards such as K, 8 suited rather than small pocket pairs. Why? Simply because a K, 8 suited will give you more possibilities after the flop than small pocket pairs.

To summarize, always remember that small pocket pairs do pay off especially when you hit a set. Still, as the odds against hitting a set are quite low, you should avoid over-playing your pair especially if your tournament life is on the line. If, however, you are gasping for air and you are about to get blinded out soon, go ahead and throw caution to the wind.

Posted by The Metro under Metro Blogs.