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| Starting with a Pair in Poker |
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| "Falsa pareja" CC by 2.0
Roman San |
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An assessment
of how strong your starting hand is in poker is the first decision you have to
make in the card game. Unlike blackjack where the conditions never change,
there are a number of factors which need to be considered in poker, the most
important being how many other players are around the table with you.
If
you are sitting on a table which features six of more players, the quality of
your starting hand needs to be very good for you to bet with confidence as the
chances are someone else will be in a stronger position than you before the
flop.
Your tactics change when you are down to two players in a
head-to-head
situation. A pair all of a sudden becomes very strong, giving you a high
probability of winning the pot. You should therefore play the hand positively
and be careful not to fold even if your opponent chooses to raise
pre-flop.
Knowing how strong your starting pair is in relation to the
number of players around the table takes a lot of experience. The more hands
you play at tables which have a varying amount of players on, the easier you
will find it to make the right decision.
If you are unable to play at
tables of fewer or more than six, the next best thing to do is watch the elite
players in the game. And this couldn’t be easier: some of
the
biggest names in poker such as Jesse Sylvia feature in the World Series of
Poker events which are televised from around the world, or you can watch the
dedicated poker channel on Twitch which features stars like Jason
Somerville.
High-Value Pairs
There are no better starting
hands in poker than high-value pairs. Top of this list is pocket Aces, also
known as pocket rockets, while any pocket face cards should also fill you with
confidence when it comes to betting into the pot or calling any raises from the
table.
If you do go into the flop with a high pair in poker, you are
hoping to turn your hand into three-of-a-kind. Anything more is bonus
before the turn and river cards. More often than not you should be happy to
raise the pot to either eliminate your opponents or to try and get them to
commit to more chips.
Low-Value Pairs
One of the hardest
things some beginners struggle to do in poker is fold a low pair. It is a
difficult to throw away a set hand because you know you are only one card away
from a three-of-a-kind which would put you in the driving seat at your table.
You do have to play the percentages though and accept that a low pair is a weak
hand at a table with six or more players.
Sometimes it is best to
fold your hand as then you don’t feel committed into a pot. If you
have the majority of your chips tied up in the middle of the table, it can lead
you to make wrong decisions as you are more likely to hang around longer
than you should do. |
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