One of the keys to becoming a successful Sit & Go player is learning to master bubble play. The last thing anybody wants is to be the Bubble Boy, which means you need to get the most out of every hand you play during this critical stage. If you make solid moves from good positions and manage your chip stack wisely, you’ll find yourself in the money before you know it.

Let’s say that you’re short-stacked with just five or six big blinds. How you play your hand in this situation depends less on your cards and more on your position and the size of the other short stacks at the table. For example, you’re in the small blind and the hand is folded around to you. If the big blind doesn’t have you covered by very much, it’s time to jam. This play makes it really hard for him to call because he’s risking his tournament in a very tenuous spot. You put him in a position where he’s the one who has to call you, and that’s a big advantage.

Now let’s change things up a little. Say you’re sitting on about eight big bets on the button and the chip leader is in the big blind. If the action is folded to you in this situation, you can be much more selective about the hands you play. You still have plenty of chips to work with before the blinds come back around, which means you can afford to try and pick your spots. Personally, I’d fold hands worse than Q-10 here, but I’d probably play KJ, KQ, any Ace, and all pocket pairs.

If you’re sitting on just four or five big blinds in this same situation, you’ll have to open up your game a little and play more hands. You’ve got to take some chances here and get your chips in, even if you may be no better than 50-50. Waiting isn’t an option because the blinds will eat you alive if you let them.

If you’re playing a medium-size stack, you have more room to play, but still have to be careful about when – and from where – you put your chips in the middle. Making a standard 3x or 4x raise with 15 or 16 blinds can still be risky because there’s a good chance a bigger stack will re-raise and try to force you all-in before the flop. You really can’t afford to make that call without a premium hand like Aces or Kings.

You definitely don’t want to call with something like AK or AQ because you’re just a coin-flip against any pair and are dominated by pocket Aces or Kings. Folding here is a smarter move, especially if there’s a short stack left to play behind you who is likely to call with a much wider range of hands and give you a better shot of making the money.

Of course, nothing is more comforting than having the big stack when you’re sitting on the bubble. As the chip leader, you can practice selective aggression and apply pressure to the smaller stacks. You especially want to focus on the players in second and third place, as they aren’t going to want to put their chips at unnecessary risk.

Because the shorter stacks are going to try to double up through you, you need to be careful about making loose calls just because you think you can afford them. For example, let’s say the small stack raises 5x the big blind from the button and the small blind folds. You’re in the big blind and it’s only four more bets for you to call, which means your odds are slightly less than 2-1. While calling here may in fact be the right decision, it’s not automatic as far as I’m concerned.

I recommend taking a few seconds to really think through the situation, even if you’re holding a pretty strong hand like A-8 or up, KQ, KJ, or any pocket pair. Think about your opponent and how he’s been playing. If he raises every time he’s in that spot, widen your calling range. But if he’s a particularly good Sit & Go player or playing tight, he may not play many hands and you shouldn’t call as frequently.

More often than not when I’m the big stack in this situation, I’m not just flat calling here. Instead, I’m moving all-in. This is particularly effective because it puts all of the other players at the table to a tough decision. Again, the players in second and third aren’t likely to get involved without huge hands, which lets me isolate the smaller stack.

In the end, winning a SNG is about using whatever edge you’ve got. When you’re down to the final four, take advantage of position and play your stack aggressively. Know when to back off and when to go for it. You’ll still be at the table – and in the money – when the bubble bursts.

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I recently competed in a televised tournament where several players lost focus on their game. They were either trying to gun for a particular opponent at their table or making some ill-advised moves to show off for the cameras. In every case, these players were making the same mistake – letting their egos get in the way of their game.

While most players will never have the opportunity to try and take down a big name pro or make “fancy” poker moves in front of a TV camera, far too many people still let their egos get in the way of playing solid poker. Once that happens, they lose sight of their long-term goals and start playing for purposes other than winning.

So how do you keep your ego in check at the table? I recommend you start by identifying the kinds of situations that can throw you off your game, and then learn how to deal with them or, better yet, avoid them altogether. To give you an idea, I’ve outlined three common situations that I’ve come across over the years:

•The grudge match – In my experience, this is one of the most common situations that happens at the table and, with practice, one of the easiest to avoid.

Oftentimes, one player will lay a particularly bad beat on another or make a play that a competitor thinks cost them chips. Rather than writing it off as what it is – a single hand in a game or tournament – the aggrieved player goes on tilt and focuses on playing back at their new “nemesis” as if he or she is involved in a heads-up match.

By letting their egos get in the way and focusing on a single opponent, these players often end up doing themselves more long-term harm than good. They lose track of the other people at the table and end up missing opportunities to replenish their stacks or, even worse, give those opponents the chance to take the last of their remaining chips.

Instead of falling into this trap, my advice is to do everything in your power to let the hand go. If this means getting up from the table and walking around the card room for 10 minutes to blow off steam, so be it. In the long run, it’s a cheaper and less stressful solution to a problem that doesn’t need to exist in the first place.

•Fighting the table bully – Some players feel like they’re always being picked on by their competitors, especially when they’re sitting on a short stack while other players at the table have many more chips at their disposal.

Instead of playing smart poker and looking for opportune times to collect some valuable chips from these bigger stacks, these players often end up fighting back in an effort to show that they won’t be picked on. As is often the case with an underdog in this kind of situation, they walk away defeated.

While there’s value in playing back at aggressive opponents with larger chip stacks, you have to pick your battles wisely. Instead of pushing with any two cards to prove that “you’re not gonna take it”, look for opportunities to get your chips in the middle when you think you have the best hand. Patience is the key to surviving these kinds of situations rather than rash and overly aggressive play. Stay committed to playing your game and the bully problem will take care of itself.

•The glory seekers – For some players – especially online – there’s nothing more satisfying than bragging about how they took a pot from a well-known pro.

Yes, it’s fun to play at the same table as a Phil Ivey or Chris Ferguson, but it’s a big mistake to do so at the detriment of your basic game plan. By gunning for the glory of “beating” these pros, many inexperienced players leave themselves open to being run over by their competitors.

If you really want to impress the pros – and your fellow competitors – keep your emotions out of the game. Focus on playing the best cards in the best situations possible and those big pots you’re hoping to win will happen on their own.

These are just a few of the ways that your ego can get in the way of playing solid, winning poker. When you get caught up in these mind games your long-term goals, whether they be winning a tournament or building up a bankroll, will suffer. This may not be a team game, but it’s always good to remember that there is no “I” in poker.

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One of the most critical aspects to surviving – and thriving – in deep stack tournaments is learning how to control the size of the pots you play. In short, your goal should be to play big pots when you have big hands and small pots when you don’t. When you and your opponents are deep stacked in a tournament, there are two vital elements to pay attention to when you enter a pot – your opponents’ playing style and the texture of the flop.

Before you commit any chips to the pot, you want to identify the types of players who are likely to be in the hand with you. If you’re at a loose table where your opponents are playing a wide range of hands, you’re going to want to play smaller pots unless you’re sure that you’re way ahead or, preferably, holding the nuts.

Say you’re in a hand with something big like pocket Queens and a player who’s been involved in a lot of pots calls your pre-flop raise. The flop comes J-9-7, and you’re out of position. You need to be very careful about betting here because a loose-aggressive player is going to put you to the test. I’d recommend check-calling or check-raising rather than putting out a continuation bet and giving your opponent a chance to re-raise you or, possibly, flat call with the intention of pushing you off the hand on a later street by making a large bet you can’t call if a scare card falls on the turn or river.

Having position against these types of players makes it much easier for you to control the pot, as you’ll be able to turn the table on them and call or re-raise their initial bets. If they come back over the top, you can get away from your hand and still have lost relatively little in comparison to what the hand could have ultimately cost.

When you’re facing a tight player in this same situation, you can make a continuation bet on the flop even if you are playing out of position because they aren’t as likely to make a move on you without a big hand of their own. If you bet and they raise, you can be sure they have something strong like two-pair, a set, or a nice draw.

The other factor to consider when betting is the texture of the flop. Is the board suited or paired? Are there potential straight draws you need to consider? Even if you’re confident your hand is ahead after the flop, take a couple of seconds to study the board before you act. Think about what hands could possibly beat yours, and then try to determine if any of your opponents could be holding cards that would give them reason to call your bet.

Let’s say you’re holding pocket Aces and the flop comes 9-8-7 with a flush draw on the board. Chances are that you’re ahead, but a canny opponent can easily put you in a tough spot by check-raising your continuation bet. If you think your opponent connected with this flop or may be holding a big draw, think about keeping the pot small by playing passively and letting him do the betting for you. If the straight or flush hits, you can get away cheap and look for a better spot later on. If the flop is more ragged – something like J-3-2 rainbow – you can bet out with no reservations and try to pump up the pot as much as possible.

These are all concepts that become easier with time and experience. Keep a sharp eye on your opponents and the flops the next time you play and quickly develop a feel for different situations and, more importantly, for when to bet or check your hand. Try your best to control the size of the pot and you’ll have more control over your tournament life.

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Perry Friedman

The big difference between big-bet (Pot-Limit or No-Limit) Omaha Hi/Lo and Limit Omaha Hi/Lo is that the former plays much more like Omaha High. Low hands become much less valuable because of how often they get quartered.

If you get quartered in Limit games, you may not lose too much of your overall chip stack because the action is capped on every street. In Pot-Limit games, however, getting quartered can be much more expensive because you may have had to call big bets on both the turn and river before the hand ended. Losing half your stack in this situation could be your best-case scenario – and getting completely felted if your hand is counterfeited on the river is a real possibility.

Because the high end of the pot is often more valuable in big-bet games, I recommend looking for hands that play well both ways or for hands like J-J-T-9 that just play high. Hands that are going to scoop or get ¾ of the pot are true monsters. While scooping is the best-case scenario in Omaha Hi/Lo, it’s much more important to lock up the high portion of the hand in Pot-Limit games because of how expensive playing for the low can be.

While something like a naked A-2 can be a very strong PLO hand before the flop, I see a lot of people get in trouble with this hand on later streets when they feel committed to put their chips in the middle in hope of hitting their low. Without any potential for hitting the high, these players are putting themselves in situations where they can easily go broke.

In PLO, the best A-2 hands are either suited or have good connectors like 3-4 or 5-6 that will give you straight draws. If you flop something like 4-5-9 with a hand like A-2-3-6, any Ace, 2, 3 or 6 gives you a straight, as well as the nut low. However, even if you have the A-2-3-6 on a flop of Q-9-5, you have to fold if someone else makes a big bet as it’s likely they’ve already made their high hand. Putting your chips in the pot in hope of chopping is not a worthwhile play.

Pot-Limit and No-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo are all about the nuts. If you’re not holding them, you should be looking to draw to them. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t commit your chips to a hand – especially when your best result may only be winning half the pot. If you’re in a hand and are just playing for the low, my advice is to muck your cards and wait for a more profitable situation.

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Ben Roberts

About two years ago, I wrote On Cavemen and Poker Players, which talked about the importance of learning to control your emotions at the poker table. Since then, I’ve had time to further refine my views on this topic, especially when it comes to the concept of tilt.

To begin, let me state the obvious: tilt happens to everyone. In fact, it’s safe to say that tilt is one of the most feared words – and concepts – in poker. So, what causes tilt? Well, that’s different for everyone. For some, it’s a bad run of cards or continuously getting unlucky when you’re opponents hit their miracle two and three-outers on the river. For others, it’s just playing poorly for an extended period of time.

No matter the cause, however, the fact remains that once most players do finally go on tilt, all bets are off and their games suffer. They end up playing the wrong cards in the wrong situations or at the wrong times and losing a lot of chips. For some players, this can be the beginning of a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself and, eventually, destroys their confidence along with their bankrolls.

Knowing what causes tilt is one thing, but the bigger question is, what is tilt? Personally, I believe it’s a chemical reaction that takes place in your brain. It’s similar to the primal emotion of being in danger, coded into our DNA just as if we’re in the forest being hunted so many thousands or years ago. Instead of being chased by some wild animal, we’re being hunted by other players looking to gun us down with another bad beat.

The effect of this primal emotion is enormous – your whole chemistry changes and you go into a different frame of mind that will completely change the way you play the game. The key to stopping this from happening and going on tilt is the ability to separate yourself from that emotion. Rather than playing based on that primal instinct, you should continue to play smart, thoughtful poker without worrying about your short-term results.

In order to achieve this, you must train yourself to believe that winning and losing at the poker table, at least over a short period of time, both have the same meaning. This might seem counterintuitive at first, because the object of the game is always to win. But you have to accept the fact that you can’t win every hand and that losing is a part of the game.

Look at how you approach a coin flip situation. If you’re winning at the time you’re faced with a coin flip, you’re going to be more hesitant to take that chance because you don’t want to risk losing what you’ve already won (and possibly more). If, on the other hand, you’re presented with the same situation when you’re losing, then you’re probably going to be more willing to take the risk and go for the coin flip because you want to win your money back. Either way, I think both cases are detrimental to your game because in either situation, you’re more worried about the short-term outcome rather than about playing solid poker over the long term, which is what being a winning player is really all about.

When you become indifferent to winning or losing over the short term, you won’t have to worry about going on tilt because you’re focusing simply on playing good poker. That’s all that matters at the end of the day – playing well. As poker players, we can do nothing more than to play our best game and let the cards fall as they may. When you adopt this attitude, your long-term results will take a turn for the better, no matter what kind of variance you face over the short term.

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Scott Fischman

Most people are familiar with the differences between one-table Sit & Go tournaments (SNGs) and other forms of poker. Because these tournaments only pay the top three finishers at a nine-handed table, the standard strategy is to play conservatively until the tournament becomes short-handed and then become more aggressive during short-handed play.

Many newer SNG players favor these nine-handed tournaments because the blinds only increase every six minutes, providing a good amount of play. While these are great tournaments, I also encourage people to try other types of SNGs, including turbos where the blinds increase every three minutes, and six-handed games where you start off playing short-handed and only the top-two finishers are paid.

For really fast-paced excitement, however, I play six-handed turbo SNGs where I’m facing both short tables and quick blinds. The structure of these SNGs forces me to play each hand more carefully as the combination of fast blinds and short-handed play means one mistake can be crippling or even fatal. They also let me finish in time for dinner.

Succeeding in these tournaments requires making some adjustments to your standard SNG strategy. As with any short-handed table, one of the most important things you need to do is open up your starting hand requirements – but not too much. You shouldn’t be playing trash, especially in early position, but you should be willing to see more flops in hopes of hitting a big hand. That said, you shouldn’t play with the intention of stealing blinds – especially in the early going – as there’s just not enough value in that play to make it worthwhile.

This leads me to the biggest mistake I see many people make in these kinds of games, which is playing too loose. For some reason, people think they have to go crazy at short-handed tables in an effort to pick up chips early on. Generally, one or two players go broke right away and, all of a sudden, you have four people left at the table with only two spots getting paid.

Once you’ve lost a couple players, there’s usually one person who’s built up a big chip stack and plays too aggressively in an effort to bully the rest of the table. You have to hang tough in this situation, even if you’re sitting on just around 1,000 chips. The bully wants to double you up, so you might as well let him.

If you are lucky enough to double up or accumulate chips early on, don’t give them up easily. Instead of siphoning off your chips by calling raises out of position or trying to steal too much, pick your spots carefully and continue to play tight, aggressive poker.

Because these short-handed tournaments only pay out two places, you should begin applying more pressure on your competition as you approach the bubble. Your goal should be to finish first, as you’ll earn three times your buy-in as opposed to just doubling your buy-in for second place. Look for the player who is just seeking to squeeze their way into the money and attack their stack as much as possible in order to force their hand and hopefully, induce a mistake. At this point, the quickly rising blinds should force the bubble boy to push all-in with a less than stellar hand.

Overall, it’s a simple but effective strategy. Play relatively tight and put yourself in a position to double up through the table bully in the early to middle stages, and then attack when you reach the bubble. This will put you in position to make the money and play heads-up for the win.

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Brandon Adams

Bluffing can be one of the most profitable plays in poker. However, its success is often blunted by the fact that it’s also one of the most misunderstood and over-used plays in the game.

In Omaha, players may find even more reasons to bluff – and to get themselves into trouble – than they do in Hold ‘em because four starting cards can lead to huge draws and present almost irresistible opportunities to try and steal pots from opponents. The key to bluffing successfully in this game comes from knowing when to make the play and who to make it against.

One of the best bluffing opportunities in Omaha comes on paired boards, but to pull this off, you have to know what kinds of paired boards to look for. Let’s say you’re involved in a hand with two other players. You’re in late position and have called a pre-flop raise only to completely miss on a flop of K-K-8 rainbow. The flop is checked around to you, and you consider bluffing to see if you can steal the pot. My advice – don’t do it.

If your opponents are experienced and knowledgeable players who generally play premium starting hands, one of them probably connected with the board and is likely slow-playing a monster. Bluffing here gives him a chance to come over the top or just flat call and let you keep throwing chips into his made hand.

Now, let’s take the same scenario and change the flop to something like 3-3-7 rainbow. Bluffing on this board makes much more sense because it’s likely that opponents who are playing strong starting hands failed to connect on this board. Experienced players may read your bet here as being credible because you could have very easily called a pre-flop raise with a small hand and hit the board hard.

If you happen to connect with trips or a full house on a board like 3-3-7, you should bet your monster in hope of getting called by someone with a worse hand or to induce a bluff re-steal into your made hand. Conversely, you should be wary about betting this kind of board if you have a mediocre hand like T-T-9-9, as your bet will give your opponent the chance to play perfectly against you; he’ll call or raise when ahead, fold when behind, and occasionally bluff you with a worse hand. My advice is to check this type of hand and reassess on the turn.

As a rule of thumb in Omaha (and in Hold ‘em, for that matter), I find that low and messy flops are easier to bluff at than bigger boards because most players are looking to play more premium hands that are more likely to connect with higher cards. Sure, you may get called by over-pairs or big draws on occasion, but you’ll also win the hand often enough to make this play worthwhile.

While paired boards provide some of the best bluffing opportunities, flush boards can also offer some interesting opportunities. For example, let’s say you’re just holding the Ah and the flop comes with three other hearts. You can’t make your heart flush to win the pot outright, but you can still steal it away from an opponent who has a lower flush since they’ll be wary about betting or calling into the possible nuts.

This play takes some courage as you may have to bet each street in order to win the pot, but it can also be very profitable against solid opponents because it’s unlikely that they’ll call on the river if you’ve represented the Ace-high flush throughout the entire hand. Be careful about betting your naked Ace too often though as seasoned opponents will eventually read your bluffs and counter-play by calling more often. Of course, this also means that you’ll likely get paid off when you make the same kind of bets and really are holding the nut flush.

Picking the right boards and situations is just one part of successfully bluffing in Omaha and in other games. Equally important is picking the right players to bluff against. If you’re in a hand with a calling station who’s unlikely to ever lay down a hand, your chances of bluffing them off a pot are pretty slim. On the other hand, if you’re facing a solid opponent who may reasonably believe he’s behind in a hand, your bluff is much more likely earn you some valuable chips.

Bluffing is an important part of any player’s arsenal and keeping these thoughts in mind the next time you sit down for a game of PLO can help you out-gun the competition.

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Chris Ferguson

In 1964, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart tried to define what may or may not be considered obscene under US law. In the end, he determined that no definition existed, but that when it comes to obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”

The same holds true when you’re talking about running badly at the poker table. You may not be able to identify what’s going wrong, but you know its happening. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no single definition or criteria for “running bad” because it means something different to everyone. For some players, it’s posting 10 or 12 losing sessions in a row. For others, it’s losing a dozen coin-flips during a single session. “Running badly” depends on the individual and on the metrics they’re using to judge their performance.

Whatever the definition is, the fact remains that everyone runs bad at one time or another. What separates successful players from those who go bust is how they handle themselves and their bankrolls when their cards go dead. For me, running bad doesn’t mean having a few losing nights or taking a few bad beats over the course of a session. That’s variance and it’s an inevitable part of the game. In my mind, running bad is something bigger that happens over the long term.

If you’re not sure whether you’re really running bad or not, start by stepping back and analyzing your results over a statistically significant timeframe. If you see a consistent pattern of losing sessions over a matter of weeks or months, then it’s likely that you’re having some real problems with your game. The key to getting back on track is figure out what’s actually going wrong.

For many players, running badly is a vicious circle; they suffer a few losing sessions and begin to tilt, which leads them to alter their playing styles in order to change things up. Soon, they do actually start playing badly, which leads to more losing sessions, and a continuation of their downward spiral. They lose because they’re running badly and they’re running badly because they’re losing.

If you look at your game and believe that you’re actually playing well but are just getting unlucky, then maybe you are. Aces get cracked by lower pairs. Sets get beaten by flushes, and hands get drowned on the river more often than you might think. My advice in these situations is to walk away from the game for a while. Take a break, regroup, and come back when you’re mentally refreshed and are ready to start playing again. Don’t, however, begin changing your game to compensate for bad luck. Focus on the fundamentals, look for good starting hands, and try to play the most solid poker you can. In time, your luck will change.

Whatever you do, however, don’t try to step up in levels in order to try and recoup your losses. I’ve seen many players go bust at times like these because they’re too focused on trying to rebuild their bankrolls by gambling rather than by playing smart poker and moving down to play at a lower level. Think about it; if you’ve been losing, chances are that you’re playing on a smaller bankroll than normal, which means that you’ll be risking a higher percentage of your remaining funds by playing at higher stakes. With a smaller cushion behind you and more of your bankroll at risk, it doesn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse and for you to lose everything you had left.

On the other hand, by moving down a level or two, you’ll be risking less in the short term while you try to rebuild your bankroll. Sure, the pots you win may not be as big as those you win at higher levels, but weighed against the odds of going broke, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. What’s more, by moving down, I may only have to play at a lower level for a month or two to recover my losses whereas if I go broke after moving up, it could take me a year or more until I’ve recovered. That’s a pretty persuasive argument if you really value your time.

While I can’t tell you whether you’re really running badly or not, I can tell you that your mental state does impact your game. If you’re feeling good, chances are you’ll play well and, if you’re not, chances are you won’t. Rough patches are part of the game and learning how to handle short-term adversity without losing your confidence or your bankroll will make you a better player in the long run.

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Mix It Up!

Eddy Scharf

A group of my fellow Full Tilt Poker pros and I recently completed a tour of Germany where we got to spend a lot of time interacting with a whole new generation of players from around the country. What I noticed along the way – aside from the incredible enthusiasm for the game – is that many of these players are very technically sound, but lack the real-life game experience to use their knowledge creatively.

To me, these players are like artists who learn by copying the works of past masters. They’ve studied the styles and understand the concepts, but their games lack originality. It’s paint-by-numbers poker.

For beginning players, reading poker books and strategy articles provide a great foundation for learning the basics of the game. These materials teach the importance of strong starting hands, position, and aggression. But, as Phil Ivey recently pointed out, relying too much on other’s people advice can actually stunt the growth of your game.

One of the most important pieces of advice I offer to new players is this; mix things up. There’s more than one way to become a winning player and it’s up to you to find the style – or combination of styles – that works best for you. Look at some of the game’s best known tournament pros like Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, and Erick Lindgren. Each of these players is a master of mixing up their games and of playing “against the grain” of the competition.

If you’re normally a tight player, go a little bit crazy and loosen up for a while. You might be very surprised at the results you get. The same goes for those of you who usually play a very aggressive style. Rein it in at times and try out a tighter style of play. By switching gears like this, you’ll prevent your opponents from easily determining how you play and you’ll be able to take advantage of opponents who don’t make adjustments to their games. Sitting in a rock garden? Take advantage of your tight opponents by playing more hands. Surrounded by maniacs? Tighten up and pick off their bluffs by playing more premium hands.

Knowing when – and how – to make these changes comes with experience, so don’t be afraid to experiment, especially online. It’s very easy to sit down at a low-limit table – or even a play money table if you’re more comfortable with that – and try out some new tactics. Experiment with different starting hands, not just the ones recommended by the books. Try playing a hand like 8-6 suited from early position and see what happens. You might not win the pot, but it’s an experience you can learn from and draw on later in your poker career.

Another great way for players to start mixing up their game, especially newer ones who play No-Limit Hold ‘em almost exclusively, is to try out some of the other forms of poker out there. Play some Limit Hold ‘em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Stud, and Razz. Doing this will likely give you a fresh perspective on No-Limit Hold ‘em and open up your mind to some new ways to approach the game.

Its one thing to read a book where the information presented is based on someone else’s experience. It’s entirely another to have that experience for yourself. Get online and experiment. Try different plays and different games and see how mixing things up can help make you a more successful poker player in the long run.

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Suited Connectors and Small Pocket Pairs

We’ve all seen situations unfold on TV where a hand like 7-8 suited or pocket 5s manages to crack some big pocket pair like Aces or Kings. We sit back in the comfort of our living rooms and say, “Well, if they can do it, so can I!”

While it is true that these hands can sometimes take down monster pots, the fact is, playing these kinds of marginal hands can often lead many players – especially newer ones – into a big trap. They start playing suited connectors and small pocket pairs much too frequently and, eventually, find themselves in situations where they’re forced to make tough decisions for lots of chips.

I suggest that you stay away from suited connectors altogether ? especially if you’re a newer player – as I truly believe these are overvalued holdings. But if you do feel the need to play these kinds of hands, the first rule to remember is to always play them when you have position. If you limp or raise from early position with suited connectors, it’s simply a bad play.

Another point to consider is that you’re going to be investing a lot of chips after the flop if you’ve got a flush or straight draw. You’re not playing hands like 7-8 to fold when the flop comes 5-6-T, but you will only make your hand about a third of the time. When you don’t complete your draw, you might be able to push an opponent with a moderate holding out of the pot, but someone with a strong hand or a better draw isn’t going anywhere.

One especially dangerous hand to be wary of is 9-8, both suited and unsuited. Why? Well, let’s say you see a flop and it comes 10-J-Q. You’ve hit a straight and someone bets into your made hand. Many players are going to push all-in here, but that can be a costly mistake because there’s a good chance that someone else in the pot is holding a hand like A-K and will walk away with all of your chips.

Personally, I think you’re better off making a hand with something like 5-6 or even 4-5, because you’re less likely to be putting a lot of chips into a pot with the second-best hand. Playing 9-8 is simply a recipe for going broke.

When it comes to small pocket pairs, you have even less wiggle room. Basically, your only option is to get lucky and hit a set on the flop. I see a lot of players raising pre-flop with these hands because they think they have the best hand at the moment – and maybe they do. But this can sometimes be a huge mistake. You’re draining all the value out of these hands, because they pay off most when you flop a set and are able to bust someone.

If you are going to play a hand like pocket 5s, my suggestion is to once again only play when you have position ? limping or raising from early position is bound to get you in a heap of trouble. Try to get in cheap and hit your set. If you don’t connect with the flop, do your best to keep control of the betting and force people out of the pot if it doesn’t look like they hit their hand either.

Suited connectors and small pocket pairs are just dangerous hands to be playing, no doubt about it. You might look like a genius when you flop the nuts and somebody pays you off, but the odds say that’s just not going to happen too often. The more likely scenario is that if you play these kinds of purely speculative hands more than you should, it’s going to lead to nothing but a huge drain on your bankroll.

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