Working With Mid-Range Pocket Pairs

  Some things in the game of poker are self-evident. If you your pocket cards are a pair of 2s, you can be reasonably certain that this is a good time for a potty break or a trip to the drink cart. Conversely, if you find yourself holding a pair of Kings or Aces and don't reflexively raise before the flop, you probably don't belong at the poker table anyway. What can be confusing are those middle pairs that may show up in your hand. Those pairs between 8 and Jack that look too promising to put down, but too weak to take any real chance on.  Kenny Rogers once crooned something about knowing when to hold 'em and knowing when to fold 'em. This is the key to playing these sort of pairs. The first best rule is not to over think it. If you are holding two 10s and it is painfully obvious that somebody else at the table is working with a higher pair, fold. There may be those times when folding your mid-range pocket cards means that you have surrendered the winning hand, but do not let that deter you. For every time you fold a medium pair that would have won, there will be a half dozen times that you fold a similar pair that would have cost you money.  Conditions you should look for before putting your cards down are a lot of raising and re-raising before the flop, especially if there are three or more people doing the raising. The law of averages says that at least one of these folks has a hand that can beat you. If the person (or persons) who are raising happen to also be very conservative, tight players, then you should also fold. They may be bluffing, but if they have a reputation for tight play, it's not worth the risk.  Unless you are one of the blinds, folding doesn't cost you a cent. Raising means you need to part with some of your hard won money. There are some circumstances under which you can raise with your middle pair. First off, you should not even consider raising unless you are holding a pair of 10s or Jacks. There are just too many ways to be beaten with cards lower than those.  If you are sitting in the early position, and nobody has called, this would be a good time to raise. Similarly, if you are occupying a middle or late position, and the only caller is the big blind, go for a raise here as well. Your aim is to knock out as many other players as possible and try to get your middle pair in a heads-up or three-way situation.  If your raise is challenged and you find yourself re-raised by two or more people, you have a choice to make. If you are fairly certain that re-raising them back will knock one of the players out of contention, and put you heads-up, do so. If it looks like they are both going to match your raise, fold. Heads-up with a confident opponent is one thing, but having to raise and re-raise your way into a confrontation with two or more opponents that show every sign of strong cards is not a situation you want to get yourself into.  If all evidence points to the fact that raising is not going to get anybody to fold or you are looking at a pot with two or more players already committed to it, you might want to consider simply calling. The idea here is to simply see the flop as cheaply as possible. If things don't go your way after the flop is dealt, you can simply fold without losing that much money.  The middle pocket pair before the flop is neither the kiss of death nor the Holy Grail. They are very playable hands, but only under certain circumstances. So remember that when playing these hands, you want to thin the field to a maximum of two other players. But if both of these players have matched a raise and a re-raise before the flop, you probably are not working from a position of strength. In a re-raise situation you only want one other player in the pot. After that, it is all up to the flop.  Once the flop happens, then things become a bit clearer. If the flop produces a Q, K, or A, and one of your opponents raises, this means that they have probably hit a high pair and now have your middle pair beat. If the flop mercifully comes as low cards, this would be the time for you to show some aggression and raise. The weak flop has neutered any overcards your opponents may have, and you want to deliver a knockout blow before some luck on the turn or river saves them.  Overall, this is the basics of playing with a middle pair. Hopefully, this takes a tad of the mystery out of what to do with these particular cards.