There are many people with many different oppinions about how to play a small pocket pair. In my own oppinion, i think that there is just one correct way to play these cards.

The cards by itself are useless, considering there will be probably a couple of higher cards to come on the flop, turn and river. Knowing this, the only good thing that can happen is that you hit your set at the flop.

If your lucky and you hit your set then the best thing that can happen is that one of your opponents hits a top pair, and thinks it's the nuts. If you ain't lucky and are still stuck with the small pair then you should easily fold your hand whenever someone makes a bet, no big deal.

So what should we do : fold'em, limp in or maybe a small raise perhaps?

Here are some examples of playing a small pair :

Go All In
This is just plain stupid. Going al in with just a small pair is probably the worst way you can play, so just don't do it! You need a miracle to win this one against any player that desides to call you, because probably only the players with a good starting hand will decide to call.

Fold'em
Probably the best solution (surely the safest) of playing a small pocket pair, just fold them, play on and don't look back. Sure, when you see the flop it will be a bit sour, but then again the changes are small so folding them without putting any money in the pot is a smart thing to do.

Limp in
Probably most of the players out there will try and limp in with these cards. If your lucky you'll get away with it and see the flop for a small fee. If your not so lucky, and an opponent feels your trying to limp in, he will probably try and shake you of by raising you preflop. If so, you better flop cause it can only get worse from thereoff.

Make a small raise
Ok, we talked about that folding was probably the best solution, but on the other hand, making a small raise can sometimes be even better. Most likely your opponents will assume you'll have a strong hand (maybe AKo or a high pocket pair) and will just call. This way, if everything goes well, and no one desides to reraise you you will see the flop with only a small investment, but also with the opponents thinking you got a monster in your hands. If the flop comes, and your lucky and hit your set, then probably none of your opponents will think you have trips because they've placed you on a big hand like mentioned before. If so and one of them hit top pair or even better, a two pair then this might be your change to win some big money because of the fact that your opponent thinks he or she has the nuts.


These are my personal toughts on playing a small pair. It's always good to play in different styles so you won't get predictable. Play random now and then will help your game in a good way.