Quiz #11, Question Three

[Matt]

The game is loose and generally passive. You hold a pocket pair below tens. Three players limp and the player to your right raises. You expect that no one will reraise. What do you do and why?

[notcalebsheridan]

Unless the table is filled up with donkeys, it's hard to call 3-bets with hands you limped in with. For this reason, I like to raise medium pairs here to try to isolate. Oftentimes the original raiser will calldown with high card

I generally fold 55 and less. You don't have implied odds like in NLHE and they are counterfitted too often.

[Nima]

The game is loose and therefore people will not fold to your raise. Especialy for the fact that there are other playres who have already called the blind and more than likely will call your raise.

With medium and small pairs you need to hit a set to win. Otherwise its a fold. However if you do hit the set you will most likely win the hand. However for you to be able to play those hands (small and medium pairs) the pot has to be multiway to give you the correct odds odds.

Most of the time you dont hit, so the times you do, you have to get paid enough to compensate for the previous times.

Cheers,
Nima

[Matt]

Call with any pocket pair. Like suited aces, small pocket pairs are essentially drawing hands in multiway pots. You're looking to hit a set, which will happen about one in eight times. Your implied odds make this a profitable call. If you hit a set, you could win a nice pot. Raising with nines or eights is also reasonable.