And the reason why they are such good hands to have is because you already have a pair in your hand, which often ends up being the best hand at showdown.
But even more importantly, pocket pairs often wind up winning massive pots, especially in deep stacked No Limit Hold’em games, when you hit three of a kind (also known as a set).
So in this article I am going to give you my top 9 simple ways to quickly increase your winnings with pocket pairs.
1. Raise With All Your Pocket Pairs Preflop
My first strategy to increase your profits with pocket pairs is to make sure that you are always raising with them when you are the first person to enter the pot before the flop.
The reason why this strategy works so well is because it immediately gives you control of the pot and gives you more ways to win after the flop.
Along with making the best, you can also now win the pot on the flop, turn or river by simply continuing up with the initial aggression that you already started before the flop.
This is actually a statistically proven way to increase your winnings with all hands in poker, not just pocket pairs. So, make sure you are raising with all of your pocket pairs if you are the first person into the pot preflop.
2. Play Your Premium Pocket Pairs Very Aggressively
It is important to make a clear distinction between the different types of pocket pairs. At the very top level you have premium pocket pairs which are JJ, QQ, KK and AA.
With these hands you want to be playing them very aggressively both before the flop and after the flop. And the reason why is because these are some of the strongest and most profitable hands that you can be dealt in Texas Hold’em.
Premium pocket pairs like this are statistically proven to win the pot at showdown much more often than all other hands, and they will be among your biggest profit sources over the long run.
You can actually see the data for yourself in a program like PokerTracker. Just filter for your winnings by hands and you will see that your premium pocket pairs win more big blinds per hand on average than any other hands.
So it is imperative that you play these hands very aggressively and try to play a big pot with them most of the time.
3. Play Your Middle Pocket Pairs Cautiously
How about your middle pocket pairs like 66, 77, 88 and 99 though? How should you play these hands?
Well, for the most part I would recommend playing your middle pocket pairs like this fairly cautiously. And what I mean by this is pot controlling more after the flop and trying to get to a relatively cheap showdown.
Middle pocket pairs are still very strong hands which will be very profitable for you over the long run. However, they do not have the same type of strength as premium pocket pairs and they are much more vulnerable to over-cards as well.
So this is why all top level professional poker players like Daniel Negreanu often stress the importance of playing your middle pocket pairs like this cautiously.
4. Play Your Small Pocket Pairs For Set Value
With your small pocket pairs like 22, 33, 44 and 55 you want to play these hands even more cautiously. This means checking and folding to a big bet for the most part, unless you hit your set.
These hands will often lose at showdown in a big pot, so it is important to try and get to showdown as cheaply as possible, or just get out of the way.
There are a lot of over cards that can fall and make these hands extremely difficult to play. And therefore, you mostly just want to play these hands in order to try and hit a set after the flop.
5. Play Your Sets Very Aggressively
When you do hit a set with any type of pocket pair, you want to play it extremely aggressively. A set is one of the absolute best hands to have in poker because it is an extremely strong hand, and it is extremely well hidden as well.
For example, if you have pocket 4’s and the flop comes K42, this is a very strong and well hidden hand. If your opponent happens to have a pair of kings, you will probably win a big pot.
Playing your sets very fast and aggressively, especially at the lower limits, is actually one of my very top Texas Hold’em Tips for you to quickly increase your profits in these games.
Final Thoughts
Pocket pairs are some of the best hands to get in Texas Hold’em. So it is very important that you understand how to play them well.
You should be raising preflop with them when you are the first person to enter the pot and you should be playing your premium pocket pairs very aggressively.
You want to play your middle and small pocket pairs a little bit more cautiously because they are not as likely to win a big pot unimproved at showdown.
Lastly, when you are fortunate enough to hit a set on the flop, turn or river, you want to play it very aggressively by betting and often re-raising, because this is one of the best hands to have in the game.
