Introduction to a Pair Hand in Poker

The term "pair" applies very loosely here. It refers to hands that have some strength by virtue of matched ranks, in other words, a pair, two pair, or trips. (A starting hand of high cards can be included in this category because of its good chance of quickly becoming a high pair.) Obviously, I am lumping together a wide range of hands, but the commonality of these hands is not in their absolute strengths; it's in their vulnerability to straights, flushes, and higher-ranking pair hands.

Because they already possess some strength and can beat missed draws, pair hands that appear to be the best hand currently at the table have positive expectations not only in terms of the existing pot but in terms of current bets. (Weaker pair hands may already be dominated, which changes things.) But because most of these hands have comparatively small chances of quantum improvement and are vulnerable to so many other that do (for example, straights and flush draws), the presence of multiple opponents significantly decreases their odds of winning, and thence their expectations. This is why pair hands are best heads-up. (Caveat: Powerful hands at the beginning of a hand, such as A-A before the flop in Hold'em or trips on third street in Stud, are strong enough to be best against larger fields of opponents.)

When these hands are against few opponents, they almost always have winning odds high enough to allow you to bet and raise for value, at least initially. You could be an underdog to win against a couple of opponents on good draws, but you will win often enough to profit by betting instead of checking.

Basic Strategy for Pair Hands

1. Bet and raise early to thin the field. With the very best hands, more callers can actually increase your profits. But with most pair hands, you want to force out the competition, and this will be your typical objective.

Don't make the biggest sucker mistake of all: "keeping people in" when you should be getting them out. If you start with a mid-range pair in Hold'em or Stud, chances are that you currently have the best hand. But if you encourage your opponents to stay in the hand by "slow playing" them, you are being a fool, because you are inviting them to draw cards to their straights, flushes, higher cards, or lower pairs to beat you. There are times and places for keeping your opponents in; holding a single pair at the beginning of a seven-card hand is not one of them.

2. Effects of betting and raising on pot odds is very relevant with pair hands. Early position and a small pot usually make it easier to force drawing players out, while late position and a big pot usually make it more difficult. In fixed-limit poker, you will only be able to alter your opponents' pot odds significantly on early betting rounds, while the pot is small. You are betting and raising here not because you are sure you will have a winner, but because by forcing opponents out, you greatly improve your chances of winning.

3. If forcing out opponents is unlikely, a raise from you would probably just create a bigger pot, which would tend to attract players on draws later. In these cases, just calling is usually a superior tactical play because it conceals the strength of your hand and increases your power to force out opponents later after the bets double.

4. In any case, after you have forced out opponents to whatever extent possible, the viability of your cards as the hand progresses depends greatly on the competition and on whether you improve. Generally, you will continue to bet an initially strong hand, even if it doesn't improve, until you have reason to believe that someone has you beat.