Playing Big Pocket Pairs

A lot of players have a good idea how to play small to mid-pocket pairs, but when it comes to playing the top pocket pairs in poker, it normally means changing up the basics and relying on position more than anything else. As a refresher, the top PP’s I’m referring to are:

Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Tens.

We will work up to AA, KK, and QQ in a moment, but let’s get to work on the trickiest of pocket pairs à Tens (T T) and Jacks (J J). To be honest I find both of these hands easiest to play from early and middle positions. This is because standard to above-average preflop raises will not only limit the amount of opponents in the hand, but it can either allow you to take the blinds and antes without a fuss or make some decent money if a low flop hits the board. When playing from late position (i.e. the cut-off or the button), pots are easier to pick up if you know basic continuation bet rules, as well as just utilizing your spots on decent boards. Remember, you want to work smarter, not harder with hands like TT and JJ!

The only times you should look to get maximum value (aka “slow playing”) out of hands like Tens or Jacks is when you flop a set or a safe, non-textured board hits. Extracting value in those spots will always be key, because you want those opponents who hit a smaller pair to think you’re up to no good, and by sheer curiosity will call your bets. Sometimes, if the board warrants it, even a value bet on the river might entice players with Ace-high to make certain calls just to pay you off and see what you have.
Now don’t get me wrong, the same concepts that were just explained in the aforementioned paragraphs will most likely help you out with the next set of hands we’ll be discussing: playing Queens through Aces effectively.

There’s honestly no perfect way to play a big hand such as these. One thing is certain though — you most always want to keep the amount of players in the pot small. 1 to 2 callers isn’t a bad thing with monster hands like this, but 3 and above can spell heartache pretty quickly. As with Tens or Jacks, I recommend raising your standard 3x to 4x the BB no matter what the position. You don’t want to get cute with a hand like this, because it could end up costing you your stack. Taking the pot down pre-flop is just as big a victory as you taking it down on the river; but at the same time you want to recognize your surroundings in order to make sounder judgments and decisions.
Perfect examples of this are overplaying your monsters too much. Why get yourself in trouble with Queens on an Ace, King, and Ten flops? Sure, the situation might warrant staying in the hand to see what matriculates, but depending on your opponents’ playing styles and betting patterns, it could be very costly to you in the long-run and it would give your hand absolutely little or no value at all. You want to ALWAYS have the upper-hand, and the way you do that is by going with your gut and understanding that sometimes the monsters don’t always win money.

There is a saying in poker you only “win a small pot with premium hands and/or lose huge ones with premium hands.” You’ll have to come to terms with the fact that folding QQ, KK, or AA might benefit you just as much as you holding onto them during the duration of a hand. The game of poker is meant to drive any sane person crazy, and there are going to be those unfortunate times where you will get burned with Kings versus a hand like A 3 offsuit on an Ace-high board – or when your pocket Queens meet their demise by T 9 suited. It’s how YOU handle yourself in these situations that will either help you in the long run…or expedite your trip to the rail.