Daniel Negreanu On How To Play Middle And Small Pairs

Middle and Small Pairs

Lately, I've been misplaying these middle and small pairs. So I went back to check how Negreanu would play these hands using his small ball tournament strategy. This information is removed from his latest book Power Hold'em Strategy.

Middle Pairs: Pocket 7's to 10's

Don't overplay these hands. They are good hands because of the implied value as opposed to their preflop strength.

Pre-flop: If first in the pot, a raise of 2.5 times the large blind.

Flop: If you hit your set, poker qiuqiu play to win big. If you miss, don't auto-fold unless the action indicates plenty of strength.

Small Pairs: Pocket 2's to 6's

Play these pairs much like the middle pairs.

Pre-flop: Do not re-raise your opponents.

Example #1:

You have 10s-10d.

A tight player underneath the gun raises prior to flop. You call through the button.

Important note: Please don't re-raise a strong player who raises within the gun with pocket 10's. I see this happen all too often along with the only reason I can think someone has been doing the reason being they aren't paying attention.

The flop: 8h-4h-3c.

The tight player checks. What when you do?

Bet because 1) Your opponent checked and will also define your assailant's hand 2) If you check, your attacker will have the opportunity to hit his most likely hand, A-K and 3) A flush draw occurs and you can lose if he hits his hand and/or sees a flush draw on the turn.

If he check raises you here, just fold. Tight players won't create a play in this case.

If he calls your bet, proceed with caution. He may be setting a trap with pocket Aces.

Example #2:

You have 9h-9c.

Blinds $25/$50 plus a player raises to $150 from middle position. You ask small blind.

Flop: Qh-7d-2s. You check and your opponent bets $300. This opponent is aggressive and has a tendency to c-bet, which means you call.

Turn: 7c. You check and your attacker bets $600. What when you do?

Check raise to $1200 or $1500. If he re-raises you, it is possible to fold. If he calls, look into the river. If he bets the river, you're beat.

Example #3:

You have 4d-4s.

You raise the $50/$100 blinds to $250 in late position. The small blind calls.

Flop: 8h-9s-9h. The small blind check calls your $400 bet.

Turn: Kc. The small blind check calls your $600 bet.

River: 8d. Your opponent checks. What should you do?

Don't check although board counterfeited your small pair. Bet $800 into the $2700 pot. It looks like a legitimate value bet. If you're wrong, that small a bet won't hurt your stack if you might be beat.