A Practical Guide to Playing Pocket Pairs in Free Poker Games

Low pocket pairs are better then many people think they are. They are also a lot worse then some people think they are. If you’re playing a free poker game it may not seem such a big thing but when its high stakes this stuff matters! Actually, even if you are playing “just” free poker games for any reason other than fun then you should treat it serious. So read on!

First off if you have pot odds of at least 4 to 1 you can be safe to call, it is a slight disadvantage but nothing that will break the bank. 4 to 1 may sound like you would be calling every pocket pair but its actually quite hard and impossible in early position.

The difference in folding a few more times could be saving you thousands of dollars in the right environment. If the blinds are still relatively low in comparison to the chip stack and if you have enormous implied odds are also safe times to see these low odds hands.

When the blinds are few and far between then there’s not too much to fear monetary wise. As if you call every pocket pair you will see fewer blinds over a 3/4 of an hour spell.

Pocket pairs are mostly just something to see a flop with and get away from easy but in rare cases you may even consider going/calling all-in with them. I wouldn’t recommend pushing with anything less then 66 as A2-A5 are popular hands these days. I remember when I first started playing poker and I found out that missing the flop with AK your still usually over 30% to hit by the river so I would just push all in regardless.

Some people including myself at one time thought 30% was not bad at all but really the only time you should with such low percents is when you’re forced into a situation that calls for it. Practice your card skills like this in free poker games first before moving on and up into the green.