I am a poker player, but I am not a good poker player. My favorite game is seven card stud, but I'll play hi/lo, Hold 'em, Razz, etc.
Writing about poker is one of my passions.
One pair rarely wins an Omaha pot, even if that pair is aces. In Hold'em, on the other hand, a pair of aces is right around the average winning hand.
If you call a hundred dollars but have a chance to win $10,000, those are excellent odds if you are at a table with people who have two aces or two kings. If you catch a flop you will get all their chips. I just play them because there is value.
Learning to play two pairs is worth about as much as a college education, and about as costly.
At my first tournament, about four years ago, I got four twos. Now I have a poker problem. I do win every so often, so that's what keeps me going.
The danger of paired flops is directly related to how high the pair is: there's less risk in a flop like 2-2-7 than Q-Q-8. Why? Because most players will fold a hand that contains a deuce but will play hands that contain a queen like A-Q, K-Q, Q-J, or Q-10.
I've been an idiot at the poker table for a long time.
Moving all-in with a small pair from early position only makes sense when you are severely short-stacked and desperately need to pick up the blinds.
Look, for some players, pot odds should guide your decision making.
Players talk about pot odds all the time, especially when they try to justify a call that they made. Whenever I hear this line of reasoning, though, I can't help but wonder if they properly thought through the consequences of their call.
High flops like K-Q-9, K-J-10 or Q-J-8 are dangerous to pocket aces. That's because these flops will more likely to connect with the range of hands that your opponents will typically play, like 10-J, K-Q, 10-10, or 9-10.
