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Strategy: No-Limit Big Stack Strategy

How Should You Play Middle Pairs and Underpairs?

by Remoh

Introduction

In this article

When you can take your hand to the showdown
Which boards are most suitable for bluff bets
When you should not bluff

When you play pocket pairs (other than aces) you will sometimes find yourself facing overcards on the flop and only holding a middle pair, or even an underpair. The question is, how should you continue playing your hand in such a situation? How strong is a middle pair? Can you continue to play an underpair at all? What things should you be paying attention to?

This article will show you what to pay attention to after the flop to avoid making unnecessary mistakes when holding a middle pair/underpair.

We'll start by looking at the probability of holding a middle pair/underpair on the flop. The table below shows you how likely this is for the pocket pairs 22-KK:

Probability of seeing overcards on the flop

Your Hand	22	33	44	55	66	77	88	99	TT	JJ	QQ	KK
Overcards	88.25	88.22	87.96	87.12	85.39	82.43	77.92	71.53	62.94	51.82	37.84	20.67
One Overcard	0.00	1.35	5.71	12.12	19.59	27.14	33.80	38.57	40.49	38.57	31.84	19.31
Paired Board	0.00	1.35	2.45	3.31	3.92	4.27	4.41	4.29	3.92	3.31	2.45	1.35
Non-paired Board	0.00	0.00	3.27	8.82	15.67	22.86	29.39	34.29	36.57	35.27	29.39	17.96
Two Overcards	0.00	19.31	31.84	38.57	40.49	38.57	33.80	27.14	19.59	12.12	5.71	1.35
Paired Board	0.00	1.35	2.45	3.31	3.92	4.29	4.41	4.29	3.92	3.31	2.45	1.35
Non-paired Board	0.00	17.96	29.39	35.27	36.57	34.29	29.39	22.86	15.67	8.82	3.27	0.00
Three Overcards	88.25	67.57	50.41	36.42	25.31	16.71	10.33	5.82	2.86	1.12	0.29	0.02
Paired Board	16.16	13.47	11.02	8.82	6.86	5.14	3.67	2.45	1.47	0.73	0.24	0.00
Non-paired Board	71.84	53.88	39.18	27.43	18.79	11.43	6.53	3.27	1.31	0.33	0.00	0.00
For a Full House	0.24	0.22	0.20	0.18	0.16	0.14	0.12	0.10	0.08	0.06	0.04	0.02

(All values in %)

This table shows you exactly how likely it is that you will be facing one, two or even three overcards on the flop and not have improved to a set or quads.

Notice that you will be facing at least one overcard a little over half the time after calling with JJ before the flop. This knowledge may lead you to make a different pre-flop decision, for example, when you know that you will run into post-flop action against a given opponent and won't know where you stand if you end up with a middle pair/underpair on the flop.

But this article isn't dedicated to pre-flop play with pocket pairs; we will focus on what to do after you've seen the flop and are facing overcards.

Once you've gotten a feeling for the probability of holding a middle pair/underpair on the flop, the next step is understanding the post-flop strengths and weaknesses of middle pairs and underpairs.

Next article: Calling Down in NL Hold'em

That's not the entire article...

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Comments (14)

#1 roswellx, 14 Aug 09 14:41

Hmmm nice article.. Thank you for sharing your thoughts..

#2 Cealin, 15 Aug 09 11:37

Really good article! Cheers

#3 KidPokersKid, 17 Aug 09 22:33

Great stuff always enjoy reading new articles...keep em coming.

#4 usun, 26 Aug 09 17:28

Nice one!

#5 mustafov, 25 Mar 10 12:58

very useful

#6 Feexer, 25 Mar 10 13:46

isn't this article too complicated for the basics?

#7 gogy34, 30 Mar 10 14:42

cool

#8 RaWRpewpew, 08 Apr 10 23:13

Probably to complicated for basic yes - but its so important that it can be here

#9 Navrark, 13 Apr 10 16:54

I find it a little difficult to understand, but it's still helpful.

#10 Donkey111, 29 Apr 10 02:06

Excellent article.

Shouldn't we consider the number of players, i.e. full ring vs short handed? The more players around the table, the more likely they have a better pair I reckon.

#11 yeahyoung0312, 23 Sep 10 15:54

Simply amazing article.

#12 kcdsel, 12 Jun 11 19:33

if your at basic level it will be to complicated,but now at gold level i find it very helpfull

#13 Castle93, 06 May 12 12:54

why is it only a 88% chance of seeing over cards with 22 on the flop? surely it would be 100% as its impossible to not have at least one

#14 Castle93, 06 May 12 12:56

ahh ignore that didnt realise it was without improving to a set or quads

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Strategy Sections

Article Contents

Introduction
The strengths of middle pairs and underpairs
The weaknesses of middle pairs and underpairs
The most important concepts when holding a middle pair/underpair
Conclusion

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