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Pocket Pairs

Big Pairs (AA-TT)

High Pocket Pairs are the hands with the highest value in Texas Hold’em. This counts for all types of the game, be it shorthanded or in multiway pots at full-ring tables, be it in passive or aggressive games. If there are only one or two players in the hand, you will be able to win even unimproved with big pairs. The more players see the flop, the less the chance of winning the hand unimproved. If the pair improves to a set or a full house, you will be able to win big pots.
A high pocket pair does not give your opponents the opportunity to beat you with typical overcards. If you have pocket aces, no overcards are possible at all. Thus, the strength of a pocket pair equals the value of its cards. The best hands, AA and KK, are also known as monsters. With this kind of hand you should cap pre-flop if possible. QQ should also be capped, referring to the starting hands chart. You should be more cautious if you hold JJ or TT. If someone already 3-bet preflop, you should be aware that you might be dominated by a higher pocket pair. But these kinds of hands should be raised, too, because of their equity edge against random starting hands as long as no one raised before.