How do You Play Overpairs?
Introduction
In this article
- How to play out of position
- How to play in position
- What you should keep in mind while playing against multiple opponents and in a re-raised pot.
An overpair is a pocket pair higher than all cards on the board, for example, AA on a Q75 flop. You're
usually holding a medium-strong hand without much potential for improvement,
and it is usually not easy to find a good approach that balances
protection, maximizing value, and pot control.
This article will discuss the basic theory of playing with overpairs
and take a close look at the shift in equity that occurs between the
flop and the turn. We will conclude by looking at various betting
sequences and their respective advantages and disadvantages depending
on the type of opponent you are facing, the situation at hand and the
board texture.
General concepts
In order to understand the correct way to play an overpair you need to
know what your odds of winning the hand are. A lot of beginners seem to
think an overpair is as good as the nuts. What you are about to see
should dispel any such thoughts of your own:
You may have the best hand at the moment, but your equity can vary greatly.
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Table 1: Equity AA vs. various other hands
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Sometimes you are clearly favored to win when you have an overpair on
the flop, sometimes you're a (big) underdog. When estimating where you
stand with your hand, you have to look at the flop texture and your
opponent's hand range.
Now let's look at your equity when you are behind on the flop with your
overpair. As you can imagine, it's not a pretty situation to be in and
you are usually very far behind.
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Table 2: Equity AA vs. better hands on the flop
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When you are behind on the flop, you are usually
way behind. The outlook is best when you have a flush draw or are
facing two pair. This is because you usually only have one chance to
improve your hand when you have an overpair: a set (though even then
you can lose the hand). You simply don't have a drawing hand and can't
win if you don't improve.
You have to be very careful on the flop when you think there is a good
chance that your opponent already has you beat. Moving in on the flop
often creates a situation in which you are either slightly favored to
win or a clear underdog against your opponent's hand range. When facing
decent opponents, these situations will end poorly for you too often
for you to be able to create a +EV situation by moving in on a
dangerous flop with an overpair.
If you were behind on the flop and don't improve on the turn, your
equity will decrease even further. If, on the other hand, you were
ahead and the turn card does not help your opponent, your equity will
usually increase on the turn.
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Table 3: Equity AA vs. draws on turn
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If you are still ahead on the turn, your equity increases greatly. Your
opponent, however, will sometimes be willing to go broke with a draw.
If the turn card completes a possible draw, your equity drops
significantly. Sometimes you will even be drawing dead on the turn.
Depending on the type of opponent you are facing and the board texture,
you can wait for a blank card to show up on the turn before shoving a
large chunk of your stack into the pot. If a draw completes, you can
still get away from your hand without having invested too much.
Sometimes the action on the turn even allows you to get a better read
on your opponent's hand range allowing you to make the right decision
more often.
The strength of an overpair depends on two factors:
- The number of opponents in the hand
- The size of your overpair
The absolute hand strength needed to win a showdown increases as the
number of opponents in the hand increases. You will rarely take down a
multiway pot with a single pair at the showdown, which is all your
overpair ultimately is. You generally have to assume you are behind if
your opponents start any action, since they will usually need to have a
hand that beats any pair before they can afford to show aggression in a
multiway pot.
The other decisive factor is the size of your overpair. The bigger your
pair, the fewer the number of overcards you must fear. It follows that
such hands are more suitable or inducing bluffs and that you should
focus less on protecting your hand. The smaller your overpair, the
greater the danger that you are behind against a bigger overpair and
can only win by hitting one of two outs.
Always keep the board texture and number of opponents in the hand in
mind when estimating the relative strength of your overpair. Don't rush
the decision to play for a big pot!
When you have an overpair, you have to decide between playing for pot
control and trying to maximize your value. Do you want to win a medium
sized pot at the showdown or do you want to get all your chips on the
table and risk running into a better hand?
Keep in mind: Protection is not a form of pot control, but a means of
maximizing your value. Playing for pot control, maximizing your value
and bluff induces are all tightly interwoven. This article will now
illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of various betting
sequences against various types of opponents, spots and board textures
by looking at example hands. In all example hands you and your opponent
both have a 100 BB stack. The game is short-handed NL100 with a $1 Big
Blind.
How should you play out of position?
You should raise pre-flop with high pocket pairs to protect your hand
and to get profit for your above-average equity. You also want to
reduce the number of opponents in the hand to increase your chances of
winning the hand unimproved.
You will often get one or two callers and make a
standard contibet on the flop with your overpair. The hand gets
interesting when your opponents don't fold. Playing your hand is
particularly difficult when you are out of position. We will begin by
looking at such situations.
Basically, when OOP with an overpair as the pre-flop aggressor and
first to act in a raised pot, you should always make a continuation
bet, if for no other reason than to be believed when you just have overcards.
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with K
, K
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to 5$, 1 fold, UTG calls 4$
Flop: ($11) 9, 2
, J
(2 players)
Hero bets $7.5, UTG calls.
Turn: ($26) 7 (2 players)
Hero?
Your choice is basically between bet/fold or check/call. Check/fold
would be too weak, since you could still be ahead and bet/call would
probably lead towards an all-in, something you don't want to risk with
this hand.
At this point you should ask yourself which worse
hands would call if you were to bet, and which worse hands our opponent
would bet if we were
to check and thereby show weakness. Whatever line you decide on, your
decision should be heavily based on the reads you have on your opponent.
Case 1.1: Villain 1 (7 PFR/65 VPIP/0.6 Aggression/37 WTS)
You should play bet/fold against such loose-passive opponents because:
- His high Went to Showdown means he'll call almost every pair and almost every draw, thus giving us value.
- He
isn't aggressive enough to bet with such a hand if you check; you would
just be giving him a free card and the chance to catch up. - He'll never make a bluff raise, so if he raises it's an easy fold.
- If you check, he will rarely bluff.
If a passive opponent calls again on the turn, you'll have to
reevaluate your hand on the river. Since, however, you know he will
usually only bet and raise with
better hands, bet/fold is usually better than check/call.
Case 1.2: Villain 2 (13 PFR/22 VPIP/3.5 Aggression/20 WTS)
Check/call is the better option against such an aggressive opponent because:
- If you bet, he will rarely call a worse hand given his Went to Showdown value.
-
You avoid running into a raise; a raise from this opponent
would not necessarily mean that you are behind (he'll raise draws, too). You can't get bluffed out of the hand. -
If he checks, too, the pot will remain small.
- The
key term: Induce a bluff. As the pre-flop aggressor you may very well
have missed the flop and your opponent will often try to float and will
bet with almost any hand if you check, whereas he might not invest any
more if you bet, which means you would miss out on value. - As a UTG limper/caller he will often have a small pocket pair with just
two outs against you, so there is no need to protect your hand.
If a (rare) check-behind comes up on the turn, you can assume you have
the stronger hand and make a value bet. Should he bet the turn, call
and check to him again on the river to induce another bluff bet. You
will rarely get a worse hand to call if you donk and don't risk getting
bluffed out of the hand.
Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to 4$, MP calls 4$, 4 folds.
Flop: ($9,5) 7, 2, Q (2 players)
Hero bets 5$, MP raises to 15$, Hero ?
Getting raised on a harmless flop like this one presents an
unpleasant situation. You have to ask yourself what kind of hand MP could raise with on a board that doesn't offer any draws:
- A set
- A top pair hand
- A pocket pair - thinking he is ahead but wanting to find out for sure.
- A bluff
You're usually ahead against the last three, but far behind a set. You
can look to the Pokertracker stats for help when trying to put your
opponent on a hand.
Aggression Factor and Raise Continuation Bet are the relevant values
here. Another raise is out of the question. There is hardly a worse
hand he would call with and none of the hands in his range have many
outs against you.
The choice is
between folding and calling. Folding is very weak in this situation,
since there are a lot of hands he could have that you have beat. You
would need a good read to fold your hand, which you don't have, so you
call.
Turn: ($39,5) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $29
Let's examine the action on the turn to get more information. You can
fold to a large bet with a clean conscience if our opponent is passive
since a calldown would be very expensive if he shows 22 or 77, or
even KQ, at the showdown.
Against maniacs or very aggressive players, you should call the turn
again, since they will often continue with a bluff. You could probably
call, too, if you have know your opponent slowplays strong hands. This
flop would
have been suitable. You definitely need a good read before making such
a decision, however, as it bears significant risk.
As you can see, your reaction to a raise with an overpair depends
strongly on the opposition you face. In general we can say: The more
passive your opponent, the stronger his hand in such a spot and the
more willing you should be to lay down your hand.
There are many more hands opponents
might like to play on a draw heavy board. For this reason, your bet on the
flop can be a bit bigger and that you don't need to assume right away
that you are behind if you encounter resistance.
In some situations it makes sense to risk your entire stack when you
think your opponent is very likely to be on a draw. Working with reads
of
all kinds is recommended.
Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to 4$, BU calls 4$, 2 folds.
Flop: ($9,5) T, 5, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets 9$, BU calls 9$
Case 3.1: The draw hits
Turn: ($27.5) Q (2 players)
In this example the flush draw completes. You do, however, have the nut
redraw with your diamond ace. You can check/call on the turn. If your
opponent remains passive and takes a free card, there is little it can
do to hurt your hand. You also avoid the risk of getting raised should
your opponent decide to show aggression. Your opponent might even bet
with a weaker hand that he would fold to a bet.
If you didn't have a flush draw and were halfway certain that your
opponent won't bluff raise, you could bet/fold in such a spot.
Check/call would not be very suitable, as your opponent could cheaply
out draw on the river or bluff you out of the pot then. You could even
check/fold against some opponents.
Case 3.2: The turn brings a blank
Turn: ($27.5) 2 (2 players)
This card doesn't complete any draws, but it does open the door to a
second flush draw. You are very likely ahead at this point and should
protect. But how?
Possibility 1: Hero bets 23$, BU raises All-In ($87)
If your opponent calls again, play check/call on
the river to
induce a bluff, assuming no draw hits. If a draw does complete, you
should usually fold. You obviously don't like seeing your opponent push
even after you've shown so much strength, but how do you evaluate the
situation? You must now invest $64 to win a pot of $137.5. You
therefore have to win 1/3 of the time in order to justify calling.
Your equity is:
- approx. 5% against set
- approx. 20% against two pair (T7/75)
- approx. 70% against a combodraw
- approx. 80% against flush draw
It's obviously impossible to say how often which type of opponent will
have which type of hand in this spot. There are, however, opponents who
would never push with a drawing hand and others that will do so very
often.
In this example you should tend towards calling. You aren't drawing
dead against a completed straight or flush. The only hands that have
you beat are a set or two pair (which would be very unlikely given the
board structure).
Possibility 2: Hero checks, BU bets $20, Hero raises All-In ($87).
You can hardly fold on the turn to such an aggressive opponent. If
you're willing to go broke against a set should that be the case, the
more important question is how you can extract maximal value from
weaker hands.
A bet will drive out most one pair hands. An aggressive opponent will
often bet with such a hand if you check to him. He could also
semi-bluff hoping you will fold overcards. After you CRAI (check/raise
all-in), he won't bet getting the odds to call profitably. Your
opponent will have to fold a hand that has a number of outs against
you.
You're risking $87 to win $47.5. Since an aggressive opponent will
hardly hold a hand that beats your overpair in more than 1/3 of all
cases, you can assume that your CRAI is +EV.
The disadvantage here is that BU gets the chance to take a free card. An aggressive
opponent will rarely use this opportunity, however. And if he does, you'll at least get to see a cheap showdown.
Summary: A check-raise on the turn can be effective against aggressive opponents
on a draw heavy board. Against passive players, however, you should bet
the turn to protect against draws. If you then get raised, you should fold your hand.
Let's look at the example again. This time your opponent raises on the flop.
Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to 4$, BU calls 4$, 2 folds.
Flop: ($9,5) T, 5, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets 9$, BU raises to 25$
If you know your opponent is aggressive enough to
raise with a draw or a weaker hand in this spot, you should go all-in,
since there are too many cards you don't want to see on the turn.
When facing more passive opponents who are likely to just call with a
draw or take a free card on the turn, you should simply call the flop
raise and give up your hand if he continues with a large bet on the
turn.
In every example so far you've decided to place a contibet out of
position on the flop. There are, however, a number of boards on which
you can refrain from contibetting the flop.
Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to 4$, BU calls 4$, 2 folds.
Flop: ($9.5) 3, 7, 7 (2 players)
Hero ?
Your opponent will often have missed this flop. He might even have an
overpair. If you only had overcards, you could check/call, or even
check/fold against some opponents.
In order to balance this line, you can refrain from contibetting the
flop with your overpair to give your opponent the chance to take a free
card and make 2nd best, or to overplay his own overpair. The important
thing is that there are very few cards you have to fear on the turn and
that you probably won't get much more value for your hand if you do
contibet. With these two thoughts in mind you can find a number of
boards on which you don't need to contibet your overpair out of
position.
How should you play in position?
When in position you have the advantage of being able to control the
size of the pot better. You can play much more effectively against draws since
your opponent must act first and usually has to tell you he's hit with a donk bet.
When a good player calls your pre-flop raise out of position he has a
much smaller range (mostly small pocket pairs). You will usually get
paid off more often with your overpair when it looks like you are
trying to steal raise from the CO or BU. In the following examples you
will see that you often have several options and can vary your play.
Adapting your game to keep your hand transparent is a part of finding
your own personal style of playing.
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with Q, Q
UTG calls $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to 5$, 2 folds, UTG calls 4$
Flop: ($11.5) J, 2, 5 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $6, UTG calls.
Standard play against any opponent so far. If your opponent checks to you again on
the turn you have the choice between a check behind followed by a call
on any river, or a bet on the turn with a fold to a check/raise.
Against opponents with a high WTS you should continue to bet as in the
section on playing out of position, since these players will not likely
fold a jack. A strong opponent, on the other hand, will rarely
check/call after you 3-bet pre-flop. By checking behind and
calling/betting on the river you will often get more value for your
pocket pair. The emphasis here is on pot control and inducing a bluff.
If an overcard shows up on the turn you can often
check behind. Your opponent is not likely to fold top pair, but he is
likely to bet with a number of weaker hands if you show weakness on the
river. Another jack would present a problem. You should play for pot
control and check behind in such a situation.
Pre-flop: Hero is MP3 with Q, Q
UTG calls $1, Hero raises to 4$, 4 folds, UTG calls 4$
Flop: ($9.5) J, 2, 5 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $6, UTG raises to 12$
This time your opponent check/raises, a sign of strength on this board.
In such a situation, you should always look at your opponents C/R
Pokertracker stat. You definitely shouldn't fold to the his minraise,
but re-raising would be out of line. You would only succeed in forcing
weaker hands out and it is unlikely that your opponent has 34. You are
in position, which puts you in a good position to reevaluate on the
turn.
Turn: ($33.5): T (2 players)
UTG (12/9/2.2/18) bets $25
This bet from a not too aggressive UTG shows strength. You will be
behind often and finding out is sure to be expensive. Such a bet in
such a situation is rarely a bluff, especially in the lower limits, and
whether UTG would play limp/call with a hand like AJ is doubtful.
If UTG checks the turn you can simply check behind and either call a
moderate river bet or place a small value bet if your opponent checks
to you.
If your opponent plays passively on a draw heavy board, meaning
check/call flop and a further check turn, you will usually be ahead
with your overpair. In this situation, you play as if you had TPTK. You
have to find the right balance of pot control and protection and should
be inclined to bet the turn on draw heavy boards.
Pre-flop: Hero is MP with Q, Q
1 fold, Hero raises to 4$, 3 folds, BB calls 3$.
Flop: ($8.5) 5, 6, J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets 7$, BB calls 7$
Turn: ($22.5) 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $17
There is no reason to believe the BB has you beat, so you bet for
protection and value. The disadvantage is, of course, that you will
have to fold to a check/raise. This won't happen often, but when it
does he
likely has you beat (he could have two pair/straight/set) or to have
very many
outs. You should usually just check behind on the river and fold to a
credible donk bet if the flush draw completes.
Turn: ($22.5) T
You should still bet against not too aggressive opponents even
though the flush draw completed. You could still be ahead and must
protect against off-suited hands with a diamond. If your opponent
check/raises you have an easy lay down. If you had an overpair + (nut)
flush draw, you could check behind since giving away a free card won't
hurt much and you don't want to end up folding to a check/raise.
On the river you should (in light of the Pokertracker stats, as usual)
fold to a large donk bet if draws have materialized. Any opponent who
has hit his draw will hardly try a check/raise, since you are likely to check
behind after a draw completes. Against weak opponents with a high
WTS you can often make a third value bet on the river since they will
sometimes check/call their top pair a third time out of desperation.
Pre-flop: Hero is MP with Q, Q
UTG calls 1$, Hero raises to 5$, 4 folds, UTG calls 4$
Flop: ($11.5) 7, 8, J (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets 9$, UTG raises to 27$
Check/raising shows a good bit of strength, particularly since it
can hardly be used for a free card. The statistics are useful here, as
emphasized in the entire article, and for this case we should look at
Check/Raise Flop stat. The lower the value, the stronger his hand.
The fact that he played limp/call
indicates a pocket pair or suited connectors. If he's not bluffing,
he'll usually have an equity comparable to yours or already have you
beat.
Against opponents who rarely check/raise, you should at most call this
raise and fold to further action. A direct fold could also be
considered since you won't know where you stand for the rest of the hand.
You can also consider pushing on the flop when facing an aggressive
opponent, as long as the board isn't offering any completed straights
and two pairs are unlikely. A T75
board is much better for pushing on the flop than J87.
How should you react to donk bets?
Donk bets can mean various things. Many players like to use small
donk bets with draws to see the next card on the cheap. In such cases,
you should always raise.
On drier boards, you should play an overpair more passively, since you
are then in a way ahead/way behind situation and are likely to get more
value from weaker hands if you don't force them out with a raise.
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with Q, Q
UTG calls $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to 4$, 2 folds, UTG calls 4$
Flop: ($9.5) J, 2, 5 (2 players)
UTG bets 6$, Hero ?
Without any real reads calling is a good option. You have a medium
strong hand and aren't looking to play for a monster pot. There is also
hardly any need to protect against weaker hands.
Some players like to check/call the flop and donk on the turn to
provoke a raise when they have a monster, others will do so with
drawing hands to win a contibet made with overcards, and still others
with weak made hands to find out where they stand.
The proper response is usually call turn, since a raise will
seldom be called by a worse hand and no better ones will fold. A fold
is also possible if there is a high probability that your opponent's
draw has materialized. A raise only makes sense if you are quite
certain your opponent is on a draw and you want to protect. This,
however, will rarely be the
case.
How should you play against multiple opponents?
Your
flop bets should always be larger when several opponents are in the
hand. If a reasonable opponent raises, you should be more willing to
fold in heads up situations. If, for example, one of the blinds
check/raises with a number of players left to act, it is usually a
monster.
You can almost always fold if a flush draw completes in a 3 or 4 handed pot.
You should not be wiling to go broke for 100 BBs with an overpair in a
multiway pot. Also keep in mind that you will rarely succeed in
bluffing several opponents out of the hand and that you are much more
likely to be behind when facing heavy action in a multiway pot than
when facing just one opponent.
Furthermore, you should avoid running into such situations by raising
before the flop (and not to small, either, when limpers have entered
the hand). Big pairs are much easier to play heads up than multiway.
How should you play in re-raised Pots?
Whereas QQ-AA can be played identically in a raised pot, assuming no overcard
is present, this is not so in a re-raised pot. Your play depends
heavily on the pre-flop action.
It is not recommended to play in a re-raised pot when out of position
and without the initiative (a normal re-raise of approx. 3 times is
assumed, min-raises are special cases that can be called with good
speculative hands). In the following example you see that you can sometimes just call when you are in position with a monster:
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with A, A
3 folds, Hero raises to 4$, SB raises to 14$, 1 fold, Hero calls 10$.
Flop: ($29) 7, 2, 5 (2 players)
SB bets 20$, Hero ?
You should usually raise on the flop. In this case, calling would also
be a good option, since your opponent could easily have overcards in a
steal situation and be unwilling to give them up if he hits on the
turn.
If you call for set value against a tight opponent
before the flop, you should stick to your plan and fold your overpair
to a contibet.
If you call with TT-QQ in position and have an overpair on the flop,
you can choose between raising and folding to further action. You could
also call the flop, but this has its con side: You miss the chance to
protect against overcards and don't really know where you stand with
your hand. You will usually have to fold to a 2nd barrel on the turn.
In a re-raised pot, hand reading is very important because of the
reduced range. Opponents who enter re-raised pots with strange hands
should be noted; in the future you can protect against them
more. 2 card flush or straight draws are also less likely in a re-raised pot.
How should you play a small overpair w/o initiative?
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with 8, 8
CO raises to 4$, BU calls 4$, SB calls 3.50$, Hero calls 3$
Flop: ($16) 7, 2, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero ?
You only called for set value pre-flop. You didn't hit, but you have an overpair. Check/fold?
In this case, a $12 bet would certainly be in
order, as you ought to be able to generate a good amount of fold equity
and could also easily be ahead at the moment and want to protect
against a number of overcards that could appear by the river. If your
opponent raises, you can get out of the way: if he calls, you can
generally assume he has you beat.
Conclusion
Playing overpairs is not easy and takes experience. Your PokerTracker database can be a big help when you have such a hand.
To improve your game, you should check out the
example hands in the forums. There is plenty of experience to learn
from. It's obviously impossible to cover every possible situation in a
single article, but hopefully this will have helped get a better
understanding of what playing an overpair is all about.
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