how do you play medium pairs

[Kangaroo 0]

Ok Im talking 99 TT here mainly i was just playing and got dealt 99 3xBB raise preflop called and then with a 257 board one raises then another goes all in for 770 i have 1500. I felt my 99 was weak to possibly a set or a bigger pokcet pair so i layed it down. Then I thought well i couldve called then i had the over pair?Im not asking for an alaysis of this hand just simply what is the right way to play 99 or TT

[Chief 0]

I get a general sense that you don't know how to play middle pairs post flop. And that's OK. They aren't easy to play.1. In general, in an unraised pot in middle or late position in a NL game (short handed or ring), coming in for a raise of 3-5x the BB is fine with these hands. You may very well have the best hand when you open the pot with your raise, and take down the blinds. Quite often you are going to get called and you will still have an equity edge preflop.2. Position makes playing these hands a lot easier. Much much easier. If you are attentive to detail and get a general sense for how certain players play top pair when they have it on a board such as Qc 8s 6h (will they bet out if you raised preflop? check call? check raise?) and you hold something like Ts Tc, and know where you stand in the early stages of the hand and act accordingly on each street with said knowledge. Subsequent streets you may feel your opponent has a weak kicker with his top pair or his playing his hand weak/scared, and you can take measures to push him off his hand. Constantly be gauging strength, putting people on hands, and trying to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Look for them. Opportunities fall into the categories of profit maximization and loss minimization.So far so good?3. Sometimes there are situations where you open the pot, and face a sizeable raise from an opponent, whom you think might be raising with a large pocket pair (AA, KK, QQ, maybe even JJ). You know if you reraise they are going to call or come over the top. Consider the following: Will they fold to scare cards (eg will this opponent get all timid if an Ace falls when he has Kings? or will he bet it hard so you cant take him off his hand--he will pay to see your ace ((and probably bemoan his bad luck later)) )? (What's my table image, do I show down a lot of hands, do I appear loose, or tight preflop? post flop?) You easily make the call with your pocket pair if the reraise is 5% of your stack or less, just for set value alone(when the flop comes, say, ten high, and your opponent holds aces - queens, you figure to make a considerable amount of money in hands like these) -- but you wouldnt make the call for set value alone, of course. 10% or more of a reraise in a cash game, you are entering the zone of - need to lay this down. 5%-10% is the gray area, and its your personal choice i think.

[charder30 0]

you should almost always raise with 99 and TT even at a fullring in first position, but beware of a reriase, b/c at best ur a coinflip. they can be tricky to play after the flop, but u still have to raise b/c of there significant equity advantage..

[TJ_Eckleburg 0]

TT-88 are my favorite hands to play in a deepstack no limit cash game.Tournaments they're a little trickier.But what makes them so great to play in a cash game is you can play them harder and represent a big pair, or play them slower and play for the set.How I'll actually play it depends on game conditions (more likely to raise in a weak/tight game, more likely to call in a loose aggressive game), position (more likely to play for a set in EP, more likely to represent the goods in LP), my stack, my mood, and my image.In tournaments, all I can say is... don't flip coins with stacks that are close to you. Flip coins if you're short and need a double up, or if you're huge and need to bust someone. Don't flip coins if you're middlish and up against another middlish stack. These hands get tournament players in trouble because it's so easy to be up against two overs.

[Scott3705 0]

always open for a raise. With enough callers in which I don't think i have a real strong chance of thinning the field to less than 3-4 players, i'm calling with 77-99 and probably raising with 1010 and up. These pairs usually take the pot on the flop with a continuation bet if no one improves. If a lot of face cards come, bet/fold-> turn check is usually correct.I don't think there is a really set way to play these hands when they get real trick such as the way that you described. IMO, it's all feel at that point.

[Kangaroo 0]

thanks guys, great stuff.

[skoal_dip 0]

Definitely depends on the table. If it's an aggressive table, I'll just limp with 10-10 to 8s and calling a raise. No need to have to make a tough decision calling a big reraise for up to 25% of your stack (this happens all the time live). On a tight table, and a shorter stack cash game ex. 100 max 1-2 game, I'll raise with 9s and 8s utg. And personally, I'll almost never reraise with 10s and jacks.

[Davin 0]

Definitely depends on the table. If it's an aggressive table, I'll just limp with 10-10 to 8s and calling a raise. No need to have to make a tough decision calling a big reraise for up to 25% of your stack (this happens all the time live). On a tight table, and a shorter stack cash game ex. 100 max 1-2 game, I'll raise with 9s and 8s utg. And personally, I'll almost never reraise with 10s and jacks.

then you're playing into the aggressive players' strategies. by simply playing for set value, or playing your medium pair slow safely, you have lowered the value of your hand. it's true that you need to adapt your game according to your opponents, but not in this situation. by answering to aggression w/ meekness, you'll become way too easy to read by a good opponent. against aggressive opponents, you generally dont want to underplay your hands, because you'll never truly know where you are and end up giving up many pots w/ the best hand... or getting busted when you finally catch a good hand, but end up losing because you overplay it since you think your opponent's bluffing. when i play, i answer aggression w/ aggression. raise these pairs, dont just raise big pp's or you end up playing straight into your opponent's strategy. remeber, aggressive doest mean bad. becoming more passive to signs of aggression will just end in you getting run over.im an aggressive player, and what i love best is when my opponent "tightens" up against me bc he thinks he can pick his spots. what usually ends up happening is that his good hands become transparant, his mediocre hands become transparant, and his weak hands become crystal clear. they slowly get ground down and before they know it, they're getting desperate and pushing middle pair when i have tptk cause they think im bluffing again.

[ICrushHomeGames 0]

In general, I like to raise with 99 & TT pre-flop, though it took me a while to have enough confidence in my game to play strong after a flop which would probably have at least one overcard. I like the raise because it thins the field. I will re-raise with 99 &TT after exactly one raise because I'm trying to get heads up or with these middle pairs or even take it down pre-flop.The problem, especially in LHE, is when you're in LP behind 5 limpers pre-flop with 99. These limpers want to see a flop and generally aren't folding to a one-bet raise (at least where I play!). This is where the argument begins (it was on this board a few months ago). You've got the +EV optimists who say "Get your money in with the best hand" vs. the flat-call pessimists who say "I'm 8-1 to hit my set, and the board will almost certainly contain overcards to my 9 that hit 1-2 people."Of course, the +EV folks make a stronger case. Always raise when you think you have the best hand. Odds, bitch.

[skoal_dip 0]

Definitely depends on the table. If it's an aggressive table, I'll just limp with 10-10 to 8s and calling a raise. No need to have to make a tough decision calling a big reraise for up to 25% of your stack (this happens all the time live). On a tight table, and a shorter stack cash game ex. 100 max 1-2 game, I'll raise with 9s and 8s utg. And personally, I'll almost never reraise with 10s and jacks.

then you're playing into the aggressive players' strategies. by simply playing for set value, or playing your medium pair slow safely, you have lowered the value of your hand. it's true that you need to adapt your game according to your opponents, but not in this situation. by answering to aggression w/ meekness, you'll become way too easy to read by a good opponent. against aggressive opponents, you generally dont want to underplay your hands, because you'll never truly know where you are and end up giving up many pots w/ the best hand... or getting busted when you finally catch a good hand, but end up losing because you overplay it since you think your opponent's bluffing. when i play, i answer aggression w/ aggression. raise these pairs, dont just raise big pp's or you end up playing straight into your opponent's strategy. remeber, aggressive doest mean bad. becoming more passive to signs of aggression will just end in you getting run over.im an aggressive player, and what i love best is when my opponent "tightens" up against me bc he thinks he can pick his spots. what usually ends up happening is that his good hands become transparant, his mediocre hands become transparant, and his weak hands become crystal clear. they slowly get ground down and before they know it, they're getting desperate and pushing middle pair when i have tptk cause they think im bluffing again.

No, I'm not talking about good, aggressive players that can lay down a hand. I'm talking about donkeys that you CAN'T bluff. I mainly play live at a club 1-2, and you just have to play tight and wait to get paid off. But I do see your reasoning, I should've been more clear with what type of player you'd do this against.

[leisurekidz 0]

good info, i have trouble with these hands as well...

[CobaltBlue 662]

I've never had a problem open-raising any pair given position and opponents. I also don't mind calling a raise to try to catch a set against a big pair. That said, this thread has inspired me to experiment a bit with my game.Over the past few months, I've gotten much better about re-raising AK and JJ...and playing QQ much more like AA/KK. It's amazing what aggression on top of aggression can do. When you have AK and miss the flop, your opponent seems much more likely to fold to a continuation bet that follows a re-raise as opposed to an open raise.A number of times, I've had queens and raised. When someone re-raises a bit, I come back over the top. Both times that I've done that recently, my opponent laid down pre-flop and chatted, "Nice AA." I guess I've got a reputation for being tight. =)So anyway, these results have been good enough that I may start re-raising some of the middle pairs in position as opposed to just calling and hoping for a set.

[skoal_dip 0]

I've never had a problem open-raising any pair given position and opponents. I also don't mind calling a raise to try to catch a set against a big pair. That said, this thread has inspired me to experiment a bit with my game.Over the past few months, I've gotten much better about re-raising AK and JJ...and playing QQ much more like AA/KK. It's amazing what aggression on top of aggression can do. When you have AK and miss the flop, your opponent seems much more likely to fold to a continuation bet that follows a re-raise as opposed to an open raise.A number of times, I've had queens and raised. When someone re-raises a bit, I come back over the top. Both times that I've done that recently, my opponent laid down pre-flop and chatted, "Nice AA." I guess I've got a reputation for being tight. =)So anyway, these results have been good enough that I may start re-raising some of the middle pairs in position as opposed to just calling and hoping for a set.

This is an interesting point. I'd be more inclined to do that in a live game where you are likely to have more of a reputation. If that reputation is tight, then you can get away with it. Online, the players usually aren't paying attention to how you play and don't give a **** who you are.

[CobaltBlue 662]

I definitely wouldn't recommend it at anything lower than .50/1. And, it'd certainly help if you knew your opponents somewhat. It's also comes with a lot of obvious risks.

[krup24 0]

early position set em or forget emlate position unraised , raise minor raise no reraise call