Crucial factors for playing Big Pairs perfectly Pre-Flop in Online Poker

 
Big Pairs such as AA, KK, QQ and JJ are often played very badly in online poker by lot’s of players. This is due to the fact that most people play them the same every time they receive them in the hole. The point is that big pairs should be played differently depending on what kind of table you seat at, what kind of player you are up against and based on what has happened in the previous hands.

Every time you get a big pocket pair, the first thing you should do, is watch your position. Are you sitting in early, middle or late position? This is a factor that must not be underrated, as it can play a decisive role in a situational game like no limit holdem poker. At the same time you take a quick look in what position you’re in, you must think about the table and the players. Are you seating at an aggressive table or are the guys playing with you rather passive? Is your table loose or is it passive? This is critical information that you must attend to! For the sake of an easy read, let’s put these two important components in a story piece.

  Suppose you are in early position (a good thing you noticed this, as this is step 1!) and you have QQ. Now, if you had to play by the book, you’d raise here, as calling is potentially very dangerous because it attracts people behind you to limp in as well, unaware of you holding a big pocket pair. It soon turns out to be a limp festival, and with a K,8,3, flop you know at least someone must have caught a king, end of story: end of the hand. So, calling is, yes the book is right, not the best option in a normal type of situation. BUT, you are not a player who only looks at your position, you think about your table’s image and the playing style of your current opponents as well. And this is where alternative play becomes reality most of the time. Suddenly, position is not the only remaining factor because you have knowledge about your opponents and tables, and this knowledge is giving you counter-advice as opposed to the play by the book positional advice! Your table and players knowledge is saying: “people are really aggressive at your table; in the past twenty hands there has been at least one enemy who raised pre-flop”.