Stud poker players sometimes get themselves into trouble by failing to distinguish between playable hands and unplayable hands on Third Street. This is especially true when it comes to playing medium and small pairs -- 9s and lower. While some of these hands are surely playable under certain circumstances, under other circumstances they are not playable.
This selection error is often compounded on later streets because these hands often develop into “problem hands” or “trap hands” that look appealing to the inexperienced player, but that will end up costing him money in the long run.
Here’s a question to test your own ability to make the necessary distinction between an unplayable and a playable small pair:
Should you play (3c-4d)4h? How about (6c-6d)Ac or (2d-Kd)2s?
Did you answer “Yes” to either of these questions? If you did, you were mistaken. Did you answer “No”? That is equally wrong! The only correct answer is “I need more information.”
Consider this. If you were dealt the first hand, (3c-4d)4h and four people had called the $3 bring-in from a 2c in a $10/20 game, all of the 4s and 3s were live, and you were the last player to go, then calling the bet would be correct. You’d be looking to catch another 4 on Fourth Street, giving you Trips. On the other hand, if a Queen raised the bring-in to $10 and everyone, including a player with another 4, had folded to you, and an Ace remained after you, then folding would be correct. It would be wrong to pay $10 for the unlikely chance that you’d get the final 4 -- especially not when an Ace who might re-raise was left to act.
You can imagine similar instances when it would sometimes make sense to call and sometimes make sense to fold with the pair of 6s and with the pair of 2s. But rather than give you dozens situations of playable and unplayable small and medium pairs, let me give you some general considerations for making an informed decision of how to play those hands.
1. How live are your cards? This is always important in Stud. Your chances of making a very strong hand increase significantly if all of the cards you need have yet to be played. If cards of the rank of your low pair have been exposed, be much less inclined to play your hand further.
2. Do you have a strong kicker? Generally, you want a kicker that is higher than the exposed card of the player completing the Third Street bet. And your hand isn’t very strong unless that kicker is a King or an Ace.
3. Are two of your cards suited? This is a small advantage, but worth considering especially if your cards are live and you have a high kicker as well. It’s important that the suit be completely live if you are using it as a reason to continue to play.
4. Is there a good chance that there’ll be aggressive action after you? If there is then you should be much less inclined to play. Generally, you want to play a low or medium pair as cheaply as possible. If someone has completed the bet and it’s your turn to act, but a person with a scare card remains to act after you, then you may well face a raise and a re-raise -- which surely isn’t worth paying with your sub-premium hand.
5. Are you last to act? The later you are in the betting round relative to the other players, the more inclined to call you should be. This is because by being last you can end the action. If you’re last to act there is no chance that the bet can be raised after you. This is especially important if the bring-in bet on Third Street has not yet been completed. The difference between calling the bring-in and calling the completed bet is usually significant. You should be more inclined to call that bring-in bet if you are reasonably sure that it won’t be completed after you call.
6. How high is your pair? Low pairs are significantly less powerful than medium pairs. A pair of 9s is much stronger than a pair of 3s.
7. How many players are likely to be in the hand with you? If you have a medium pair and a high kicker then you’d prefer to have the hand play heads up, not multi-way. You might be better off raising to limit the hand to just you and the initial raiser. On the other hand if you have a low pair and a suited connector kicker then you'd be better off to have the hand multi-way. Make sure to think about how many people are likely to get a fourth card before deciding whether to call, raise, or fold on Third Street.
8. How live is your opponent’s door card? If your opponent’s hand seems pretty dead because one or two of his rank are exposed then you may be more inclined to call.
9. Is your pair hidden or split? Generally, having a hidden pair is better than having a split pair because if you make Trips your opponent won’t know it and will be more likely to pay you off.
10. Are you the bring-in? It’s often worth playing a low or medium pair if you happen to be the lowest card on board on Third Street and must initiate the betting. Your opponents will rarely give you credit for a pair, even if you call a completed bet. So if you pair your door card even your good opponents may conclude, incorrectly, that you didn’t make Trips. Also, since you were the bring-in, the cost of the completion is only a fraction of a full bet to you, making those marginal calls more attractive.
As you can see, you must weigh many factors when deciding how to play medium and small pairs. Though there can be considerable profit from these hands when played correctly, you should avoid them if you are just starting out. In general, you should also weigh your own general experience and your control over your opponents on later rounds of play. The less experienced you are and the less confident you are in your ability to outplay your opponents, the less inclined you should be to play low and medium pairs at all. When in doubt, stick to the more obviously playable premium pairs.~~
Read more about 
Bookmark
