This article is intended for beginners to intermediate players. I am going to count all small pocket pairs as 22-99. Seat position is going to be written as, in a clockwise direction: Button, Small blind, Big blind, seat 1, seat 2, seat 3, seat 4, seat 5, seat 6, seat 7.

From early position (seat 1, seat 2, seat 3)

From early position you are going to need a very strong hand. This is due to the fact that you will have no information on other player’s hands before you act and on subsequent rounds you are likely to act first. So small pocket pairs shouldn’t be played at all in early position (experienced players can play any pair from any position, but that’s only because they have the experience and the know how to get away from these hands when necessary. Beginners are advised not to.)

Also let’s just say you call with 88 in seat 2, and it gets raised behind you. So when it comes around to you and you want to call, you are drawing to pretty much 2 cards and playing out of position. Let's say the flop comes Q42 and your opponent bets the flop. Now you are in a tough spot. You think he has either AK or AQ. If you call and he has AK, best case scenario is it gets checked to the river and you win. But if he has AQ, he is going to bet every street, you lose the pot. So the only likely results are you lose a big pot or win a little pot.

From mid position (seat 4, seat 5, seat 6)

If there is a call from early position then you should call with any small pocket pair. If you call and there is a raise behind you then call only if you get 2 or more callers. This is so you receive the implied odds needed for when you hit your set. If there are no callers in front of you, open raise with any pair and if there is only 1 other player with you on the flop, then bet no matter what the flop comes. If you haven't hit a set and he calls the bet on the flop then just check/fold the hand on the turn. But if there are 2 or more callers, just release the hand if you haven’t hit your set.

From late position (seat 7, button)

The same goes here as it does for mid position. But if there is a raise then call with any pair as long as there is 1 other caller.

From the Blinds

This is tricky as you are getting better odds to call but are out of position the whole hand. If you are holding any pocket pair in the big blind and there are only 1 or 2 callers, raise to win the pot there or get it heads up. And if it is heads up then bet the flop regardless. If there is a raise from early position, only call if you have 2 or more other callers - otherwise fold. If there is a raise from mid or late position and there are 1 or more callers, then call. But if there are no other callers, re-raise him back and bet the flop no mater what comes. You don’t want to call with a small pair and be drawing dead to 2 cards out of position.

Small pocket pairs are all about hitting your set. So if you know your opponent has AA it can be correct to call his raise out of position with 22. This is because of implied odds. Example: $1-$2NL game in which both of you have $200.

Player A raises to $8 and you know he has AA because he accidentally flashed it to you. You look down at 22. This isn’t an automatic fold because if you hit your set, then you can take all his money. So it will cost you $8 to see the flop. You are going to hit your set roughly 1 in 9 times so 8 times you are going to pay $8 and not hit your set. But the other 1 time you are going to win the rest of his $192. So your overall profit is $192-$64=$128. So the hand has a positive expectation of $14.22. $128/9 =$14.22.

Lets say in this example the flop came K27. A harmless looking flop for AA or even AK. You should never check here, because if he does have AK or AA he is almost definitely going to re-raise here so then you can raise all in or wait till he bets the turn. This way you get more of his money in the pot and he may feel like he's pot committed even if he feels like he's beat. But if you check then call the flop then re-raise him on the turn, he wouldn’t have put in as much money and may lay it down. Betting out with a set is always the more profitable way to get all your opponent’s money.

Let’s just say your opponent has QJ against your set on the same board K27, even if a Q or J does drop and then you start betting big he is going to fold. You should always bet your monster hands as if your opponent has a good hand. Such as on that flop of K27. With your set of 2s you should bet as if your opponent has a hand such as AK. If you bet and he folds, don’t feel discouraged to play sets aggressively. Say he folded 99, well then he isn’t going to put any more money in the middle unless he hits a 9, and then he is going to take all your money anyway. So you shouldn’t give your opponent the opportunity to catch up unless you hit top set. It is very unlikely your opponent will catch up; rather he may overtake you causing you to lose all your chips.

It is impossible to write an article covering all possible situations for small pocket pairs. The aim is to get you thinking about maximizing your profits and not to put yourself in situations where you can either win a little pot or lose a big pot. That is a recipe for disaster.