Calling all in with medium pairs

[Therealcarl54]

I am a recreational player and play small stakes 9 handed sit-n-gos. I used to play $3 buy ins and was having a successful win rate but after a long loosing streak I came to the conclusion that it wasn't variance but instead holes in my game that was to blame. I have now been playing 50 cent buy ins. With these loose reckless players I often fold 99 and lower to an all in pre flop raise over 10 big blinds unless my pot odds are favorable. I guess I would rather avoid the flip even if I might have the Best of it. Of course it depends on the situation and what kind of player is putting their stack in but I struggle with whether or not I'm playing too tight in those situations.

 

[TheRealPage]

I'm not sure you can play too tight at this stake (that's my kind of stake also)... bingo player are frequent. If you just wait for the big hand, it maybe will not come.. Loosing your play.. if you play only aces and high pairs like that, maybe yes you're too tight... otherwise, looks like agressivity in the game is the secret.

I personally hate SnG's when it's time for my bankroll.. There's too much bingo and no place to a mistake after 2-3 levels.

-TRP-

 

[tauri103]

I never play sit-and-go. I find it more difficult to make these buy-in more profitable. I prefer other game modes that offer more possibilities and are more advantageous for my style of play.

 

[MattRyder]

Depends on how quickly the blinds are going up & how short you are. I too think about playing pairs in any situation. Most low stakes players don't give it a thought at all, i.e., they just jam it and forget it.

So it usually comes down to - how lucky do you feel?

 

[takinitSLEAZEE]

I agree w/lucky Harry, up there. Pocket 10's down to 6's are close to a flip when calling pre-flop all-ins. I've noticed that when I'm playing in a full-ring game that pkt-prs come in pairs, if not in threes. Luck is the key to winning these.

 

[jbear54321]

I wouldn't play low pocket pairs against an all in pre-flop. It's not worth risking my tournament on a 50/50 bet.

 

[ChickenArise]

When you call off with these hands you have to say to yourself
'Am I willing to bust out at this point?'
'Does the reward outweigh the risk?'

 

[AMTTT]

sometimes the risk pays off, but do not do it often

 

[alfiyka]

I only play poker stars.The more you play, the more you lose.If you play every day the chances are only in the cache.BUT this is my personal opinion.

 

[mistershrimpy]

sometimes the risk pays off, but do not do it often

I noticed one interesting thing. When I fold with a weak hand, on the river, in most cases, my weak cards increase to a winning combination. As soon as I decide to take a chance, I get frustrated. I think this is karma.

 

[SirLongbottom]

depends brotha, like others have said it depends on if your willing to bust..also depends on your eff stacks, depends on your opponnents shoving range..and at lower stakes shove ranges are usually pretty wide so id usually call with 88+..prob even 66'+...depens on your position too and how many chippies players to your left have..so you gotta make the decision to either flat or iso yam

i made such a gooood and baaaad fold at a live tourney about 2 weeks ago(my last live tourney in the states for a while)...first one i had KK's and i think ~3x pre, had a flatter, and another dude 3bet jam for my stack...i literally think for 1 minute(which is too long for those old dudes at a live table) show the dude next to me and say oh well..it was still like the 2nd level and i really just wanted to keep playing..and the guy next to me is like "well damn ill take it!!!" i said go ahead hes got AA's...cause nobody, especially the old dudes there dont rip it in like that without AA's 3 ways that early in a tourny..then this other super salty dude that i rivered twice said "wow i dont think im good enough to fold that"...the 3bet jam guy showed his AAs..pat my self on the back and actually cashed that tourny for second to last (5th place, sigh)

second hand: we're down to final 2 and this lady jams..i have 66..i think for about 30s cause i had a limper behind and i feel like i had the bigger stack out of the 3 but not by much at all..those tourneys get soooo deep..i ended up folding the best hand..that hand would have probably put me at at least 3rd when i hit the final table if i just flatted..but i couldnt make a decision if i wanted to just call or iso..

the funny thing is, live and online are 2 different beasts..online i pretty much snap call with the KK's, and the 66's id probably flat after about 3sec tank lol..

 

[tauri103]

if you feel that your opponent actually has a better preflop hand.It is normal to bend with an average pair if the raise is too important but sometimes you have to know how to take risks especially if your opponent does not enjoy a good reputation or that he plays very wide.

 

[Mr_Hand]

It's just too situational to give a general answer. If they are short, then I think a call is the right thing. They are pushing any Ax-10x and small connectors. You will be losing ev by folding. I would guard against tightening up as a reaction to a bad run. The best thing you can do is watch good streamers and learn what the positive ev moves are, and apply those to your game. Math wins in the long run.

 

[tihomir_kula]

At the beginning of freerolls I think all ln with medium pair is obligatory.Benefit could be great.Most imortant is the time I ve played.

 

[COMIRRR]

Yes. in a free tournament, I give everything to any pair. especially at the start of the tournament.

 

[alfiyka]

I noticed one thing about poker stars--when you play a little more often you win.When you play big you can win a lot,but the winnings come late when you have spent the bankroll.

 

[damgold]

I just go all in with middle pairs when I'm short stack

 

[Millie232]

You're doing it right. At lower stakes, you should play tighter (especially at the beginning of tournaments). People are less attached to small amounts of money, so will play looser bluff more (which leads to more draws). It's paradoxical, as you'd think that higher stakes would require you to be tighter because there's more money involved - but it's exactly because there's more money involved that you can afford to play a little looser: at higher stakes, more people know what they're doing and will take fewer/smaller risks.

 

[kkonicke]

Playing those medium pairs depends on so many factors, there's no one clear cut answer. My personal cutoff is around 77-10 10 that I view as medium pairs. The lower pairs i play very passively unless I'm 10BB or less. Those midpairs tend to be a raise/fold or raise/call more often than not, assuming I'm at least 20BB deep.

 

[Zikasamaster]

I am a recreational player and play small stakes 9 handed sit-n-gos. I used to play $3 buy ins and was having a successful win rate but after a long loosing streak I came to the conclusion that it wasn't variance but instead holes in my game that was to blame. I have now been playing 50 cent buy ins. With these loose reckless players I often fold 99 and lower to an all in pre flop raise over 10 big blinds unless my pot odds are favorable. I guess I would rather avoid the flip even if I might have the Best of it. Of course it depends on the situation and what kind of player is putting their stack in but I struggle with whether or not I'm playing too tight in those situations.

Its depends from situation,if you are close 10 BB you can call if you have that at least you flippin,but in that pozition maybe you be a favorit,so you can call and dont call,its a right play both!

 

[MagicDick]

At the buy ins you are talking you my as well be the aggressor with any hand. There are not a lot of thought out plays at that stake. So you either accumulate early or lose to luck late. I prefer accumulate early.

 

[Dzob]

If you are a recreational player, the smaller the buy-in, the better for you. The micro-stakes have a significantly lower level of opponents' skills. A good choice

 

[kowrip]

In general, medium pairs are not great hands to call shoves with. If you look at a typical shove range, your medium pair is generally going to be up against a higher pair or two over cards. So, you're most likely either a slight favorite or a huge underdog. That being said, some circumstances make it reasonable to call. For example, you might have a much larger stack than your opponent and they are shoving with a very wide range. In that case, it might be worth making the call.

 

[sergiu2222]

Any small pair vs AK is about 52 % - 48% but i will not go all in with 55s or 66s

 

[playinggameswithu]

80% of time you are flipping which means effectively 0% edge gambling or 20% of time crushed. I would call with 99+ at 12ish big blinds.