Playing Small Pocket Pairs Preflop in 6-Max No-Limit Hold’em
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This is a rapid fire article on playing small pocket pairs preflop in 6-max no-limit. By small pairs I mean roughly 66 and worse. I’m going to give you some basic rules of thumb and an outline of the general reasoning behind them. I’m not going to go in-depth because to do that would constitute an entire chapter of a book, and I’m trying to keep this article under 1,000 words. 
Small pocket pairs are usually good hands in no-limit. They make sets, and sets are the ultimate stacking hand. So I usually play my pairs. I’ll quickly run down situations where I play pairs. Assume an online 6-max game with 100BB blinds.
Playing Pairs
If everyone folds to me, I open small pocket pairs. I open them under the gun also.
If someone raises in front of me and I have position, I tend to call with small pairs. These pairs become stronger under the following circumstances:
- The preflop raiser is loose after the flop.
- The preflop raiser is tight preflop, especially if they play fit-or-fold out of position after the flop.
- The blinds are loose and/or bad.
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Tags: fit-or-fold, light 3-betting, no-limit-holdem, pocket-pairs, poker, preflop-play, small pocket pairs
How much should I worry to run into an overset in case I hit my set? If there are no draws possible and yet my opponent(s) calls or bets/raises, are there any situations when to consider a fold?
Top pair, two pairs, maybe a lower set and of course a bluff are all possibilities where I am ahead, so I usually ignore aggression and hope for the best. But maybe that’s wrong?
Greyzy