You’re sitting at a packed table. The dealer has just finished dealing out your second pocket card. You look down to see a pair. All of the sudden that rush of adrenaline hits you. Trying to keep a calm composure, you eye the other players as they peak at their cards. You take note of any odd movements, any telling facial expressions. Then, you check your position at the table to anticipate how you will act.

“Should I come out swinging or should I take it slow and lull my opponents into betting into my pair?”

Yet, there is one basic factor that supercedes all the information you have before you. One integral variable that you need to understand before you even begin to construct a strategy. Are you playing limit or no limit?

Obviously, beginning with a pocket pair gives you an advantage over other players in either format of Texas Hold’em. However, the way in which you play this scenario differs greatly. Whether to push until the breaking point or utilize a sneak attack incorporates a variety of factors, but no factor is greater than whether or not the betting is structured or unlimited. Basically, the manner in which you play the pair is all in how you and your opponents are able to bet.

Let’s look at a limit scenario. You’re in mid-position and have a median amount of chips compared to the other players. Your pocket pair isn’t spectacular. No faces or aces or anything higher than an eight.

Because blinds do not change in a limit game, because the ability to make a raise that will invoke fear into another player is absent, you can guaranty that the number of players buying in to see the flop will be greater than that of a no limit game. So, what does this mean to you?

Well, with more players vying for a piece of the big pot pie, the more hands there are actively playing the table. With more hands playing the community cards, your chances of winning with merely a pair are diminished. Because you cannot push people out of the game based on a hefty bet, you have to rely much more on your cards, your position, and your ability to detect what your opponent is packing. Thus, that mediocre pair that you start with might end up becoming your worst nightmare.

If you’ve ever sat at a limit game for a night, chances are that you’ve bared witness to some jerk scooping up the pot on a lucky river card. This happens frequently because raises are predictable. There is no ability to surprise the opponent. This means that you can’t push people out of the pot as easily which means that the odds that someone is going to land something better than a pair are greatly increased.

Does this mean that a pocket pair, even a low pocket pair, should not be played in a limit game? Absolutely not. A pocket pair still gives you an initial advantage over most of your opponents (unless one has a pocket pair greater than yours). Just don’t get trapped in the heat of the moment and be unwilling to fold when you are pretty sure you’ve lost. You can be pretty sure that you’ve lost when the table cards come down, and they definitely seem to be favoring other players (straight draws, flush draws, higher pairs etc.). If your opponents begin raising after a 4, 5, and 6 flop on the board, and you’re holding a pair of 9s, be on your guard. That pair of 9s is still probably top dog, but they aren’t unbeatable.

Click Here to sign up with Planet Poker and get your
25% Sign up bonus

So what’s different about this limit strategy from the no limit strategy? Well, in no limit, you can use the betting to your advantage to intimidate players. By instilling fear in them, you can push more out of the pot, which in turn increases the odds of your pair because there are now less active hands vying for the pot.

Of course, position is an extremely important factor when deciding how much to bet. If you’re in the sweet spot, meaning on the button, then you know that you can raise that pot twofold in order to weed out the players who just limped into the pot. However, don’t be too bullish in your decision to do such a thing. If another player has already made a substantial raise, be on your guard. He too might be concealing a pocket pair. Yet there is always the possibility that he’s being a bully or that he’s just a complete moron. So you have to keep an eye on everyone’s habits in order to determine how serious you should factor in someone else’s bet.

If you are seated at an early position, be careful. If you come out betting strong, you could be setting yourself up for failure. If your pocket pair is weak and you have several opponents match or even raise your initial bet, then you might be mentally pounding your head against the table. Also, if you bet big initially and your pocket pair is strong, you might raise your opponents’ eyebrows. What could have been a large pot won with a stealthy pair of aces has become a meager pot gained because of a stupidly made monstrous bet.

Because there are a variety of factors shared in both games (position, opponents’ strategy, table cards), you must take special note to consider betting when playing either version of Texas Hold’em. This is especially true for when you find yourself in that dually wonderful and terrifying predicament of having a pocket pair. Taking it slow or moving in fast both have their plusses and minuses depending on the many variables. But, consider betting your tool, the tool that will help you carve out a winning path in poker. By understanding how this tool works to your advantage and to your disadvantage in both limit and no limit games, you can guaranty yourself small losses and big wins.