Playing When You Flop Two Pair
Note that initially we are discussing a split two pair - when you have two different ranks in your hand, and you flop one of each of them. We will discuss the “pair on the board” situation later in this chapter.
Two pair is a powerful hand that you can play quite strongly. However, it is rarely strong enough to slow play. If you are play¬ing quality hands, your two cards will be close to each other in rank (AXs being the obvious exception). That means that if you flop two pair you have to worry about a straight draw, if not a made straight. Adding the possibility of a flush draw, you have a hand that demands to be played fast; you need to reduce the odds for drawing hands.
When you flop top two pair
Suppose you have
J♦ T♦
and the flop comes
J♣ T♥ 5♥
You can be almost certain that you have the best hand right now.1 However, you are susceptible to lots of draws. You are es¬sentially even money with somebody who has
K♥ Q♥
Remember also that in low-limit games, the pot has already got¬ten big. You should do whatever you think will get the most money in the pot on the flop. If you think that a player behind you will raise, bet out immediately and hope you get to re-raise. If you think somebody will bet but not raise, check-raise. Of course, this is a situation where you don’t want to give a free card, so if there’s any doubt in your mind, bet.
If somebody puts in a third or fourth raise on the flop, you need to consider the possibility that he has a set. Now it might be cor¬rect to check and call on the turn and river. If you put in the last raise on the flop, you can bet this hand all the way to the end if the board is not threatening. For instance, suppose the final board is J♣-T♥-5♥-8♦-7♥. You should definitely bet when the 8♦ hits on the turn, but the 7♥ on the river is a terrifying card, as any nine makes a straight, and a flush is possible. You should check, and call if there is no raise. If there’s a raise, you’d have to fold here.
Even if the flop is J♣-T♥-7♥ (which makes a straight possible), you should play this hand aggressively. If somebody has a straight, he will probably let you know it quickly (he will be afraid of the flush draw as well). Again, in this situation, you can back off and just call bets. The board will have to become very scary before you should drop this hand.
When you flop “top and bottom” or bottom two pair
These hands are still strong, but they are vulnerable to the board pairing and draws. Suppose you have
7♣ 6♣
And the flop comes
Q♦ 7♥ 6♠
If another queen hits, you have just about nothing (but can at least fold with a clear conscience). Therefore, it’s all the more important that you get your bets in on the flop. Also, don’t be so eager to re-raise a second or third time as you would with top two pair. In the situation above, you’d like to believe that nobody was playing Q7o, but in low-limit hold’em, your opponents will routinely show you that (and Q6o, too).
As we discussed before, you should normally be playing cards that are fairly close in rank. Thus, you won’t be flopping top and bottom pair too often, with the occasional exception of AXs. When you flop two pair with that hand, play it fast. Many low-limit players will play any hand that contains an ace, and you could quite conceivably be up against the other two aces. If that’s the case, you can make a lot of money, and you don’t want to give them free cards with which to make a bigger two pair or pair the middle card on the flop. This also insures that you’ll be charging the straight and flush draws as much as possible.
Two pair with a pair on the board
This situation is far less desirable than a split two pair. For in¬stance, you have raised with
Q♣ Q♦
and the flop comes
T♥ 8♠ 8♥
Unfortunately, in low-limit games, many players are willing to play almost any two cards, so it’s hard to figure the probability of somebody having an eight. There is one obvious consideration - the more opponents you have, the more likely it is that one of them has flopped trips. If the entire table takes the flop, and there’s lots of action, you must get out. While you may have the best hand, you can’t play it with any degree of cer¬tainty, and somebody with an eight may just wait and then check-raise you on the river.
In the above situation, it’s worthwhile for you to bet on the flop, hoping to win the pot right there. However, if you get called, you have to slow down. You could be up against somebody with a ten, which is fine, but you also may have run into an eight. You should now check on the turn, but be prepared to call a bet on the river. Somebody may represent an eight and you can catch the bluff, but don’t give somebody who really does have an eight the opportunity to raise you on the expensive bets.2 Note that betting on the turn and river is a lose-lose situation for you. If you have the best hand, nobody can call you (for fear of the third eight). If you don’t have the best hand, you’ll get called or raised. If you bet the flop, and check the turn, you should be prepared to call a bet on the river if you don’t have a lot of opponents and no over¬cards to your pair have fallen. If they check to you again on the river after you’ve checked the turn, you should bet. One final thought about this situation: many players would never raise with an eight on the flop - they would wait until the turn to raise. If that’s the sort of player you’re up against and he raises on the flop, then you can treat your queens as the best hand and keep betting.
Obviously, if the board is paired over your pocket pair, you can fold at the first opportunity. In this case, you might not win even if you catch your miracle card.
The situation is similar if you pair one of your cards, and the oth¬er two cards are a pair. For instance, you have A♦-J♣ and the flop comes J♠-6♥-6♦. You can play it as you would the first ex¬ample. However, note that if you catch your miracle card (anoth¬er jack), you will now terrify somebody with a six, and he will just check and call, if that. Furthermore, you have to split the pot with the case jack if somebody has it. Therefore, this hand is even weaker than the first example and should be treated as such.