More on one-pair woes

I'm having a terrible month at the poker tables, taking some tremendous beats. And the worst thing about this is that I have only myself to blame. Let me explain.

In my last post I mentioned something about over-valuing having only pair, whatever it may be. Lately, despite being aware of this snafu, I've been "applying" this same mistake to my no-limit game with devastating results -- as in, I lose all my chips.

In limit play (structured betting) I learned how to play big pocket pairs a certain way. And then when I got into playing no-limit tournaments, I learned how to play them a little differently. In the no-limit cash game, I sometimes remember how to play them yet another way. Let's get into a little detail about this third, most important point.

Having a pair before the flop is important because it can develop into a set (three-of-a-kind), which itself can develop into a full house or quads (4-of-a-kind). In fact, this type of development is usually where I make my money in the no-limit game. Someone else during such an event will make top pair, two pair, or a worse full house and usually pay me off. Those are the situations I want to wait for before I risk all my chips on a given hand.

In a limit game, because of the structured betting, players will often be drawing to a straight or a flush against sets. This hasn't happened as often to me in the no-limit game because I can make a large enough bet or raise on the flop get them to get them to release their draws. The players that hold on to their two pairs or top pair usually either call or play back at me with a re-raise.

So, the point is that holding a pair pre-flop is good because it can develop into something powerful. But what happens when the flop comes and it doesn't hit you? What's supposed to happen is this: observe your opponents to see if this flop might have helped them and act accordingly, with caution. The mistake I've been making has been to risk most or all of my chips on the flop without making these considerations. I see the AA or KK and go into stupid mode, pretending I'm invincible. At least, that's what's been happening to me lately. Hopefully with this self-awareness I can tighten up and plug this serious hole in my game -- fast! Losing sucks!