Play Small, Lose Big

Some pros look at small pairs and believe that raising is an option because it might thin the field, perhaps chasing out a middle pair or an ace-rag hand.

Others prefer to call and hope to flop a well-hidden set that wins them a lot of money. Still others just toss them away, believing they're too dangerous to get involved with, fearing set over set.

T.J. Cloutier, a legendary tournament player who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame last year, almost never plays small pairs.

And those times when he does venture into a pot with a small pair, he rarely plays it for a raise.

"I don't like them, because what if you get called by 6-7?" said Cloutier, winner of six World Series of Poker gold bracelets.

"You're only an 11-10 favorite. Any two overcards are only an 11-10 underdog to a small pair."

But at the $25,000-buy-in World Poker Tour Championship at Las Vegas' Bellagio last April, with blinds at $25-$50, Cloutier drew pocket 5s under the gun and put in for the minimum raise of $100.

"In different positions and shorthanded, I'll play them differently," said Cloutier, who has co-written several authoritative books on poker.

"It was just $100. I was just trying to see a cheap flop.

"I knew I'd throw it away if I got raised. When you have $30,000 in chips, $100 isn't that much."

A player in middle position raised it to $600.

The player behind him made it $1,700 to go.

The action was back on Cloutier.

"I throw the two 5s away," said Cloutier, who has more than $8.5 million in lifetime tournament winnings.

The flop came 5-8-8.

"So, I would've flopped a full house," Cloutier said.

The two remaining players continued to bet at the pot. By the river, all the money got into the middle.

Fourth street came the 3 of clubs. Fifth street came the 5 of hearts.

"I would've made four 5s in this hand," Cloutier said.

And he would have lost.

The player in middle position was holding pocket 8s. His four of a kind beat his remaining opponent's pair of queens.

He also would've busted Cloutier with quads over quads.

"I got away from four of a kind for $100," Cloutier said with a laugh.

"I would've been out of the tournament."

That's one reason Cloutier stays away from playing small pairs.

Where he lives in Texas, he likes to say, a small pair is two queens.

"You can't stand a reraise with small pairs," Cloutier said. "What if you don't flop a 5? You've got nothing.

"I'll let them play their style, and I'll play what I know."