[relayerdave]

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With medium pocket pairs against a raise, the common adage is "no set no bet"


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...which is why we hate "common adages" around here.

To the original poster: these are hands that LOVE putting in a preflop raise, even after limpers. The reason is that they either (a) hit a nuclear-powered hand on the flop and win VERY often when they set up, or (b) take down the hand with a continuation bet.

Are you playing mostly live games, or maybe micro-limits? A 4xBB+1/limper raise really shouldn't be getting you 2+ callers on average at a no-limit online table with a buyin of $25 or higher. If your raises aren't getting enough respect, make them bigger (but CONSISTENTLY bigger -- don't change the size of raises with these hands unless you change the size of raises with all your hands). At a $10NL game, you can probably get away with 5xBB+1/limper or even 6xBB+1/limper; at a live game, 8xBB+2/limper isn't at all unreasonable, and sometimes 12xBB+4/limper is appropriate. Monitor the table, and see what's working and what's not -- go with what works. Your ideal situation is to get exactly one caller.

If someone else raises before the hand gets to you, you will now have a decision to make. Ciaffone's "5/10 rule" says you can call a bet that is less than 5% of your opponent's stack every time, but you should fold a bet that is more than 10% of your opponent's stack here. (Note: that's if you're playing the hand for set value.) I'd consider reraising with these hands, depending on a few things:

1. How loose the original raiser is with raises. The more frisky he is with raising preflop, the more likely I am to pop it back at him.
2. How many players will be in the hand. The worst situation for my hand is probably three players seeing the flop. With four or more, I'm getting pot odds to chase my set; heads-up, my hand is likely to win at showdown. If it's looking like the pot is going to be three-way if I call, I don't smooth-call -- I raise.
3. How weak-tight the original raiser is. If he's the sort that I can push off a hand on the flop, I'm wanting to reraise to take control of the hand and fire a continuation bet on the flop.
4. The stack sizes of the original raiser and the players left to act. If there's a deep stack left to act, I'd be more inclined to smooth-call and hope for another juicy caller. If there's a short stack left to act, I'd also be more inclined to smooth-call, since bloating the pot is likely to pot commit them (and me). If the original bettor is short- or deep-stacked, I'd be more inclined to smooth-call for the same reasons.

On the flop, you'll have one of three situations:

- Set. If you hit your set, play as though someone had lit your ball-hair on fire and you had to finish the hand before you can put the flames out. In other words: FAST. Bet at least 3/4-pot; if raised, three-bet all-in. Don't eff around -- get the money in the middle. Slowplaying is where sets go to die.

- Overpair. These should also be played extremely fast on the flop, but beware of resistance. Your hand is not infallible, here, and you need to be a bit cautious. Consider your hand the winner until proven otherwise, but always keep your eye on pot control. You do NOT want your stack in the middle with just an overpair.

- Underpair. This is a weak hand, and it's probably dog crap if an ace is on the board. If you were in control of the hand preflop, go ahead and make your continuation bet, but that's the last money you put in the pot. Literally. I'm talking "fold to a minraise" here. There's no reason why you should spend 1/3rd of your stack proving that you're beaten. Let it go.

This approach is highly cautious, but at SSNL tables, caution is warranted. The goal with medium pairs is not to maximize your value when you're ahead -- that happens quite naturally. The goal is minimizing your losses when you're behind, and that involves folding. Often. Even if you might be ahead. Let 'em go.

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This is an outstanding post, IMO. Ni hand, sir.