The Free Online Poker How To Read Set Hands Method
August 5th, 2010 | 
Author: Whether you just play free poker or play with house sized buy-ins the Set is one of the hardest poker hands of all to read. It consists of a pocket pair and one of the Board cards with the same rank as the pocket pair. For example, if you have 4-4 and the Community cards are 5-4-10-J-K, you have a Set of Fours. Sets are unreadable because most players are accustomed to reading (a) two different hole cards, (b) high cards or overpairs, (c) draws that complete the Board, or (d) cards anyway related to the Board cards.
Given that your hand reading habits usually are a combination of limiting possible hands to the given characteristics, how would you put someone on 5-5 or 4-4 when it is much easier for you to put him on A-K (for top pair, best kicker), A-Q (for a made Straight), or K-10 or 5-4 (for Two-Pair), or even A-A (a high pair)? Sometimes you may even put him on one Five, say, 6-5. But on two Fours or Fives? This is why Sets are very potent in Boards which have no Straight or Flush potential.
However, suppose in a Flop of Q-7-2 with no Straight or Flush possibilities, you have 2-2. You check in the hope of trapping and the other player bets. You raise all in then he immediately calls and reveals Q-Q. You thought your opponent had A-Q or K-Q. How is this possible? It’s possible. Even in this spot you are more vulnerable.
Because there are no Straight or Flush potentials your opponent will fold cards that didn’t fit into the Board cards. If you read hands based on the criteria above, you might put your opponent on A-Q, K-Q, or even Q-7 (can you go as far as 7-2?!). Here because you are the one who moved all-in, the outcome of the hand is not fully on your control; it’s up to whether your opponent calls or not. But suppose the situation is reversed. The player with the Q-Q checks, you bet, then the response is a raise all-in. How would you act?
When you’re slammed in a situation like this (which usually occurs on the Flop) on a cash game, take it as it is. Pay him off. Another time you will have the Q-Q, another player will have the 2-2, and you’ll be paid off. But in a tournament, you have plenty of givens to consider (and you might want to consider these even in an ordinary cash game). Compare your stack sizes relative to each other. If the difference is great, expect one of you to put his chips in the middle.
A Set could be the best hand both of you can have to get a double-up. If you have the smaller Set get eliminated, attribute it to bad luck. However, assuming both of you have stacks above chip average, and you are put to a decision costing you all or virtually all your chips. You have 2-2. You’re not likely to be blinded out in a few hands.
You might want to reason out: I have a Set. He raised me enough to put me all-in, or almost. He may do it with Q-7, (and whether your opponent had Q-7 or not will depend on what happened preflop. If no raise occurred it might be with Q-7, and you can safely call. Whether your opponent had 7-7 or not can also come under similar scrutiny) or if there is a raise, it might be with A-Q.
Now, top pair, top kicker is a weak hand to risk an above-average stack. And there’s no Straight and Flush incoming, so the all-in could be made only with an especially strong hand. It might also be with A-A or with K-K (most probably it is) but it might also be just with Q-Q. If I put him on those three hands, there is a 2/3 chance I’m right, but a 1/3 chance of wrong, and when I’m wrong I will be busted. So I’ll fold.
If you have the middle Set (Set of Sevens), the same analysis may also apply. But you’ll be much safer because there is only one Set to kill you instead of the two possible Sets a while ago. If you have the Set of Queens, enjoy! The above analysis is agonizing and painstaking, especially when it all amounts to giving up one of the most most popular hands in Hold’Em.
Reading Sets Summary
If you are new to poker then know this seems a lot to take in, the fact is though that while poker basics are easy to learn it is harder to be good at things like reading hands. For this reason most low stakes and free poker tables are inhabited by manic “chip flingers” who can’t be bothered to learn. They are happy to play for what they think is fun when in fact it’s a lot more fun to win money
I think it’s crazy that so many people play with so little skill and almost revel in the fact! But this is also very good news for you as one of the few who is learning to play well. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can go mercenary and hunt the “fun donks” down in low stakes real money games as well as NoPayPOKER.com sites that pay out real money while you happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and play free poker sites to learn to play poker online free good and get your skills finely honed.
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