No Limit Texas Holdem -The Importance of Short handed Sets
The basic fact about pre-flop starting hands in short handed short-handed No-Limit Hold'em is that the set is crucial. There set is the key to winning that pot!
The Secret of the Set
Many players take years to learn about the power of sets in short-handed No-Limit. Sets, which simply mean three-of-a-kind, seem mysterious since they are very hard to hit and difficult to pick up on when your opponent is holding them. Perhaps one in eight hands where you are holding a pair will provide you that third card to hit a set on the flop.
Sets are money hands. The reason is that if you are holding a pair
in the hole, your opponents won't read you as holding a set. That
pair in the hold can be your ticket to taking the pot at the short-handed
No-Limit Hold'em table.
Set Pull In Big Pots
Sets earn the money in short-handed No-Limit Hold'em. Aces, Kings, it doesn't matter what else is showing if you hold that all important set. Sure, it is nice if your set happens to be a set of Aces, but a pair of Aces sinks to any set of any kind. If you are holding a pair, it's a good idea to bet. When you hit that set, go high or even all-in and take the pot!
If you call a pre-flop raise of $20 when you and another player are sitting at a table with several hundred dollars each, and you have a pair, you will not hit that all-important set most of the time. But when you do make the hit, you can take your opponent's entire bankroll many times.
Short-handed No-Limit Hold'em is not abot pot odds. Implied odds are what matter. If your opponent is sitting there with lots of cash, drawing can be the right thing to do, even if you are drawing expensively. When you have a set, it all pays off. If you learn to play those pairs at the short-handed No-Limit Hold'em tables, you'll hit sets often enough to make it pay off very well for you.
Fold Pairs When You Don't Hit Sets
If you do not hit the set you were drawing toward, it is easy to fold the pair. Not much is lost and when you do hit the set, you have a golden fleece! It really is as easy as that in the short-handed game.
How to Play Sets
When you have the set, always bet on the flop. Get your opponent committed to the pot. If you are certain the other player will bet, check tohim but don't slow-play the hand. Just play it to your best advantage and take as much money as possible at the short-handed No-Limit Hold'em table.
Strategy Article 1. No Limit Starting Hands
Strategy Article 2. No Limit Holdem Learn Opponents Betting Patterns NL
Strategy Article 3. NL Holdem Short Handed Sets
Strategy Article 4. No Limit Holdem Learn Opponents Betting Patterns NL
