Bottom Pair (Poker)

Bottom pair is the term used when a player makes a pair using the lowest ranked board card with one of his hole cards. For instance, the board reads A-7-3 and you hold K-3. The lowest card on the board is the 3. As you hold a 3 in your hand, you have bottom pair.

It's not a hand that presents much potential, especially in the face of aggression. First of all, there are over cards on the board, so you'll not have any confidence that you have the best of it (short of real insight into your opponents ranges). Most of the time, you will need to improve to win the hand without representing a monster hand to force players out the pot. The worst thing you can do here is call hefty bets in the hope of catching cards.

The dilemma players face is that they don't know where they stand. In contrast, when you hit top pair, your going to be a lot more confident in your hand. The best you can hope for is to get a few more cheap cards and improve your holding. Short of that, fold and move onto the next hand might be the best course of action.

So how should i play bottom pair?

There are a number of different ways to play bottom pair. It's sensible not to get too carried away. Throwing in a bet to see where you are is one play - but you shouldn't shoot with air if your up against more than 3. If a player leads out and bets into the pot, you should only call a very small bet in the chance that you make two pair. Any sizeable bet and you should fold.

Depending on how much you know about your opponents, you may want to re-raise, if there's a chance you think they might fold (.i.e. the board is outside of their range or they're a weak player).

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