Hand Analysis: Pockets 7s
In online poker, pocket sevens are an interesting pair in that they fall almost right in the middle. They are, by definition, a middle pair in the truest sense. This means that half of the cards that come down on the flop, turn, and river will be overcards, and half will be undercards, on average, making 7s one of the more difficult of all the pairs to play.
Given this variation in online poker, I tend to stick to playing sevens pretty much the same way I would if I were playing 3s or 4s, I flop a set or I am out, but unlike those others there is a bit more range to the postflop play. It still won’t be that frequently that all the cards are undercards, giving you an overpair, but if that is the case 7s are much nicer than those other pairs. It’s also more likely that you will flop second pair, with two unders and one over, making it often seemingly worthwhile to at least try to see the turn and let your better than second-on-the-board pair try to go the distance.
Still, under all this, 7s are a tough cookie, and fooling around with them outside of flopping big is often more a prospect than a sure thing. Still, playing with an open mind and a mode of action is even more important here, being careful and doing your best to get money in when you have the best of it. Remember this when you play poker online.
