There are poker players that have never even heard the term Set Mining. If that’s the case, or you want to do a little better, continue reading and you just may find yourself having more profitable sessions.

Set Mining refers to playing pocket pairs to hit a set on the flop – regardless of the raise before you providing the odds make sense. To put it bluntly, the reason you want to play all of your pairs is because it’s your best chance to take all of an opponent’s chips.

In many Cash Games, the initial raise is 2.5 to maybe 10 big blinds. Most people think it’s right to fold when you’re holding a small pair and you just know your opponent is holding a high pocket pair. This might look correct on the surface, but you’re actually in an excellent position to call. If you believe your opponent holds a high pocket pair, you know they’re not likely to fold regardless of what hits the flop. If you hit your set, you’re going to have a chance to take all of your opponent’s chips or double up. Often you will have the added benefit of putting him on tilt after he sees you called a raise with a small pocket pair. Then it will only be a matter of time before all his money is gone.

You will flop a set roughly one in 8 times (actually 1:7.5). My simple rule of thumb is if I am getting more than 20-to-1 preflop, I will call with any pair. If I’m reasonably certain the opponent has a high pair and will give me his stack if I hit, then I require lower odds. If you stick to the game plan of getting away from misses, especially with small pairs, and trying to get all-in when you hit on the flop, you will improve your net return. Every once in a while you will lose with a set. It happens, and if you don’t lose a lot, you played it wrong. FYI set-over-set happens about 1% of the time in a pair vs pair situation or once in about 4400 deals at a 10-handed table, which is well worth the risk.

Good luck to you,
K-REX