Basics of HORSE poker

HORSE itself isn't so much a game as a rotating selection of games. Play rotates periodically between five different poker variants, all played with fixed limit betting. The games can rotate every hand, every orbit around the poker table, or after a prescribed period of time. The small bet and big bet limits are often listed with the game at a cardroom. HORSE $3/$6, for example, indicates the small bet is $3 and the big bet is $6. This number doesn't vary from game to game, though the rules regarding betting rounds can vary from game to game.

HORSE consists of the following five games:

H: Texas Hold'Em

The most popular game in poker today. Texas Hold'Em is played with each player receiving two cards face down before an opening betting round at the small-bet limit. Once betting completes, the dealer burns (discards) a card and lays down three community cards, known as the flop, followed by another round of betting.

Following this round, the bet limit increases to the big bet size, and a 4th community card is dealt, known as the turn. A betting round proceeds as before, before a 5th and final community card, known as the river, is dealt, and one final betting round takes place before players turn over their cards, and the best five card poker hand receives the pot.

O: Omaha Hi/Lo (Eight or better)

Gameplay in Omaha Hi/Lo (also known as Omaha 8) proceeds just like Hold'Em except for two major differences:

1. Players receive four cards instead of two. Whereas with Hold'Em, players can use one, both or none of their cards to make a hand... in Omaha, you MUST use two of your four cards, and you MUST use three of the community cards. No exceptions. For example, if the board has a 7, 8, 9 and 10... in Omaha you do not have a straight if you have a Jack... but you do if you have a 7 and a Jack, or a Jack and a Queen. And if the board has a 7 and 8, you do NOT have a straight if you hold a 9, 10 and Jack.

You can only use two of your own cards to make your hand. Not three, Not one. Only two.

2. Hi/Lo games split the pot in half. Half the pot contests for the best high poker hand as always. However, the other half contests for the Low: five unpaired cards that are all 8 or lower (Ace counts as 1). The best five card low possible is 5,4,3,2,Ace. The worst possible is 8,7,6,5,4.
It is possible for no low hand to be possible, if the board does not have at least 3 unpaired cards 8 or lower. In this case, the high hand wins the entire pot.

R: Razz

Razz is like Seven Card Stud, except that you're trying to make the best low hand possible: five unpaired cards whose high card is the lowest. Straights and flushes don't count against you, but pairs do. 5,4,3,2,Ace is the best low. Unlike the low rules in Omaha and Stud Hi/Lo, you do not need all your cards to be 8 or lower. Jack-9-6-4-3, for example, can win a Razz pot (it's not common, though: a typical winning low's high card is usually 8 or lower).

Lows are measured by the highest card in the lowest five card hand possible. Forexample, if you have Ace,2,3,4,9... you are beaten by 8,7,6,5,4 because the 8-high is lower than you 9-high.

S: Seven Card Stud

Each player in 7 Card Stud receives two cards face down and a 3rd card face up before betting begins at the small limit (this round is referred to as 3rd street, the number referencing the number of cards everyone has). The conclusion of that round brings a 4th card and another round of betting after that. If a pair is on the board after 4th Street, players may bet at the big limit if they wish.

However, after this round all betting is at the big limit, and a 5th card is dealt before another betting round. Play continues until the 7th and final card is dealt face down, and when the final round of betting is completed, players turn their cards over and the best five card hand wins.

E: Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)

Play in 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo proceeds exactly like regular 7 Card Stud except, as with Omaha Hi/Lo, the pot is split, and the best low-hand with all cards eight or lower wins half the pot. As with Omaha, if there is no low hand, the high hand takes the entire pot.


HORSE is a very involved game, and it takes some degree of competence in all five games listed. Your best bet, unless you wish to play for fun, just to sample the different games, is to practice and get better at each game individually before you attempt to play HORSE competitively. Each game in itself is very complex and winning strategies at each take considerable time and practice to develop.

This can be a challenge if you don't play poker online, as games like Razz, Stud and Stud Hi/Lo at affordable stakes can be difficult to find even if several cardrooms exist in your area. A good idea is to download online poker software and practice for free at freerolls and the play money tables... or to play at home with friends.

As a result, if your local cardroom does spread HORSE at low stakes, it may be worth your while just to bite the bullet and play. Be observant, play carefully, and try to learn all you can about every game spread when you play.

Best of luck.

Becoming a casino dealer in Las Vegas

Want to deal blackjack or poker in Las Vegas? Hope you have some money, time and a quick ability to learn new tasks. And before we begin, you need a clean criminal record, since casinos are wary of who they trust. No casino will hire anyone with a criminal record.

First, to deal table games in a Vegas casino, you must attend a casino games school. Casinos nowadays are big money entertainment businesses that pride themselves on top-notch presentation. The best only hire experienced, capable personnel. Casinos these days will not hire a dealer unless that dealer has experience dealing the game in question.

A typical dealer school charges several hundred dollars for a class on any table game (typically around $300). For every game you wish to deal, whether blackjack, poker or baccarat, you have to pay for, take and pass a class for that game. Most dealers study blackjack, as that is the easiest path to breaking into the business. Every casino deals blackjack, so the demand for those dealers is greater.

However, note that if you want to deal poker, this requires a completely separate line of training. Poker dealers only deal poker, so don't take a blackjack class hoping to someday deal Texas Hold'Em at the Venetian. If you want to deal Texas Hold'Em, go to school to become a poker dealer, and only a poker dealer.

Likewise, don't go to poker school hoping to transition into dealing roulette at Caesar's Palace. Go to school for blackjack, work your way into dealing table games and train for roulette once you're in.

Playing these games may be easy, but learning to deal them is difficult. A dealer must have a sharp attention to detail, must maintain an accurate memory of all the game's rules, including its most obscure. A dealer is also a table game's direct manager, keeping the game running quickly and smoothly while helping create a pleasant, enjoyable atmosphere for the players, as well as answering player questions and handling disputes correctly, in as brisk and courteous a manner as possible. Not everyone has the patience, memory and discipline to run a game smoothly. Skills you lack need to get developed before you apply for your first job, or you won't have a prayer of making it.

Typically, once a student completes their education, the best bet is to break in by getting hired to work for a small casino. Many of these casinos are the only place a brand new dealer can work, since only a handful of these casinos openly accept new dealers. A dealer in Nevada also must get a gaming card, which the casino will help a new dealer procure once hired, though the process costs about $100 and the card must be renewed every five years.

Breaking in with a small casino can be rough. Dealers make their money from tips: they typically earn minimum wage as base pay. These small, relatively unpopular casinos get less business than the major casinos. A new dealer, as the bottom end of the totem pole, will also get the least desirable shifts and tables. They will see fewer tips, smaller tips at that, and may get sent home more, because such a casino will see more slower business days.

Poker dealers have it even rougher: while the tips are better per hour, there are fewer opportunities since, while a casino may have a lot of blackjack tables, they may have a poker room with only 3-4 poker tables, and in many cases they only have enough players to actively use one of them. A casino may only need a handful of poker dealers, with few to no openings for new dealers in most cases. And when there are tryouts for openings, competition is tough, as experienced dealers on the market also compete for those roles.

Like any career, a newcomer must pay his/her dues on the bottom rungs to earn enough respect to move up. The key as a new dealer is to maintain a positive attitude, put in good work every day and show your bosses that you deserve a better break.

As a dealer gains experience, they can apply for and move up to bigger casinos, where the pay, business and tips are better. These bigger casinos, however, look for years of experience from applicants. So you may need to toil for years before you get a break. The big houses also want versatile dealers who can deal several games. This gives the bosses scheduling flexibility and better helps them meet player demand.

You need to continue your training as you gain experience. In the case of table game and blackjack dealers, the selection is wide. Some card games like Three Card Poker and Let It Ride generally don't require another class: once on the job, a supervisor or another dealer typically can teach you these games in minutes. But for more complex games, you will need to return to school. It behooves a new dealer to return to school and learn other high-demand games like craps and roulette. The more games you can competently and comfortably deal, the more likely a bigger casino will hire you and the more shifts they will give you, meaning more money and tip opportunities for you.

For poker dealers, there may be no need to learn anything other than Texas Hold'Em, since that is the only game that most casinos deal. But the biggest houses do offer other games for their players, so you would definitely want to return to school to learn games like Omaha, Seven Card Stud and maybe even draw games like Badugi and 2-7 Triple Draw (especially if you have ambitions of working at the Bellagio). Some casinos offer these alternate games as a selling point, and will expect any dealer they hire to know them. Add these games to your repertoire, and you will add value to your services as a worker.

Dealing may sound like an appealing career in Las Vegas, but it only looks glamorous: it's as tough a road as any career. It requires an education, requires years of paying your dues, requires continuing education and skill development and a lot of hard work.

Suited Aces EV, posted en masse

Under the Gun EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise
A9s	-0.11	0.15
A8s	-0.47	-0.31
A7s	-0.56	-0.53
A6s	-0.87	-0.87
A5s	-1.04	-0.80
A4s	-1.08	-0.89
A3s	-1.22	-1.09
A2s	-1.24	-1.18

Early Position EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	0.15	0.53	0.47	0.91	-2.09	-4.10
A8s	-0.13	0.05	0.13	0.52	-2.28	-4.36
A7s	-0.46	-0.26	-0.03	0.11	-2.44	-4.29
A6s	-0.74	-0.66	-0.21	-0.13	-2.46	-4.43
A5s	-0.69	-0.48	-0.24	-0.12	-2.28	-4.09
A4s	-0.93	-0.58	-0.46	-0.33	-2.42	-4.15
A3s	-0.93	-0.77	-0.48	-0.43	-2.47	-4.12
A2s	-1.19	-0.81	-0.76	-0.49	-2.57	-4.14

Middle Position EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	0.20	0.52	0.77	1.18	-1.56	-2.22
A8s	-0.14	0.13	0.33	0.62	-1.83	-2.47
A7s	-0.58	-0.26	0.02	0.22	-1.96	-2.86
A6s	-0.69	-0.55	-0.13	0.05	-2.03	-2.97
A5s	-0.87	-0.33	-0.11	0.11	-1.94	-2.47
A4s	-0.96	-0.66	-0.31	-0.09	-2.03	-2.78
A3s	-1.04	-0.79	-0.42	-0.36	-2.08	-2.84
A2s	-1.15	-0.81	-0.60	-0.49	-2.29	-3.02

Late Position EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	0.86	1.04	0.70	1.37	-1.13	-1.41
A8s	0.39	0.75	0.36	0.89	-1.40	-1.92
A7s	0.17	0.38	0.12	0.58	-1.67	-2.13
A6s	-0.10	0.17	0.08	0.30	-1.80	-2.51
A5s	-0.04	0.14	-0.01	0.47	-1.75	-2.21
A4s	-0.17	0.03	-0.30	0.25	-1.79	-2.27
A3s	-0.31	-0.02	-0.29	0.00	-1.80	-2.47
A2s	-0.33	-0.23	-0.46	0.02	-1.99	-2.47

EV on the Button for Suited Aces (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	0.97	1.35	0.81	1.61	-1.31	-2.07
A8s	0.62	1.02	0.29	1.02	-1.75	-2.52
A7s	0.40	0.81	0.11	0.72	-2.06	-2.86
A6s	0.30	0.67	-0.10	0.46	-2.07	-2.97
A5s	0.29	0.59	0.01	0.54	-1.87	-2.70
A4s	0.14	0.57	-0.20	0.18	-1.84	-2.85
A3s	0.06	0.42	-0.32	0.01	-2.03	-2.78
A2s	-0.14	0.35	-0.41	-0.11	-2.17	-2.94

Small Blind EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials and Baseline -1.00)
Starting Hand	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	0.16	1.39	-1.57	-1.56
A8s	-0.16	0.74	-1.94	-1.86
A7s	-0.39	0.28	-2.20	-2.22
A6s	-0.72	-0.17	-2.21	-2.22
A5s	-0.66	-0.19	-2.23	-2.27
A4s	-0.86	-0.44	-2.26	-2.32
A3s	-0.81	-0.36	-2.32	-2.04
A2s	-0.91	-0.72	-2.47	-2.17

Big Blind EV for Suited Aces (100K Trials and Baseline -3.00)
Starting Hand	Cold Call	Reraise
A9s	-2.45	-2.48
A8s	-2.71	-3.13
A7s	-2.96	-3.44
A6s	-2.90	-3.42
A5s	-2.83	-3.50
A4s	-3.00	-3.34
A3s	-3.19	-3.62
A2s	-3.17	-3.64

Big Blind EV for offsuit broadways

As always in 3/6 hold'em, the baseline EV for the big blind is not 0.00 but -3.00.

Big Blind EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	0.29	1.59
AQo	-1.47	-0.86
AJo	-2.35	-2.54
A10o	-3.22	-3.40
KQo	-2.90	-3.14
KJo	-2.85	-3.12
K10o	-3.19	-3.64
QJo	-3.01	-3.35
Q10o	-3.37	-3.84
J10o	-3.13	-3.77

Small Blind EV for offsuit broadways

As always in 3/6 hold'em, the baseline for profitability from the small blind is not 0.00 but -1.00.

Small Blind EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	0.61	2.90	1.42	2.17
AQo	0.25	2.22	-0.32	0.00
AJo	-0.19	1.38	-0.48	-1.17
A10o	-0.27	0.86	-2.19	-2.05
KQo	-0.59	0.74	-1.68	-1.67
KJo	-0.33	0.50	-2.18	-1.86
K10o	-0.63	-0.13	-2.56	-2.40
QJo	-0.55	-0.02	-2.37	-2.28
Q10o	-0.92	-0.37	-2.77	-2.50
J10o	-0.79	-0.44	-2.57	-2.51

EV for offsuit broadways on the button

EV for Offsuit Broadways on the Button (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	1.80	2.56	1.78	3.95	1.36	1.77
AQo	1.25	2.05	1.11	3.11	-0.54	-0.81
AJo	0.92	1.70	0.60	2.42	-1.71	-2.33
A10o	0.85	1.44	0.49	1.52	-2.23	-3.01
KQo	0.58	1.07	0.19	1.38	-2.10	-3.18
KJo	0.77	1.00	0.41	0.84	-2.12	-3.02
K10o	0.46	0.70	0.01	0.23	-2.53	-3.53
QJo	0.65	0.70	0.21	0.54	-2.39	-3.57
Q10o	0.33	0.69	-0.26	-0.20	-2.59	-3.81
J10o	0.29	0.50	-0.28	-0.25	-2.59	-3.52

Late Position EV for offsuit broadways

Late Position EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	1.96	2.81	1.84	3.45	1.48	2.17
AQo	1.17	1.99	0.77	2.35	-0.45	0.10
AJo	0.70	1.57	0.25	1.80	-1.43	-1.52
A10o	0.66	1.13	0.16	0.90	-2.05	-2.09
KQo	0.25	0.62	0.00	0.91	-1.82	-2.33
KJo	0.41	0.68	-0.23	0.39	-1.83	-2.70
K10o	0.08	0.29	-0.23	-0.32	-2.42	-3.01
QJo	0.08	0.45	-0.08	-0.08	-2.13	-2.66
Q10o	-0.10	0.07	-0.49	-0.68	-2.52	-3.42
J10o	-0.30	-0.15	-0.58	-0.77	-2.33	-3.19

Middle Position EV for offsuit broadways

Middle Position EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	2.40	2.70	2.16	2.76	0.76	1.99
AQo	0.53	1.52	0.48	1.78	-1.14	-0.33
AJo	0.01	0.78	0.07	1.17	-2.21	-2.21
A10o	-0.18	0.54	-0.16	0.62	-2.71	-2.94
KQo	-0.46	0.12	0.01	0.33	-2.75	-3.07
KJo	-0.28	-0.05	-0.06	0.15	-2.66	-3.50
K10o	-0.63	-0.46	-0.43	-0.64	-2.81	-3.85
QJo	-0.43	-0.34	-0.31	-0.30	-2.78	-3.81
Q10o	-0.78	-0.52	-0.84	-0.97	-3.02	-4.04
J10o	-0.88	-0.74	-0.87	-0.94	-2.82	-3.69

Early Position EV for offsuit broadways

Early Position EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKo	1.29	2.29	1.08	2.42	-0.03	0.38
AQo	0.34	1.36	0.33	1.70	-2.28	-2.60
AJo	-0.20	0.60	-0.25	0.94	-3.42	-4.60
A10o	-0.26	0.22	-0.54	0.25	-3.38	-4.82
KQo	-0.47	-0.39	-0.64	-0.13	-3.82	-5.17
KJo	-0.32	-0.32	-0.44	-0.64	-3.00	-4.38
K10o	-0.82	-0.81	-1.11	-1.10	-3.29	-4.68
QJo	-0.68	-0.72	-0.96	-0.83	-3.24	-4.69
Q10o	-1.06	-0.88	-1.34	-1.68	-3.41	-4.70
J10o	-1.19	-0.99	-1.52	-1.70	-3.11	-4.45

Under the Gun EV for offsuit broadways

Moving along to offsuit broadways:

UTG EV for Offsuit Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise
AKo	1.17	2.13
AQo	0.20	1.02
AJo	-0.41	0.24
A10o	-0.59	-0.13
KQo	-0.85	-0.72
KJo	-0.65	-0.56
K10o	-0.96	-1.06
QJo	-0.91	-0.87
Q10o	-1.36	-1.30
J10o	-1.34	-1.37

Big Blind EV for suited broadways

Remember that for the big blind, our baseline for profitability isn't 0.00 but -3.00, since the cost of folding to a raise in the big blind is $3, thus any hand that we play against a raise must net better than -3.00.

Big Blind EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Cold Call	Reraise
AKs	1.53	3.21
AQs	0.11	0.78
AJs	-1.23	-0.67
A10s	-1.72	-1.54
KQs	-1.64	-1.47
KJs	-1.63	-1.39
K10s	-1.95	-2.09
QJs	-1.91	-1.72
Q10s	-2.11	-2.27
J10s	-2.11	-2.26

Small Blind EV for suited broadways

Remember that for small blind hands, our baseline fr profitability isn't 0.00, but -1.00, since we receive a net loss of $1 every time we fold preflop in the small blind and we must net above that to make playing the hand profitable.

Small Blind EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKs	1.76	4.29	2.79	3.60
AQs	1.17	3.58	0.97	1.67
AJs	0.97	3.02	0.62	0.59
A10s	0.82	2.35	-0.69	-0.67
KQs	0.41	2.18	-0.18	-0.20
KJs	0.56	1.88	-0.80	-0.54
K10s	0.29	1.17	-1.41	-1.02
QJs	0.24	1.59	-1.08	-0.98
Q10s	-0.02	0.65	-1.44	-1.37
J10s	-0.11	0.47	-1.45	-1.16

EV for suited broadways on the button

EV for Suited Broadways on the Button (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKs	2.26	3.15	3.04	5.28	2.65	3.68
AQs	1.77	2.60	2.20	4.47	1.03	1.09
AJs	1.44	2.22	1.95	3.82	-0.32	-0.54
A10s	1.55	1.91	1.65	2.81	-0.72	-1.19
KQs	0.97	1.60	1.45	2.71	-0.68	-1.45
KJs	1.21	1.36	1.37	2.42	-0.82	-1.77
K10s	1.02	1.01	1.05	1.61	-1.18	-2.04
QJs	1.16	1.38	1.05	1.84	-1.20	-2.17
Q10s	0.91	0.84	0.62	1.12	-1.36	-2.04
J10s	0.88	0.93	0.57	1.01	-1.30	-1.92

Late Position EV for Suited Broadways

Late Position EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	Reraise
AKs	2.84	3.59	3.21	4.95	2.89	3.66
AQs	2.12	2.85	2.35	4.03	1.16	1.46
AJs	1.59	2.31	1.68	3.26	0.30	0.13
A10s	1.38	1.96	1.54	2.50	-0.48	-0.32
KQs	1.08	1.54	1.32	2.30	-0.41	-0.73
KJs	1.09	1.27	1.18	1.93	-0.58	-0.98
K10s	0.83	0.89	0.88	1.19	-0.84	-1.64
QJs	0.88	1.11	1.04	1.47	-0.87	-1.22
Q10s	0.65	0.74	0.55	0.59	-1.03	-1.45
J10s	0.52	0.56	0.45	0.47	-1.25	-1.46

Middle Position EV for Suited Broadways

(This will be the last post today. Late Position and subsequent trials will post tomorrow.)

Middle Position EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hands	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	3bet Raiser
AKs	3.62	3.49	4.03	4.49	2.51	2.96
AQs	2.46	2.59	2.94	3.54	0.81	0.98
AJs	1.27	2.00	1.76	2.91	-0.39	-0.36
A10s	0.95	1.57	1.46	2.45	-0.86	-1.23
KQs	0.92	1.06	1.44	1.86	-0.90	-1.03
KJs	0.81	1.01	1.35	1.47	-0.96	-1.72
K10s	0.45	0.52	0.74	1.01	-1.41	-2.15
QJs	0.49	0.62	0.95	1.34	-1.31	-1.96
Q10s	0.19	0.24	0.59	0.53	-1.48	-2.42
J10s	0.13	0.08	0.37	0.44	-1.57	-2.26

Early Position EV for Suited Broadways

Early Position EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hands	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	3bet Raiser
AKs	3.53	3.34	3.64	4.29	1.87	2.17
AQs	1.72	2.37	2.26	3.28	-0.42	-0.85
AJs	1.44	1.88	1.58	2.54	-1.40	-2.55
A10s	1.08	1.38	1.27	2.06	-1.61	-3.07
KQs	0.68	0.91	1.02	1.37	-1.99	-3.54
KJs	0.84	0.74	0.85	0.92	-1.36	-2.78
K10s	0.22	0.24	0.25	0.29	-1.60	-2.89
QJs	0.39	0.36	0.38	0.66	-1.64	-2.89
Q10s	0.05	0.01	-0.05	-0.10	-1.69	-3.04
J10s	0.05	-0.09	-0.23	-0.52	-1.41	-2.77

UTG Expected Value for Suited Broadways

Let's move along to suited Broadways: any two unpaired cards ten or higher, such as Ace-King or Jack-Ten, with matching suits.

We will begin our trials from under the gun, and proceed around the horn.

Under the Gun EV for Suited Broadways (100K Trials)
Starting Hands	Open Call	Open Raise
AKs	3.41	3.18
AQs	1.49	2.11
AJs	1.15	1.36
A10s	0.81	1.05
KQs	0.43	0.73
KJs	0.49	0.53
K10s	0.16	0.03
QJs	0.32	0.33
Q10s	-0.78	-0.19
J10s	-0.37	-0.06

EV for Pocket Pairs from the Big Blind when raised

Since we can check and see the flop in unraised pots from the Big Blind, we will only concern ourselves with hands where we're raised. Here, as before with the small blind, our baseline is not 0.00, since we have $3 invested before the cards are dealt. Thus our baseline is -3.00. To play a hand, the EV must be greater than -3.00.

EV for Pocket Pairs Big Blind (100k Trials)
Starting Hand	Cold Call	3-Bet Raiser
AA	12.49	17.28
KK	6.73	9.36
QQ	3.45	5.49
JJ	1.06	2.18
TT	-0.42	0.24
99	-1.48	-1.04
88	-2.08	-1.74
77	-2.24	-2.45
66	-2.51	-2.75
55	-2.71	-3.01
44	-2.90	-3.25
33	-2.99	-3.72
22	-3.17	-3.92

EV for Pocket Pairs in the Small Blind

Keep in mind here that, unlike the other positions, where we can fold without investing a single dollar in the pot, we are forced to invest $1 in the small blind every time in a 3/6 game. Therefore we are looking not for hands whose EV is above 0.00, but whose EV is above -1.00, the net result when we fold our hand in the small blind.

EV for Pocket Pairs Small Blind (100k Trials)
Starting Hand	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	3-Bet Raiser
AA	8.09	12.51	13.24	15.81
KK	5.07	8.70	7.44	9.00
QQ	3.67	6.69	4.43	5.62
JJ	2.23	4.87	2.18	2.63
TT	1.22	3.34	0.56	1.02
99	0.08	1.73	-0.55	-0.33
88	-0.59	0.78	-1.17	-1.04
77	-1.12	-0.02	-1.77	-1.68
66	-1.52	-1.04	-2.12	-1.98
55	-1.87	-1.43	-2.56	-2.40
44	-2.13	-1.93	-1.89	-2.49
33	-2.51	-2.22	-1.94	-2.67
22	-2.78	-2.58	-2.08	-3.00

EV for Pocket Pairs on the Button

EV for Pocket Pairs on the Button (100k Trials)
Starting Hand	Open Call	Open Raise	Limp Behind	Raise Limpers	Cold Call	3-Bet Raiser
AA	6.49	7.04	9.98	14.15	14.86	18.32
KK	4.30	4.95	6.86	10.47	8.10	9.80
QQ	3.37	3.91	5.12	7.91	4.52	5.24
JJ	2.65	3.10	3.52	6.06	2.08	2.23
TT	1.95	2.36	2.58	4.27	0.75	0.82
99	1.33	1.67	1.42	2.76	-0.10	-0.47
88	0.83	0.99	0.82	1.87	-0.63	-1.34
77	0.31	0.38	0.29	1.15	-0.98	-1.58
66	-0.09	0.08	0.03	0.66	-1.14	-1.93
55	-0.45	-0.30	-0.29	0.13	-1.44	-2.35
44	-0.78	-0.59	-0.54	-0.35	-1.67	-2.52
33	-1.04	-0.91	-0.68	-0.56	-1.80	-2.78
22	-1.27	-1.10	-0.82	-0.79	-1.96	-2.67