This is a fantastic scenario for you, as one of your opponents very likely has made at least a pair of aces or kings and has little chance of improving enough to beat your set of fours. The three of you then see a flop come A ♣ K ♦ 4 ♠. A player raises from middle position, the button calls, and you call as well. Let's say you're dealt 4 ♣ 4 ♥ in the big blind. Flopping or turning a set with a pocket pair can be an especially powerful hand to have in no-limit hold'em, because the hand is relatively 'hidden' and opponents rarely suspect you have something that strong. The idea is similar to what we were discussing with regard to playing suited connectors, insofar as when trying to hit sets with these pocket pairs your goal is similarly to risk a little to win a lot. And by 'passively' we mean not taking the preflop initiative by raising, but rather such calling and trying to see a flop relatively cheaply. In other words, we're talking primarily about small pairs ( 2 x 2 x up to 6 x 6 x) and medium pairs ( 7 x 7 x up to J x J x) and not queens, kings, or aces. Set mining refers to the practice of playing a non-premium pocket pair passively preflop in the hopes of flopping three of a kind (a 'set'). Continuing our series of no-limit hold'em tips, we turn to the topic of ' set mining.'
