playing small pairs from late position

I've been playing the $100 NLHE game on PP today and have had a huge problem of playing small pairs from late position with a raise in front of me. Everytime I have a small pair there has been a decent raise in front of me (3x-5x the big blind). I've seen the flop at least 15 times today and haven't hit my set once. When I try to play back at the original raiser he ends up going over the top which has been very frustrating and has resulted in losing a lot of money.

What are some good strategies to playing small pairs from late position. When I feel I am up against a strong hand I usually like to at least see a flop knowing that if I hit my set I might be able to brake the raiser for all of his money. Is this good live strategy?

Unless you have a good read on the hole cards your oppenent(s) are holding, I would not re-raise before the flop. Obviously the best strategy with small pairs is to call a small bet or limp in and then hit your set on the flop or see the turn cheaply and make it there. Hopefully the board will not have a lot of overs or a flush draw, and you can make it to the turn to see an extra card without fear of a higher pair allready having you beat. The odds of you hitting a set are about 7:1. So "theoretically" you shouldn't call before the flop unless the pot is allready built up or you believe that your opponet doesn't allready hold a higher pair.

This is bet played against two large overs, such as AQ or AJ. If you are lucky enough to have the flop come J-8-4 rainbow, with you holding pocket fours, you will have a very good chance of breaking him.This is because he has top pair with an Ace kicker and there is no way you would call a raise with J8. He will beat hard here, and you can come over the top of him violently

Playing small pairs is either feast or famine, as you will take down the occasional large pot, but many times will blank the flop. Just make sure you are seeing the flop cheaply so this is a move that will make money for you.

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There are some excellent articles by Grant Pittman on unitedpokerforum.com about play small pp. They are all basically implied odds... If you believe you can break this player if you hit your set, then they are ok to play for a raise... If the raiser has a small stack or is weak tight it might not be worth it.

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why call when you can raise?

You are always a favorite except to a higher pair preflop and if you can put him on overcards it is simply a question of whether you feel like gambling a lot of money on a coin-flip or waiting for better odds to come your way. If you keep getting outplayed after the flop maybe its not a good idea to come in until you feel comfortable with your read so you can bet big if you feel he has not connected on the flop and make him pay for the draw. Its also good to know that your odds go down dramatically against 2-6 opponents if you are holding 22 and even 33. Heads up or in a family pot are where you want to be with these low pairs, just my 2 cents.
MinneJohnny

With small and even middle pairs, isolation is the most important thing. You cannot hope to fair well against 2+ opponents when you are holding 22-66. You will be at best, against four over cards. I do not know the exact statistics, but I would guess that 75% of the time one of those cards will hit the flop (unless they share a card). Basically, see the flop as cheaply as possible, and make sure your opponent has a nice stack left incase you hit trips. You need to make this as profitable as possible, while learning to cut your losses. (Isn't that the whole point of poker?)

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