How do you play pocket fours?

Open it from the later seats where there is less to get through, and call a raise only when the stacks are deep enough to make set-mining pay. It hits a set about one time in eight, and when it misses it is one of the weakest hands you can hold. The pair itself is too small to win much, so the plan is to flop the set or move on.

In a balanced 6-max game this hand opens for a raise from the cutoff, the button and the small blind.

Common mistake: Opening it under the gun or calling raises out of position. From early seats and shallow stacks, a small pair like fours quietly loses chips.

Quick tip: A set-mining hand, nothing more. Play it in position with deep stacks or let it go.