A Set is made up of a pocket pair plus among the Community cards that has the same rank as your pocket pair.
As an example, should you have 4-4 and also the Community cards are 5-4-10-J-K, you have a Group of Fours.
Sets are unreadable since most players are comfortable with reading (a) two different hole cards, (b) high cards or overpairs, (c) draws that complete the Board, or (d) cards anyway linked to the Board cards.
Our hand reading habits generally a blend of limiting possible hands to the given characteristics of the board/community. How will you put someone on 5-5 or 4-4 when it’s much easier to put him on A-K (for top pair, best kicker), A-Q (for a made Straight), or K-10 or 5-4 (for Two-Pair), or perhaps A-A (a high pair)?
Sometimes you could even put him on one Five, say, 6-5. But on two Fives or two Fours? This really is why Sets are certainly potent in Boards that have no Straight or Flush potential.
Alternatively, suppose in a Flop of Q-7-2 with no Straight or Flush possibilities, you have 2-2. You check (hoping to trap him), the other player bets. You raise all in then he immediately calls and reveals Q-Q. You thought your opponent had A-Q or K-Q. How is this possible? It’s possible. Even inside this spot you are more susceptible.
Because you can find no Straight or Flush potentials your opponent will fold cards that did not fit in to the Board cards. If you read hands as outlined by the criteria above, you might put your opponent on A-Q, K-Q, as well as Q-7 (can you go as far as 7-2?!).
Here because you are the one who moved all-in, the outcome of the hand is just not fully on your control; it’s up to whether your opponent calls or not.
But suppose the specific situation is reversed. The player with the Q-Q checks, you bet, then the response is a raise all-in. How would you act?
When you find yourself slammed in a situation like this (which usually occurs on the Flop) on a cash game, take it because it is. Pay him off. Some other time you shall have the Q-Q, some other player may have the 2-2, and you will be paid off.
But in a tournament, you have many givens to think about (and you might want to consider these even in an ordinary cash game). Compare your stack sizes relative to each other. If the difference is great, expect one of you to put his chips in the middle.
A Set could be the most effective hand both of you can have to get a double-up. If you possess the smaller Set get eliminated, attribute it to bad luck. On the contrary, assuming both of you have stacks above chip average, and also you are put to a choice costing you all or virtually all your chips. You’ve got 2-2. You are not more likely to be blinded out in several hands.