Whether you just play free poker with us at NoPayPOKER or play with house sized buy-ins in Monaco the Set is one of the hardest poker hands of all to read.
It consists of a pocket pair and one of the Board cards with the same rank as the pocket pair.
For example, if you have 5-5 and the Board reads 5-4-10-J-K, you have a Set of Fives.
Sets are unreadable because most players are accustomed to reading (a) two different hole cards, (b) high cards or overpairs, (c) draws that complete the Board, or (d) cards anyway related to the Board cards.
Given that your hand reading habits usually are a combination of limiting possible hands to the given characteristics, how would you put someone on 5-5 or 4-4 when it is much easier for you 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 even A-A (a high pair)?
Sometimes you may even put him on one Five, say, 6-5. But on two Fives or two Fours? These are why Sets are very potent in Boards which have no Straight or Flush potential.
However, 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 in this spot you are more susceptible.

Because there are no Straight or Flush potentials your opponent will fold cards that didn’t fit into the Board cards. If you read hands according to the criteria above, you might put your opponent on A-Q, K-Q, or even 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 not fully on your control; it’s up to whether your opponent calls or not.
But suppose the situation is reversed. The player with the Q-Q checks, you bet, then the response is a raise all-in. What would you do?
When you are slammed in a situation like this (which usually occurs on the Flop) on a cash game, take it as it is. Pay him off. Some other time you will have the Q-Q, some other player will have the 2-2, and you will be paid off.
But in a tournament, you have plenty of givens to consider (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 may be the best hand both of you can have to get a double-up.
• If you have the smaller Set get eliminated, attribute it to bad luck.

However, assuming both of you have stacks above chip average, and you are put to a decision costing you all or almost all your chips. You have 2-2. You are not likely to be blinded out in a few hands.
You might want to reason out:

• I have a Set.
• He raised me enough to put me all-in, or almost.
• He might do it with Q-7, (and whether your opponent had Q-7 or not will depend on what happened preflop.
• If no raise occurred it might be with Q-7, and you can safely call.
• Whether your opponent had 7-7 or not can also come under similar scrutiny) or if there is a raise, it might be with A-Q.

Now, top pair, top kicker is a weak hand to risk an above-average stack. And there is no Straight and Flush incoming, so the all-in could be made only with an exceptionally strong hand.
It might also be with A-A or with K-K (most probably it is) but it might also be just with Q-Q.
If I put him on those three hands, there is a 2/3 chance I’m right, but a 1/3 chance of wrong, and when I’m wrong I will be busted. So I’ll fold.
If you have the middle Set (Set of Sevens), the same analysis may also apply. But you will be much safer because there is only one Set to kill you instead of the two a possible Sets a while ago.
If you have the Set of Queens, enjoy! The above analysis is agonizing and painstaking, especially when it all amounts to giving up one of the most cherished hands in Hold’Em.
Summing up Reading Sets
It takes some time to learn how to read hands, it’s not something the unthinking donk “chip flingers” seen on many free poker tables even consider. Most players it seems can’t or won’t put the time in, they claim to play just for fun which misses out on the key fact that winning lots of money is a lot more fun!
I think it’s crazy that so many people play with so little skill and almost revel in the fact! But this is also very good news for you as one of the few who is learning to play well. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can go mercenary and hunt the “fun donks” down in low stakes real money games as well as LINK sites that pay out real money while you happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and play free poker at NoPayPOKER to learn to play poker online free and get your skills finely honed before going onward and kicking some ass.