Ashton Cartwright Poker

Set Miners

Set miners are big online. Very big. They play only pairs and AK. They may make button steals with other, slightly weaker hands (like AJ or KQ), but generally, they only play the best. AK and pairs account for just over 7% of hands that are dealt. If you have a large number for hands in your history for this person, and they have a VP around 7-8% then chances are you are playing against a set miner, particularly if their steal percentage seems to be low.

Set Miners traditionally buy in for the maximum 100BB, so that they can stack another deep player when they hit their set.

The set mining strategy is rather simple: when first to enter the pot, limp with all low-mid pairs in early or middle position. With AK, some players will raise in early position, some will just limp. Raise with all pairs and AK in late position. Always raise or re-raise with AA-QQ, and some players also re-raise with AK. Call any reasonable raise (up to about 5bb) with any pair, hoping to flop a set. If they miss, set miners will usually fold to the aggressors C-Bet, unless they have flopped an overpair, like TT on a 9 5 2 flop.

If they flop a set, they will try to get all in as efficiently as possible. As the Non-Aggressor, sometimes they will just call a C-Bet in position, and then raise on the turn or river, as long as they can comfortably get all in by the river without over betting the pot. On a board with either flush or straight draws, they will be more likely to raise on the flop, fearing a cooler. On a dry board, they are more likely to merely flat call on the flop. Set miners will often Check/raise the aggressor a small amount when out of position if they feel this is the best way to get their opponent pot committed.

As the Aggressor flopping a set, they will often C-bet, then fire again on the turn, and then attempt to get all (or almost all) of their chips in on the river.

With AK as the Aggressor, they may C-bet when they miss the flop, then give up on the hand if they meet resistance and don’t improve. Some set miners will even check/fold when they miss the flop with AK. Make a note of these players, because a flop bet will often take the pot away from them, and this situation occurs often.

If they hit Top-Top or flop an overpair they will usually C-bet, but then they will try to keep the pot small. They may make another bet on the turn or river, but rarely both. They are not trying to get pot committed with Top-Top.

Strengths of the style:

Simple to play

Since you are playing a very limited number of hands, this strategy is reasonably easy to learn. As long as you are disciplined enough to stick to pairs and AK, its hard to go too far wrong; You will either flop a set, Top-Top, top two pair, or absolutely nothing, so there are very few tough decisions to be made. You can C-bet when you miss flops, but other than that there really isn’t any bluffing or tricky plays involved with this style. If you hit the flop hard, try to get as much money in as you can. If you miss, you can fold (or C-bet, then fold if you meet resistance). The tight starting requirements mean that it’s very unlikely that any given hand will present you with tough decisions, and the less tough decisions the less chance that you will make a mistake. A very easy strategy to learn, and one which is probably the most conservative and safe of all the mainstream strategies.

Easy to multi-table

If you are trying to collect a large amount of Frequent Player Points on Pokerstars, or farming rakeback on another site, trying to clear a deposit bonus, or just trying to increase your hourly profit, multi-tabling is often an effective way to do it. Because you play very few hands with this style, and the decisions you face are usually quite straight forward, Set Mining is quite a popular strategy with multi-tablers. Since you play only 7% of hands with this style, even people who play 10-12 tables simultaneously are still involved in no more than one or two relevant hands at a time.

Set miners can make money.

They do. A set miner of at least moderate skill should be able to apply this strategy effectively enough to make money. I regularly encounter solid, multi-tabling Set Miners, and my Pokertracker stats usually show them doing well. This is not to say that Set Mining is the best strategy; it isn’t. A good player who adapts effectively to his opponents’ playing styles will always perform better than someone using a semi-mechanical strategy like Set Mining. But, when properly applied, this style is at least as legitimate as any other. If you’re on a table full of professionals, its likely that you will lose money, because they will be able to adapt to your style effectively. . . but I wouldn’t want to hang around on a table full of pro’s anyway J

Weaknesses of the style:

Rarely bluff

Stereotypical set miners rarely bluff, which allows a wily opponent to get away from hands which may be second best. For example: You raise in middle position with QQ and a set miner calls on the button. The flop comes J 7 2. You C-Bet, and the set miner raises a solid amount. If I had seen this player regularly fold to C-bets in the past (as a set miner generally will) then you may be able to let this hand go easily. Against a different style of player, you might call or you might re-raise, but against a set miner, you are very likely behind here. If he only plays pairs and AK, then he is either bluffing, or has you crushed. Discretion is the better part of valour in a situation like this. If he lets you win most hands with your C-Bet, then folding a mere overpair hand when he makes a significant raise is more than warranted.

Missing out on opportunities

Set miners usually don’t bother to play suited connectors, suited Ace-rag, or 1 gapper type hands, even in situations where it would often be profitable to do so. If a set miner is on the button, and there are 3 limpers in from of him, he will usually just fold hands like 56o or 79s. This is almost certainly a situation where playing a speculative hands would be profitable, and set miners often forgo that opportunity.

Perceptive players will attack your limps

Because an early limp by a set miner is almost always a pair or AK, its often possible to raise the button with any 2 cards, then take the pot down with a C-Bet on the flop (provided no one else has entered the pot). Since they will miss the flop most of the time, you should show a significant profit with this line of play. Also, since you are often raising with rubbish, you are unlikely to get stacked when the set miner actually flops a strong hand, as you will be able to easily throw you hand away if you meet resistance. Even if you raise and hit a moderately strong hand like top pair mid kicker, it’s easy to let the hand go when you know that your opponent is playing such a specific range.

For example: A Set Miner limps in 3rd position, and you button raise to 4BB with KTo. The flop comes K 9 4 rainbow. The Set Miner checks to you, and you C-Bet. If the Set Miner check-raises you, I would let the hand go almost 100% of the time. He has a set, or he has AK, or he is making an extremely out-of –character bluff. The only one of those that you are beating is by far the least likely. Unless you have a specific reason to believe that the Set Miner is making a move, your KT should go straight into the muck.

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