high pocket pairs

hi all quite new to pkr although i am enjoying my experiences in general i find myself regurlarly frustrated with my inability to win pots when i have high pocket pairs from jacks upwards, i have tried raising, limping and rarely win. I would be grateful for any advice on how best to play these types of hand. thanks in advance.

Very situational in my opinion. What position are you in? Whats your table image? How is the rest of the table playing? What are the blinds and how do the blinds relate to your stack & the stacks of those around you? Most importantly though - what was the buy-in? Lower stakes will see more people calling strong raises with unexpected hands and possibly out-drawing your pair as they chase thier flush to the river.

Premium pairs (QQ-AA) are obvious raising hands. 99-JJ are tricky and depends on position and stack sizes, anything lower and you want to get in cheap and hit a set.

Being able to read the flop when you get a caller or 2 is also very important. Could the flop have improved your opponents hand, maybe giving them a higher pair?

Continuation bets are also something to be aware of. Use them when you think your hand is still good and test your opponent.

As a footnote - also something to be aware is the risk of becoming too predictable. Maybe your loosing because you only ever raise pre-flop with a pair. This will encourage players to call you with a good drawing hand, a suited Ace or suited connectors. If they hit thier straight or flush they can be confident that they have your pair beaten.

Once you've been sat at the same table for a while you will get a feel for how people are playing and how much to raise with your pairs. It's just a case of being aware of what's going on around you and making mental notes on what hands you've see the other players show down and assessing how the hand was played.

Big pockets become very vulnerable at low stakes tables because you often face so many opponents still in the hand after the flop. never overvalue pairs in mutliway pots, you might be a big favourite against one player but against multiple opponents your rarely in a great spot.

if u dont know how to recognise good/bad boards and can fold when ur prob behind(not a dig... this isnt easy to do) just openshove or bet like half ur stack or sumthin ridiculous preflop. ull be amazed how many times ull get like 1 caller at the lo end stakes. big pairs are only monsters preflop and are usually losing on any board with 4/5/6 plyrs in on the flop

Raising is the Key, if you limp against lots of players bad idea.

The only time I can recommend limping is if you're in a late position and can see the action before hand.