♠ What is “set mining”?
It happens when a player holds a pocket pair, and calls a bet so they can see the flop with hopes of landing a set. If you limp in or call a raise with 77 hoping to land another 7 on the flop, you . . . are Set Mining.

♠ Why do people setmine?
Sets are wonderfully disguised hands, and can often win big pots. So, it seems natural for players to want to see what the flop will bring when they are holding a pocket pair.

♠ What are the odds of landing a set?
Quick Answer: Roughly 12% which is 1 in 8.5 times. As a ratio that turns into (7.5 : 1) against. Don’t be afraid of ratios. You can skip the math part, but remember the ratio.

Math: let’s multiply the odds of each card of the flop not being the same rank as your pocket pair (basically, missing). (48/50)*(47/49)*(46/48) = 88.2%. Subtract that from 100% (that’s 100-88.2) and we have an 11.8% chance of flopping a set (or quads).

♠ I Need To Get Paid!
That’s right. You’ll be seeing a LOT of flops that miss you when you’re looking to setmine. So, when you land a set, you need to recoup all that money you spent calling with hopes of hitting a set.

And, it’s not like you are guaranteed a pot when you do land your set. Sometimes a flush, straight, or even a higher set will ruin your hand.

So, how much do you need to win on average to make setmining profitable?

People will debate that, but I would say 12 times the cost of the call will put you in the green.

That means the Absolute Number 1 Step in setmining is to check and see how big the Villan’s stack is.

If his stack is not at the very least Ten Times what it would cost me to make a call in hopes of seeing a flop, it’s not even possible to get paid off enough to make setmining profitable!

Those are the basics of setmining, but like many things in life, a little knowledge could be a dangerous thing. In Setmining 102 we will look more closely at different situations at the table where we will have the opportunity to setmine.