Set

Also known as: sets, set mining, trips with a pocket pair

Three of a kind made with a pocket pair plus one matching board card — disguised, near-nut value.

A set is three of a kind made from a pocket pair hitting a third matching card on the board (88 on a 8♦5♣2♠ flop). It's distinct from trips (a pair on the board plus one in your hand): a set is more disguised, because opponents rarely put you on it, and it usually plays for stacks.

The math behind set mining: an unpaired pocket pair flops a set about 11.8% of the time — roughly 1 in 8.5. That low hit rate is why set-mining wants:

• High SPR / deep stacks so the times you hit pay off,
• and implied odds: a common guideline is the 5-and-10 rule — call a preflop raise to set-mine when you can win ~10–15× the call's chips on average.

As a made hand the set is a near-nut monster on most boards: it beats every overpair and top pair, and it's a premier value hand for check-raising, double-barreling, and stacking opponents. The main caution is board texture — a bottom set on a wet, connected board can be drawing against straights and flushes and should sometimes raise fast for protection rather than slow-play.