I think the biggest mistake people make with high pocket pairs is pushing all their chips in like it's cryptonite for their opponent every chance they get. It's a bad habit that can destroy two hours of stack building in one click of the finger for a session.

I rape people who do this by playing implied odd hands against them. I catch a set, two pair, or a straight, and then bet like I'm drawing. I get them every time. It is getting more and more common to coax a big pair into pushing. You have to be careful with high pocket pairs, because the more observant people at the table know when you have them. They are going to get you to push when you're behind.

I'm not saying you should never push, but a big raise from an opponent often means better than one pair.

Obviously it was the right choice to push on this opponent this time, but our hero raised to 8xBB preflop. Depending on our heros image and tendancies, it might be elementary to instantly put him on high pocket and play accordingly. All I'm saying is you gotta be careful who you're pushing into after giving away the strength of your hand preflop.