personally i will play small pocket pairs. then it depends on what happens on the flop. you're only really going to make money if you hit a set. the odds of this are 7/1. these hands are usually pretty hard to tell, so i find you make more money from these hands than the times that you fold on the flop when you don't hit.

and don't forget 22 beats ak 53% of the time. so if their are only 2-3 players then it's definitely a good hand.

In a shorthanded limit game the baby pairs are pretty junky up front. In a standard game I generally just fold them as you probably aren't going to get correct odds and baby pairs usually don't stand up against 3 player when they are unimproved.

Also limping in with these types of hands gets costly shorthanded with guys who are quick to isolate you.

Once in a while when conditions are right, I'll raise baby pairs to hopefully get heads up and take the lead on the flop.

But in generally, I never limp from the early positions (once in a while with AA, KK with isolating type players behind). I either fold or raise.