Pot Control - Keeping the pot manageable
Introduction
In this article
- With marginal hands you want to get to the showdown cheaply
- The pot can be better controlled in position
- Pot Control is about bet sequence and bet size
A very simple and basic game concept is: The stronger the hand, the
bigger the pot you want to play for. Your desire to extract as much
value as possible with monsters is clear.
On the other hand, you'll often have hands which have showdown value,
but would be severely overplayed if you get pulled into a huge pot.
With these hands, you want to get to the showdown cheaply – on the one side, to still get value from worse hands, on the other side,
to not pay off better hands too much.
To
keep the pot small is called pot control. When pot control makes sense
and in which way you implement this game concept properly will be
taught in this article.
When should you use pot control?
There is only one situation where you don’t consider the aspect of pot control, and that is if you’re bluff betting. With a bluff bet, you’re overplaying your hand on purpose, since you believe this will produce enough fold equity to turn this bet into +EV. Your aim here is to win the pot without a showdown.
If you’re actually holding a strong hand, though, you’d want the pot to become as big as possible, because you know there is very little change that an opponent’s hand can beat yours. Here, pot control becomes more important through your bet size. You should choose your bet size in such a way, that you can push the entire stack in the middle by the showdown, without over-betting.
Pot control is especially useful if you hold a relatively weak or middle-strength hand. It has showdown value but it is unlikely that any further bets or raises by you would be called by a weaker hand.
This leads to a simple basic rule: If there are few weaker opponents’ hands, that would go to showdown if you bet or raised further, then these bets or raises don’t really make sense, since you’re converting your hand a bit too much into a bluff.
Since you’d possibly be able to bluff better hands out of the pot with your bets, which is a different story, then here, as mentioned earlier, the aspect of pot control turns through the active overplaying of your hand in the background. Pot control means that you try to match the pot size as much as possible at showdown, to the strength of your hand.
How to use pot control
There are different ways to control the pot. For one, you can steer the
size of the pot with the bet sequence. Or, you might control it with
the bet size.
On
the following pages, you'll be shown how to use pot control in your
game with examples of both cases when "you are in position" and "you
are out of position". Let's point out in advance that you have vastly
better possibilities to dictate the pot size when you are in position.
Therefore, the basic rule is once again confirmed: Always try to have
position on your opponent.
In the third part, you find out how you can manipulate the pot size to your advantage with very strong hands. Finally the theoretical basics of pot control will be discussed.
You are in position
There are a lot of possibilities
for influencing the size of the pot if you are IP. You always act at the end of the betting round, so you can act as you like.
Different
bet sequences will permit different pot sizes. For example, if you have
TPTK against a poor opponent, the sequence "bet flop, bet turn, bet
river" is often appropriate. Our weak opponent will often call down
with a pair.
What about
opponents who don't give up their money with such a weak hand? The
following example should make the situation clearer:
Hero (Button) ($100)
Villain (SB) ($100)
Preflop: Hero is Button with A
, Q
.
3 folds, Hero raises to $4, SB calls $3,50, 1 fold.
Flop: ($9) 7, 3
, Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $8, SB calls $8.
Turn: ($25) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero ?
We've played normally up to this point. We raise first-in from the
button with AQo and make a bet on the flop with our TPTK that is just
under pot size.
In this case we bet and SB folds. We didn't get any more money from our opponent.
After the call by the SB there are 2 possibilities on the river. First
we could hit our flush. If this happens, the decision on the river is
easy; we bet or raise.
If you don’t hit the flush, the SB can either donk-bet or check. If he checks, you should take the free showdown as you would against normal opponents. If he donks, though, you’ll be faced with a tough decision. Often, you get beaten with such a bet sequence (check/call flop, check/call turn, bet river), if possible draws, that he could have held at the flop, have now arrived.
This is probably the worst case. We now have a tough decision. On the
one hand, we have TPTK, and on the other the nut flush draw. If you make the simplified assumption that the opponent, in that case that he isn’t bluffing, must definitely be well ahead (which would reflect reality quite well), and in the case that he is bluffing, won’t really be able to beat us, we get the following calculation:
Calculation:
Pot = Money in the pot (here $143)
PB = probability that villain is bluffing
PF = probability that we make the flush (in our case 0,195)
Call = amount hero must call (in our case $58)
Your call is profitable if:
Gain > loss
<=> (1-PB) * PF * Pot + PB * Pot > (1 - PB) * (1 - PF) * Call
<=> PB > (Call - PF * Call - PF * Pot) / (-PF * Pot + Pot + Call - PF * Call)
<=> PB > 0,116
Villain had to be bluffing in 11.6% so that you could profitably call. Of course there are opponents to whom this applies. But to recognise these, you need to either be a Master of Reads, or already have known the villain for a while. Mostly this situation will end for you in a standard fold.
Advantages of checking behind on the turn:
- The pot stayed small so we aren't playing for too much of our stack with our mediocre hand.
- We showed weakness on the turn. Worse hands will often make value bets against us on the river.
- We will draw a bluff more often here.
Since we played check behind on the turn, the pot is still $25. If SB
bets on the river, it will usually be between $10 and $25, which are
callable amounts.
Second advantage: the bet from SB here doesn't have to mean anything.
We played check behind on the turn, showing weakness. He might have a
monster, a weak hand (which we would beat), or just be bluffing.
With that you very often maximise your expected-value through this check behind on the turn.
Since we played check behind on the turn, we have to call. We will be
ahead very often. Furthermore, we have reached our goal of getting to
the showdown cheaply with a weak hand. The check behind on the turn
prevented our opponent from making the pot large if he has a good hand.
Also a good situation. There is no indication that the SB is beating us. We can make a value bet without problems.
Advantages of check behind on the turn:
- The pot stayed small so we aren't playing for too much of our stack with our mediocre hand.
- We showed weakness on the turn so our value bet will be called more often, even by worse hands that think we're bluffing.
Against a very tricky opponent, you should still consider, before placing a value bet on the river, how to react to a possible check-raise. If you know that the opponent check-raises the river very often, but you don't want to call him at the moment due to your current hand strength, you can avoid a value betting here.
Generally, very few players play on the river using such the betting sequence check/raise as a bluff or as a valueline. That's why your own valuebet is generally an easy decision to make.
The check behind on the turn has a few advantages here. We get more
value from hands that would have folded to a normal bet and we lose
less money should we be behind a flush or other strong hand.
Furthermore, by holding the pot small we prevent villain from making it
large with a raise. We reach our goal of keeping the pot small with a
mediocre hand. If we are ahead, we win the maximum. If we are behind,
we lose the minimum.
You are out of position
Pot control OOP is somewhat more difficult than IP. We have to act
before out opponent, so we can't wait to see what he does and act
accordingly. A free card on the turn, therefore, becomes much less
likely. First, an example of how you can keep the pot small with TPTK.
Hero (CO) ($100)
Villain (Button) ($100)
Preflop: Hero is CO with A, Q. SB posts a blind of $0.50.
3 folds, Hero raises to $4, BVillain (Button) calls $4, 2 folds.
Flop: ($9) 7, 3, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $8, Button calls $8.
Turn: ($25) 6 (2 players)
Hero ...
We've played a standard game up to this point. We raised first-in from
CO and make a near pot size bet on the flop. The following situation
arises on the turn: we have TPTK on a 3-suited
board. There is hardly a worse hand that would call another bet.
Not a pretty situation. We have a mediocre hand (TPTK), but also the
nut flush draw. We are probably behind at the moment. Deciding whether
to call or fold is difficult and we will often decide incorrectly. The
necessary probability of bluffing can be calculated in the same way as
in the first example hand.
This is better than scenario 1A. Villain "only" calls us and we can see
the river card for an acceptable price. We are first to act and have a
decision to make.
If we hit our flush it's easy. If not, and that is more often the case, then we have a mediocre hand on a 3-suited board.
It only becomes difficult when you don’t hit the flush. Usually, you’d simply check and wait to see what your opponent does. Due to the larger pot size you won’t always find a light call, as was the case before when you played it after a check behind on the river in-position. In addition to that, you’d call little suckbets mostly with a mixed intuition.
We get a free card on the turn as we often would IP. We can surely make
a value bet on the river. Since we showed weakness on the turn with our
check, our river bet can be called by a clearly worse hand.
The opponent bets and the standard move here would be to call in order to see the river card. Against a raise you wouldn’t get a better hand to fold or a weaker hand to call. That’s why, you’d convert your own hand into a bluff with a check-raise, something you don’t need in this situation.
Villain's bet, however, says nothing about whether we're beaten. We
checked and thereby showed weakness. Therefore, we'll often see small
value bets from weaker hands as well as pure bluffs.
On the river, you’d once again be faced with a decision similar to the one in Scenario 1B. Nevertheless it’ll be hard in this spot to call yet another bet, since your opponent already signalled strength on the turn and on the river.
We'll often get a bluff bet from our opponent by checking on the
turn. We hold the pot small by preventing villain from increasing the
pot size with a raise.
Until now you've seen how you can try and keep the pot small on the turn. All the same, this concept of pot control is already valid at the flop stage. If you, for example, play in position against one opponent who likes to check-raise the flop, you can just go for a check-behind, and then on the turn call your opponent's bet with your middle-strength hand. It's especially important here that you gauge the aspect of protection correctly in relation to pot control, in order to avoid giving away too many free cards on the flop and showing your opponent that you only hold middle-strength cards.
Pot Control with Monsters
Up to this point, you've always had a
medium-strength hand, with which you were able to get to the
Showdown at a relatively low cost. But even with a monster hand, pot
control is important. You should try to let the pot grow in moderation,
so that by the time you're finally at the river, you can put your
entire stack into the middle.
Hero (CO) 100$
Villain (BU) 100$
0.50$/1.00$ No-Limit Hold’em (6 handed)
Pre-flop: Hero is CO with 33
2 folds, Hero raises to 4$, BU calls 4$, 2 folds.
Flop: (9,50$) A, 3, 7 (2players)
Hero bets 8$, BU calls 8$.
Turn: (25,50$) 7
(2 players)
Hero ???
You placed a continuation bet on the flop, because
you want to be securely ahead with your bottom set. The turn brings the
2nd best card in the deck (the 3 would have been perfect, of course).
Why is the 7 even considered one of the best
cards though? Even though it doesn't fit your hand range, your hand is
still very strong. Similarly, a 7 doesn't fit in the opponent's hand
range either. If the opponent calls here with an Ace, he would often
be tempted to see a bluff behind your bets and call them.
If the opponent holds a pocket pair, he will
notice that the turn card hasn't really changed the board significantly.
Therefore he might assume that you wouldn't bet on an Ace here,
because you don't want to scare off all the other weaker hands with
that action. With this the question of how often you want to
bluff arises, so that he still calls with a pocket pair.
You hold a monster and of course you want to play
your whole stack. How can you best achieve that? You don't want to
completely scare the opponent away with an overbet either.
The pot has $55,50 and the rest of your stack has
$73. An all-in/push on the river would be an overbet, which you basically want to avoid, because that would give your opponent really bad odds for a call.
Now the pot size on the river is $65,50 and your
remaining stack is $68. You have almost managed to give the opponent
the exact 2:1 odds for a call with a river bet.
The pot size on the river is $75,50 and your stack is
$63. You can go right ahead and push all-in on the river and it wouldn't be an overbet.
With your bet size selected on the turn, you can
manipulate the pot size on the river and in doing so leave yourself a door open without overbetting, by going all-in on the river. The 3
scenarios above show that you should bet
more than $20 in order to leave this option open, and to prepare for
your move on the river.
There's a little formula you can use in these cases while playing:
B: bet size on the turn
S: effective stack on the turn
P: pot size on the turn
B > (S-P) / 3
In the above example, this would be:
B > (88$ - 25.50$) / 3
B > 62.50$ / 3
B > 20.83$
With a bet size of $20,83 on the turn, your stack on the river at that stage will be smaller than the pot size.
With this kind of pot control, you can now try
to play your monster for your whole stack, without feeling forced to make an
overbet or hoping that your opponent will raise.
You can apply this aspect of pot control in all
possible hand scenarios and even recognise, that you can
also vary your raise size substantially. In special cases, even a
minimum raise or a raise only slightly larger than a minimum raise can do the
job and prepare the pot size for a later street.
Theoretical Foundations
The decisive question is always how to best keep the pot small in a
given situation. Just as a large bet doesn't always produce a large
pot, a small bet doesn't always make a small one.
This problem solves itself In Position. You can just wait to see what your opponent does and act accordingly to keep the pot small, either calling or checking.
Special case: In some situations, a small bet with which you can hinder opponents from betting on the next street. We would get a free card. On the turn you can also see that as a sort of bet for free showdown.
Out of Position
things are more difficult. Here you must act first. We have two
options, bet or check. Now we must decide which option will keep the
pot smaller
Let us first consider a bet:
- Ideal Case: Our opponent never raises a bet. We can choose the smallest possible bet to keep the pot at its smallest.
- Real Case: Small bets are raised more often than large ones.
If a raise occurs, we must often fold, even if our opponent is bluffing (small bets are often interpreted as weakness).
If we decide to bet (for whatever reason), we must choose a bet size
that we can be sure to fold against a re-raise but that still keeps the
pot small. There are no general guidelines for how to do this for different
opponents.
Rule of thumb: Anything clearly less than ½ pot size is often seen as weakness and will be raised more often.
That is a purely empirical experience. If you want to keep the pot small, bet that are half the pot size are useful in that they don’t provoke a raise on the one hand, and on the other, keep the pot size small due to the small bet size.
But now you must consider whether or not a check
would be better. I'll only consider pot control here, neglecting other
(often important)
points, such as protection, bluff induction, etc.
We must ask ourselves the following questions:
- If we check, would our opponent bet?
- How much would he bet?
- If we bet less than that amount, would he raise?
If we are sure that our opponent would bet if we were to check, but
would not raise if we bet beneath his possible bet amount, then it
would be better to bet ourselves. Otherwise, we should check and call his bet.
Different bet sequences can keep the pot small in different situations.
Unfortunately, picking the optimal sequence is extremely dependent on
your opponent. I'll address a few common situations in the following.
You are in Position
Hero plays against the Pre-Flop Aggressor
(the opponent will almost always make a continuation bet):
Call Flop - Call (Check behind) Turn
Absolutely standard. We have position and can call or check depending on our opponent's behaviour. From the turn card onwards, your hand strength starts changing to some extent in relation to the board structure, and if you're still bent upon getting to the showdown, a call or a check-behind would be advisable here.
Hero is Pre-Flop Aggressor:
i) Bet Flop - Check behind Turn
Again the standard bet sequence. We make a continuation bet on the flop
to try and take the pot directly and not give away free cards. On the
turn, however, we are often confronted by a better hand. Therefore, we
check to keep the pot as small as possible and save ourselves some
difficult decisions on the river.As explained earlier, you could also think about if you want a free showdown against your opponents through a 2nd barrel on the turn.ii) Check behind Flop - Call Turn
On the flop, you avoid a continuation bet this time. If you check-raise your opponents a lot on the flop and otherwise play very aggressively, you can, with a check behind, play very well for a bluff induce and pot control, without being pushed into the situation of having to play a very big pot yourself. This bet sequence is, however, very opponent and image depended and should not be seen as a standard line.
You are out of position
Hero plays against the Pre-Flop Aggressor
(the opponent will almost always make a continuation bet):The check to the pre-flop aggressor is standard. We don't give him the
chance to make the pot large with a raise (whether with a good hand or
a bluff).i) Check / Call Flop - Bet Turn
This bet sequence is for playing those opponents who often make a continuation bet on the flop, but then get more passive on the turn (fits a lot of ABC-opponents). Good players often see this bet sequence as a weakness and try to collect the pot through a bluff raise on the turn. A good read on your opponent is essential here.
ii) Check / Call Flop - Check Turn
This bet sequence works against opponents who continue to play aggressively on the turn as well (raising draws, made hands, bluffs). How you then react to a 2nd barrel depends very much onthe board texture and the precise reading of your opponent.
Hero is Pre-Flop Aggressor:
i) Bet Flop - Check (Bet) / Call (Fold) Turn
A standard bet sequence for all moderately good hands on boards that
are not draw-heavy. Action on the turn should be considered in the same
manner as in previous chapters. Here you must decide between check and
bet.
ii) Check / Call Flop - Check (Bet) Turn
This bet sequence is somewhat unusual and not to be recommended in all situations. The check/call on the flop as pre-flop aggressor has a weak effect on many opponents, since you’re really continuation-betting both your good hands as well as your bluffs.
That is why your opponents can estimate the strength of your hand very well, if you do this only with medium-strength hands. If, however, you’re playing against an overly aggressive opponent, you can, through this sudden passive-play induce a bluff very nicely for your hand, and with that, hold the pot real small.
Summary
This article was solely about pot control. This concept is the exact
opposite of the protection, the defending of your hand from hands which
could still improve over yours.
When to exactly use pot control cannot be learned overnight. It
requires a lot of experience. Both concepts are equally important and
should be internalised in order to become a successful No-Limit career.
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