Irieguy
04-01-2005, 06:55 PM
I guess I just kind of threw this term out there without explaining it very well. Now it seems that it may be misunderstood.
impetus: a force that moves something along.
So, betting impetus describes the action that moves the betting along in a round. That basically means that whomever opens the betting, or raises last, has assumed the betting impetus.
Many players, it seems, do not fully appreciate how powerful this concept can be.
"I bet, they should fold." or
"He doesn't have anything, so I'll raise and he should fold..." are a pretty common ways to think about bluffing.
"I have a good hand, should I bet or check-raise?" is a common way to think about playing when you hit the flop.
But it's important to understand (and the heart of the concept of betting impetus, in my opinion) that you don't always have to seize betting impetus to play a hand strongly. You must also be able to surrender it. This will allow you to do what Zen and I refer to as "playing for value."
By learning when to lead and when to let your opponent lead, you will improve your ability to make calls when you rate to be ahead.
Furthermore, you will learn how to manipulate the size of a pot. Have you ever flopped TPTK against a set, played all the way to the river, and only lost half of your stack to somebody that had you covered? I would bet that there are many players to whom this has never happened. But it's important to learn how to lose a hand without losing all of your chips. It's also OK to sometimes win a hand without doubling up. Sometimes a situation isn't favorable enough to expect a double-up.
Understanding how betting impetus drives the action in a hand will open up your mind to options on streets other than the flop. You will begin to win more when you are ahead and lose less when you are behind. You will win more not because you are winning big pots... but because you are winning more pots. You will lose less because you don't always have to get all of your chips in the pot when you decide not to fold.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
Irieguy
impetus: a force that moves something along.
So, betting impetus describes the action that moves the betting along in a round. That basically means that whomever opens the betting, or raises last, has assumed the betting impetus.
Many players, it seems, do not fully appreciate how powerful this concept can be.
"I bet, they should fold." or
"He doesn't have anything, so I'll raise and he should fold..." are a pretty common ways to think about bluffing.
"I have a good hand, should I bet or check-raise?" is a common way to think about playing when you hit the flop.
But it's important to understand (and the heart of the concept of betting impetus, in my opinion) that you don't always have to seize betting impetus to play a hand strongly. You must also be able to surrender it. This will allow you to do what Zen and I refer to as "playing for value."
By learning when to lead and when to let your opponent lead, you will improve your ability to make calls when you rate to be ahead.
Furthermore, you will learn how to manipulate the size of a pot. Have you ever flopped TPTK against a set, played all the way to the river, and only lost half of your stack to somebody that had you covered? I would bet that there are many players to whom this has never happened. But it's important to learn how to lose a hand without losing all of your chips. It's also OK to sometimes win a hand without doubling up. Sometimes a situation isn't favorable enough to expect a double-up.
Understanding how betting impetus drives the action in a hand will open up your mind to options on streets other than the flop. You will begin to win more when you are ahead and lose less when you are behind. You will win more not because you are winning big pots... but because you are winning more pots. You will lose less because you don't always have to get all of your chips in the pot when you decide not to fold.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
Irieguy