Pot control and how much to bet

[autobet]

From the lessons learned thread:
When are the best time to bet the pot and when is a lessor bet called for?

I have started betting 1/2 the pot whenever the board pairs on the turn, but am not quite sure when else the a smallish bet is called for.

[barongreenback]

Important and big topic. It may be a general, rather than omaha, question but it needs asking here because of the 'always bet the pot' omaha orthodoxy. A few examples to get things going.

Ciaffone says paired boards and possible flush boards may be candidates for smaller bets. The idea being that your good hands are less vulnerable to drawouts and you give yourself a better price on a bluff. It might also keep someone in drawing dead but vs weaker opponents you fail to extract the max.

Some of this is contradictory and I suppose the question is how will my opponent's reaction to a smaller bet differ from a pot bet.

OOP I might find myself in a situation where I want to get all in now or play a small pot. A small bet that encourages a raise could be right here.

The difficulty is balancing information leakage with optimal play in isolation. That makes my head hurt more than any other aspect of big bet poker.

James

[mshalen]

A few weeks ago Ribbo, buried in a post, said something to the effect of: if you hold the winning hand and you bet an amount larger than your opponent will call then you have lost money.

I have thought a lot about this and have been trying to observe my opponents more (always a good thing under any circumstance) and bet an amount that will induce a call. ie. it appears that you and/or opponent have been on a flush draw that doesn't make it, what size bet will imply a steal but will be small enough to get a sheriff to call you.

In Harrington's books he makes various sized bets, from 1/3 up to full pot, based on what information you are trying to extract, what the board looks like and who bet or raised during the previous action. As I have said here many times, Dan's book has great information that is applicable to any poker game.

[Big Dave D]

Auto,

The important aspect is that you need to accomodate it into your style, so it becomes natural and information-leak proof. For example the advice in SSII is just about the opposite of what I would recommend.

gl

Dave

[joewatch]

I like mixing it up with 1/2 pot bets, checks, and full-pots on the turn when it pairs. I don't have an exact percentage like Harrington recommends, it depends mostly on who's in the pot with me.