Re: SSNL Theory Question: Controlling pot size?
[ QUOTE ]
Let's say you've got AQo in the CO. A uber-tight player raises 3xbb from UTG. From playing with him, you know that this likely means AA-JJ or AK. You're the only caller. The flop comes As-5d-8c. He bets 2/3 of the pot, which is standard for him. You call. Flop is a blank and he checks. You check behind.
[/ QUOTE ]
waxie's whole post is gold, but I'd like to expound upon it a bit.
It's a good idea to check behind in the above scenario. Keeping the pot small in a WA/WB hand is one reason. You don’t want to pay too much for this marginal hand. But it's not the only reason, and frankly, it’s not the one that is foremost on my mind when I'm actually in this spot at the table.
Instead I'm thinking of the other side of this same coin: controlling aggression. In this hand you're either way ahead or way behind your opponent and it's hard to tell which. (this is what's meant by "WA/WB") If you're way ahead, you'll surely prefer to raise some amount the opponent will call, for value. But if we’re way behind, our raise will only be met by further aggression either right here or on the river. By reopening the betting, we expose ourselves to giving the opponent the leverage to force us in to a mistake. I’d prefer to control the opponent’s aggression so that I don’t make that mistake. Like I said, this is just the other side of the same “pot control” coin. But it’s another way to look at it.
It also gives you a way to look at other scenarios where you might not need to control pot growth but you do want to control aggression. For example, a big draw with multiple opponents. In this case if your draw is to the nuts, you don’t mind the pot growing. But you would mind if by reopening the betting you gave your opponent the chance to push you out of the pot. In that case, he had the leverage to force you in to a mistake. Not all opponents will take advantage of this opportunity when they should, so often times I’ll go ahead and raise my big draw. Sometimes I’ll even push. But not always, and one of the factors in deciding is whether reopening the betting is likely to force me out of the pot.
|