Question for El Diablo, Flynn, Zee, etc.--pot control?

[mrwatson23]

I have often heard that pot-control is a fundamental skill in big-bet hold'em, but I don't really know what it means. Could one (or hopefully all) of the big-bet experts here please explain the concept of pot control?

[theBruiser500]

read the archives

[Kaz The Original]

Check behind on the turn with TPTK

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
I have often heard that pot-control is a fundamental skill in big-bet hold'em, but I don't really know what it means. Could one (or hopefully all) of the big-bet experts here please explain the concept of pot control?

[/ QUOTE ]
i could write a book on this subject, but im not diablo, flynn or zee, so ill keep quiet.

[ML4L]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I have often heard that pot-control is a fundamental skill in big-bet hold'em, but I don't really know what it means. Could one (or hopefully all) of the big-bet experts here please explain the concept of pot control?

[/ QUOTE ]
i could write a book on this subject, but im not diablo, flynn or zee, so ill keep quiet.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe that you are "etc." though. Let's hear what you have to say...

ML4L

[mrwatson23]

Actually Mike, I was thinking of you when I typed "etc.," but I would like to hear what Mr. Kungfu has to say on the subject. Are you still booked until April?

Best wishes,
Mike

[ML4L]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually Mike, I was thinking of you when I typed "etc.," but I would like to hear what Mr. Kungfu has to say on the subject. Are you still booked until April?

Best wishes,
Mike

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll PM you in a minute.

Mike

[Wayfare]

Ohh can you CC me on that? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Matt Flynn]

pot control is one of the fundamentals of big bet poker, right there with stack size adjustments, putting players to tough decisions, avoiding tough decisions and so forth. in the first approximation, it can be summed as:

when you are committed, build a big pot. when you are not committed, keep the pot small.

a classic example is when you hold AK and raise preflop - say to 5x the bb after a limper (aka, "the pot"). you get two callers. pot is 16x. flop comes AJ5 twotone. check to you, you bet 15x. positional player folds. small blind calls. pot is 46x.

turn is an offsuit 9. your opponent is a pretty tight blind player. what do you do?

pot control says you check the turn to keep the pot small because you are not committed to the hand. in other words, you believe that if you play a big pot, you will lose more than you will win. you can see the additional advantages of checking of possibly inducing a bluff on the river, or inducing a call on the river by showing weakness on the turn. a disadvantage is you give a free card.

pot control is but one fundamental. suppose you have 1000x left, but your opponent only has 40x. well then stack size issues take precedence b/c the small stack size means you are automatically committed (assume no magic tells and no ultracrappy play on SB's part that allows you to play otherwise). stack size takes precedence and you must shove in (or close to it) to force the draw to fold or make a bad call.

suppose you have 1000x and opponent has 400x. now you got some room to play. you might check, but you know he may have a flush draw, and that he will not attack lightly. you may well opt for betting the turn - maybe 2/3 of the pot - to get him to lay down a flush draw and also declare his hand. you have put him to a tough decision, which in that case can be more important than pot control. he can aikido you by semibluff check-raising, or by calling then betting the river - in some cases regardless of the river card. keep in mind that b/c you bet the turn you would prefer to check the river, b/c the only losing hand you might get him to call three streets with is AQ and even then he may fold. now you have entered a new plane of poker where your opponent is exercising some pot control but also putting you to decisions. betting the turn requires a much higher level of skill against a good opponent but can often be the right play. you can, alternatively, avoid a tough decision by checking behind. in this turn example, checking the turn accomplishes both pot control and avoiding a tough decision if he check-raises.

start with the first approximation.

matt

[neon]

Thanks Matt. Great post.