Managing Poker Pot Size
Every move you make during a hand has an implication on the size of the pot. It’s critical you keep this in mind because a majority of the confrontations that you are involved in should be small pots compared to your stack size. The point is to avoid getting involved in large pots, unless you are certain you are strongest in the hand.
So you need to take a close look at your actions during a hand and be able to comprehend what the result of checking, calling or raising might be. Even though you might have the best hand when you make a bet, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have the winner on the river. In order to manage pot size, you also need to understand the real strength of your hand based on what community cards are out there, and also the profile of your opponent.
Another consideration is the skill of your opponents. Are they experienced enough to fold if you raise or reraise, or are they a calling station. There’s nothing worse than raising with the best hand when you know you have your opponent beat, and having them call and outdraw you. You want to ensure that doesn’t happen, and not get involved in pots where this is likely to occur, especially in the early stages of a multi table tournament.
The size of a pot also makes a difference to your ability to read your opponents. If your opponent wants to be in a hand then you can put them on a certain range of hole cards (depending on what type of player they are). Once the put is large enough to concern your opponent, then you have more opportunity to bluff, and win the pot with a weak hand.
This brings us to the biggest advantage of managing pot size, which is that you get to see all five cards on the board before you really resolve what to do in terms of your hand strength and your opponent’s propensity to make an error. Prospective draws or paired boards reveal themselves to critical spots but could either turn into big hand for you or help you fold and save you some tournament chips.
Managing the pot size needs emotional discipline, effective profiling, and an experienced understanding of community card texture. Conversely, it is one of the most common misplays your adversaries will be making, and presents an lucrative opportunity for you to double up.
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