2 useful formulas

[Josh.]

my formula for pot sized raising:

one of the awkward things for me when i first switched from limit to nl was making pot sized raises, specifically when the pot gets big. a lot of times i'd just make it way too small and accidentally give my opponent good odds. i notice a lot of posts here where people are raising too small. i assume most limidonks play nl on stars, where there's no bet pot button.

so here's a very simple formula for calculating a pot sized raise.

pot-sized raise = (opponent's bet or raise amount)*3 + (all other money, excluding money you've put in the current street. this includes blinds, dead money from people who folded, and money in the pot)

or more simply, triple the most current bet or raise, then add in all other dead money

-example 1: your opponent bets $75 into a $100 pot. a pot sized raise would be 3*75+100 = 325
-example 2: your opponent bets $75 into a $100 pot, and is called in two spots before it gets to you. a pot sized raise is 3*75 + (100+75+75) = 475
-example 3: opponent 1 bets $75 into $100. opponent 2 raises to $200 straight. a pot sized raise is now 200*3 + (100+75) = 775



my formula for pot management:

many times, you'll be on the flop or turn and want to make a bet so that you can comfortably shove the next street without having to overbet or bet suspiciously small. the formula for this is (stacks-pot)/3

example- $150 in the pot with $300 stacks on the turn. (300-150)/3 = 50, so if you bet 50 on the flop and get called, you can shove a PSB on the river. to test it, pot is 150 now, and will be 250 after you bet 50 and are called. stacks are 300-50=250 so it works.