What is pot control please ?

[MrBump]

I keep hearing about "pot control". I understand that this is trying to keep the pot small (I think), but I am not sure in what circumstances we would want to do this and how this can be done in and out of position ?

Any chance of an explanation and maybe an example with HH ?

TIA [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

PS I play mainly NLHE microstakes (< NL10)

[lucky_mf]

When you have a hand that figures to be the best, but is not great, it might be in your best interest to keep the pot small (either by checking the flop or the turn) so that pot and any river bets are reasonably sized relative to the stacks (i.e. not super big). This "pot control" stuff becomes really important when you are playing deep with and against better players. You don't want necessarily want to bet your TPGK hand on 2 streets (making a 70BB pot) because you may well be faced with a 50BB+ river bet. If one streets gets checked through you going to be looking at more reasonable river bets (for the strength of your hand) in the neighborhood of 30BB.

Lucky

[pocketse7ens]

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...rue#Post7947101

[Cameron McCown]

Pot control in limit poker can either be keeping the pot small with a marginal hand or raising/reraising to keep control of the pot with what is near, or may be, the nuts. You want to have control of the pot and the betting if you have something good, which is hard to do from early position...that's why many people say to only play premium or near premium from early.

[PantsOnFire]

You have A9 in middle position. You raise 3xBB and get called by CO only. Pot is 7.5BB.

Flop is A K 7 rainbow. You c-bet 4xBB and CO calls. The pot is 15.5BB. He could have AT AJ which would be bad. He could have KJ KQ which would be good. He could have A6.

Since we don't know a check on the turn is order. If CO has a similar hand to you like Ax, he will likely check. You should check on most river cards except maybe a 9. If CO has a hand similar to you he may check or bet something like 8BB which you can easily call. If he had something like 88, he also may bet the river which you can easily call. A lot times, you may split this pot if you both have A with lower kicker.

The idea is that you didn't build a monster pot with a hand that may or may not be best and more importantly is unlikely to improve to something big.

Now on the other hand, if you had a flush draw to go with your A, you might bet the turn to get the pot bigger.

Another term for contolling the pot is playing slow. Unlike the other term slowplaying (which is playing slow with a huge hand), pot control playing slow is playing with a medium warm hand and not risking too many chips since both you and villain likely each have some sort of pair and shouldnt' really be beating each other up over it.

Of course, in tourney poker, if you are getting low on chips, you would simply move all-in with a hand like this either before the flop or after the flop.

[MrBump]

Many thanks to all of you. That was a big help [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]