Poker Betting Strategy: Calling Pots

Poker Odds, Betting Strategy
February 1 2009

Controlling a poker game is no easy feat. Luck plays such an important factor that even the best in the world don’t control every game they play. Most good players want to be aggressive and impose their will, so it’s tough to be the one that’s manipulating things with any consistency. Some factors in a game can be counted on, while others will have to be controlled.

Making bets is the most common way to control a game. Making bets from late positions will allow you to steal pots, and bets from early positions will often control the action to a level that you want. If you have a good draw, but you’re worried an opponent may have hit top pair, you can often control the betting by making a smaller bet, one that your opponent will only call. Many players with top pair or better will just call your bet, thinking they’re trapping you. But if you make the bet small enough, you’ll be getting the proper odds on your draw, instead of the poor odds you would have likely gotten if you checked it to your opponent and let them bet.

Sometimes controlling a pot means that you only call a bet. If you have a monster hand, and there are multiple players in a hand, calling a bet to induce others to stay in the hand is another way of controlling the action.

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