Post by Randy C on Sept 7, 2006 16:51:18 GMT -4
Betting is one of poker's toughest aspects to master. However, a person who practices and hones the skill of betting WILL reep far greater rewards than those who don't pay any mind to it at all.
In Poker, cards are not your weapon, your chips are! That is the brutal reality, because without chips, or with few in front of you, you pose little threat to the rest of the table. So, the question now becomes, how do you amass chips, and how do you protect them?
The easy answer to the first part of the above question is this; proper betting technique will help you to amass the chips neccessary to become a threat to the table. Oddly enough, the answer to the second part of the above question is the same; proper betting will help you to protect your chips.
What is "proper betting"? That depends on the situation really. There are so many factors to consider when placing a bet, but ultimately it comes down to a few simple questions that you need to ask yourself before you make the bet. What exactly are you trying to accomplish AFTER you make the bet? Are you trying to narrow down the playing field? Are you trying to keep as many people in as possible? Are you trying to capitalize as much as possible without scaring anyone out? Do you WANT people to lay down their hands? Are you trying to obtain additional information about your opponents strength? These are just some of the thoughts that would be going through my head prior to making a bet, and they are VERY important questions.
So, let's take a look at one posible scenario and see how we bet to "capitalize or maximize the amount of return."
Let's say I am holding AKs in 8th position and I have 2 limpers in front of me and 3 more people to act behind me. OK...I have a great hand in a really decent position, and the information that I have thus far is that there are 2 limpers already in with what I assume to be marginal hands because neither raised the pot. I also know that there are 3 more potential player's in the hand behind me. Quite obviously, I want to see a flop with such a decent hand as mine, but how much do I bet, and ultimately what do I want to accomplish with this first bet?
I know that so far, it looks like my AKs is the best hand, but I really want to know "how strong" the hands are behind me, so I will raise in this situation 3 times the BB. This bet will accomplish 2 things for me. It will tell me how strong the 3 people are behind me, and it may narrow the field a bit so that those marginal hands won't suck out on me.
I've made the bet and the button and small blind fold, but the big blind calls me. Only one of the 2 limpers stays in with us. Now we are down to 3 players in the hand.
The flop comes... Kh, 4h and 9d. Bingo! I have made top pair with top kicker...I am in GREAT shape, but the flop dealt me 2 scare cards...2 hearts; a possible flush draw for someone! The BB checks, and so does the other player. The question is, "how much should I bet?" Well the flush scares me enough that I don't want anyone to draw out on me, and I REALLY want to know if someone is on that draw...Optimally, I want someone to have top pair with me, but with a weaker kicker. That will make me some money here.
In this situation, I will throw out a bet just enough to make the flush draw not profitable to call. I quicly assertain that a one-third of the pot bet would make that happen for me. I make the bet.
Now, the BB folds, but the other player calls my bet. The turn comes and it's a 2c. The player checks. The first thought in my head is, that card could not have helped my opponent, right? So, I look at my stack and compare mine to my opponent's and I ask myself, 2 questions: Do I want this person to call me, and if so, how much could I reasonably bet to keep him in this hand? In other words...How much is too much to bet? We are about equal in chip stacks with about 4K to 5K respectively...and I have him covered slightly. I determine that I should bet about half the pot, which at this point is a little over 1200. My 600 chip bet is a good bet at this point because if he has a K with a Q or J for a kicker, I am in really great shape, unless one of them come out, right? As it turns out, the player calls the 600 bet.
The river comes and it's the Kc! Wow, I think...This is heaven! I've made my set and the flush draw didn't complete. My opponent bets a pot sized bet...Now I am certain that he has the K with a lower kicker than me. With my top kicker, I cannot possibly let this opportunity go by, so I go "All In"! My opponent, seeing that his worst fears have been realized, reluctantly calls, because he just can't lay down such a monster. He turns up his cards, I was wrong, he wasn't holding the Q or J...It was a 10. K10....I have eliminated him and doubled up in the process.
Clearly, that was an easy betting round, but it gives you a small glimpse into the amount of thought that must go into each bet that you make. You don't just throw chips around in the hope that they will bring you some friends back...lol! Each bet must be strategic and methodical, yet deceptive and challenging, too!
In the next series of "Betting Part 2" we will delve into betting to extract information and betting to give off misinformation.
Please stay tuned!
All In,
Randy C -
In Poker, cards are not your weapon, your chips are! That is the brutal reality, because without chips, or with few in front of you, you pose little threat to the rest of the table. So, the question now becomes, how do you amass chips, and how do you protect them?
The easy answer to the first part of the above question is this; proper betting technique will help you to amass the chips neccessary to become a threat to the table. Oddly enough, the answer to the second part of the above question is the same; proper betting will help you to protect your chips.
What is "proper betting"? That depends on the situation really. There are so many factors to consider when placing a bet, but ultimately it comes down to a few simple questions that you need to ask yourself before you make the bet. What exactly are you trying to accomplish AFTER you make the bet? Are you trying to narrow down the playing field? Are you trying to keep as many people in as possible? Are you trying to capitalize as much as possible without scaring anyone out? Do you WANT people to lay down their hands? Are you trying to obtain additional information about your opponents strength? These are just some of the thoughts that would be going through my head prior to making a bet, and they are VERY important questions.
So, let's take a look at one posible scenario and see how we bet to "capitalize or maximize the amount of return."
Let's say I am holding AKs in 8th position and I have 2 limpers in front of me and 3 more people to act behind me. OK...I have a great hand in a really decent position, and the information that I have thus far is that there are 2 limpers already in with what I assume to be marginal hands because neither raised the pot. I also know that there are 3 more potential player's in the hand behind me. Quite obviously, I want to see a flop with such a decent hand as mine, but how much do I bet, and ultimately what do I want to accomplish with this first bet?
I know that so far, it looks like my AKs is the best hand, but I really want to know "how strong" the hands are behind me, so I will raise in this situation 3 times the BB. This bet will accomplish 2 things for me. It will tell me how strong the 3 people are behind me, and it may narrow the field a bit so that those marginal hands won't suck out on me.
I've made the bet and the button and small blind fold, but the big blind calls me. Only one of the 2 limpers stays in with us. Now we are down to 3 players in the hand.
The flop comes... Kh, 4h and 9d. Bingo! I have made top pair with top kicker...I am in GREAT shape, but the flop dealt me 2 scare cards...2 hearts; a possible flush draw for someone! The BB checks, and so does the other player. The question is, "how much should I bet?" Well the flush scares me enough that I don't want anyone to draw out on me, and I REALLY want to know if someone is on that draw...Optimally, I want someone to have top pair with me, but with a weaker kicker. That will make me some money here.
In this situation, I will throw out a bet just enough to make the flush draw not profitable to call. I quicly assertain that a one-third of the pot bet would make that happen for me. I make the bet.
Now, the BB folds, but the other player calls my bet. The turn comes and it's a 2c. The player checks. The first thought in my head is, that card could not have helped my opponent, right? So, I look at my stack and compare mine to my opponent's and I ask myself, 2 questions: Do I want this person to call me, and if so, how much could I reasonably bet to keep him in this hand? In other words...How much is too much to bet? We are about equal in chip stacks with about 4K to 5K respectively...and I have him covered slightly. I determine that I should bet about half the pot, which at this point is a little over 1200. My 600 chip bet is a good bet at this point because if he has a K with a Q or J for a kicker, I am in really great shape, unless one of them come out, right? As it turns out, the player calls the 600 bet.
The river comes and it's the Kc! Wow, I think...This is heaven! I've made my set and the flush draw didn't complete. My opponent bets a pot sized bet...Now I am certain that he has the K with a lower kicker than me. With my top kicker, I cannot possibly let this opportunity go by, so I go "All In"! My opponent, seeing that his worst fears have been realized, reluctantly calls, because he just can't lay down such a monster. He turns up his cards, I was wrong, he wasn't holding the Q or J...It was a 10. K10....I have eliminated him and doubled up in the process.
Clearly, that was an easy betting round, but it gives you a small glimpse into the amount of thought that must go into each bet that you make. You don't just throw chips around in the hope that they will bring you some friends back...lol! Each bet must be strategic and methodical, yet deceptive and challenging, too!
In the next series of "Betting Part 2" we will delve into betting to extract information and betting to give off misinformation.
Please stay tuned!
All In,
Randy C -