One of the most important skills you’ll learn while playing internet poker as a no limit poker player is how to control the size of the pots you’re playing in. When you have the nuts you have no concerns about the pot size because you’ll want it to be as big as possible, but for every other hand you play you’re going to need to control the size of the pot. We’re going to look at some tips you can use in different situations to help you control the pot against your opponents to assist you in maximizing profits and minimizing losses.
* One of the most common ways to control the size of the PokerStars pot and also to get a free card from your opponents is to lead out betting. If you’re in an early position and you have a draw where you want to see the turn and river for as cheap as possible you’re going to want to lead out betting. If you lead out with a small bet chances are most opponents are going to just call unless they have a monster hand. You can sometimes even win the pot by your opponents folding, but you could also lose your money by getting raised. If you’re raised then you need to determine whether it’s worth calling or not at this point for a draw.
* When you have already made your Full Tilt Poker hand and you’re sitting with a high pair or two pairs, but are worried about whether or not your hand is good you should bet out. A small bet in this situation will help keep the pot small or will let you know that it’s time to fold your hand because someone has you beat. If you’re raised you can assume you’re beat at this point and if you’re not raised then you’ve kept the pot small enough to make it worth continuing playing the hand. You don’t want to check with high pair or two pairs because if one of the opponents makes a large bet you’re going to be lost as to whether they have a hand or are bluffing. It’s less likely for an opponent to bluff the pot if you’ve already lead out betting the pot so keep that in mind.
* If you’re near the end to act after the flop and someone has made a small bet into the pot and you have a good draw you want to chase your best option is to re-raise the pot. The reason being is because generally most players will just call the raise and then check the turn unless they have the nuts. This means you’d get a Full Tilt Poker free card on Fifth Street because of the small re-raise you made after the flop which could help you hit your draw. These little bets will help you control the pots you play in and will also give you the best chance at hitting your hands.
Controlling the Full Tilt pot is really important when you play NL because anyone can bet anything at anytime. In order to stop players from abusing the all-in bet you need to make sure you’re willing to bet out first and not be afraid of seeing some re-raises once in awhile.