betting vs. calling

To some this is obvious. To others, this is shear genius.

I want to make sure people understand the biggest difference between placing a bet and calling a bet.

... and it's very simple.

When you place a bet - you have two chances to win. You can win by having the better hand, or you can win by having your opponent fold.

When you call a bet, the only way for you to win is to have the better hand.

So, in my opinion, you automatically double your odds and percentages by simply betting.

This can get much more complicated than it needs to be (the size of the bet, the size of the pot, the actual hand you have, your opponents aggressiveness, etc.) - but why make it more complicated than it has to be.

Increase your wins by simply betting more and calling less. LIke Phil Laak once said "I'm playing good poker. Bet or fold, bet or fold. No calling".

Hmmm... if it works for him...

Full House Bluff

100 hands down.... looking at my favorite one.

I'm in middle position... with an average stack of chips in comparison to the rest of the table (no clear-cut leader).

I'm dealt As 8h.

UTG raises to .04, which I call. One other player calls, and the blinds call the raise.

*** FLOP *** [Jh Kc Ts]

both blinds and UTG check, so I make a fair wager of .12 (slightly over 1/2 the pot). Player after me re-raises to .50. Quite the overbet. Small blind calls, big blind folds, UTG calls, and I call.

*** TURN *** [Td]

UTG checks, and I make my favorite new bet. .02 into a $2.70 pot.

everyone calls. Strange... why would someone with a strong hand raise to .50 cents... then only call a .02 bet? This tells me that the pair on the board concerns the better.

*** RIVER *** [Th]

UTG checks and I instantly go all in ($4.20). At this point I feel the better has an ace rag... and I can steal this pot with the presumption of an easy full house catch.

All players fold and I collect on the pot.

My presumptions, I believe, we're accurate. I assumed the better to have an ace and did not connect with anything on the board. I also assume that a small pocket pair was in one of the blind's hand, which was scared off with a big bet and a better full house on the board. Had I made a smaller wager I likely would have been called (and obviously lost the pot as, if you remember, I too had ace rag).

Note - this approach works much better when you're playing tight, conservative poker (I know, believe it or not that I was), as compared to the donkey who makes silly bets.

Lesson #1 - A Pair Of Balls Wins

so I limp in for the blind, and middle player raises to 600. I think the odds tell me that 3:1 gives me pot odds or something? However, the odds are always 50/50 in my book. More importantly to me, the better has a huge chip advantage over the entire table, and a good position to make a raise, and has been agressive to this point. Of course I'll call.




So here comes the flop. I got nothin'. An I mean nothin'. Everyone checks around, and I'm certainly not going to wait for the better to take action. A little pressure never hurt anyone. So I make a decent sized bet. 1/3 of the pot. Of course, I could have bet big to scare him off, but I feel certain he has nothing, but will chase a smaller bet to tr and hit something. Put some more money in the pot bitch.




$200 bet? Are you kidding me? Time to raise a bit more. I come over the top with $2400. 1/3 the pot bet. Still respectable considering the size of the pot. However, this is the style of betting I have been using when I have a strong hand.




Come to poppa!