Increase your poker profits by manageing pot size

Beginners to poker think that your profits come from winning pots, but that's not strictly true. Your aim is to win sizable pots, and only lose small pots, and that means you have to become an expert on controlling pot size. Here's a quick guide on influencing the size of the pots you play...

Betting or raising in a hand is going to change the dynamics and pot size. It's imperative you remember this because a majority of the hands that you are involved in need to be small pots, not big ones. You are only looking to play deep pots when you have monster hands, and we all know how rare that can be.

So you need to take a close look at your actions during a hand and be able to comprehend what the result of checking, calling or raising might be. Even though you might have the best hand when you make a bet, that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have the winner on the river. In order to manage pot size, you also need to understand the real strength of your hand based on what community cards are out there, and also the profile of your opponent.

Consider also if you are going to make a raise or re-raise, that the type of player you are playing actually has the experience to fold - when they really should be getting out. I've seen many players in online tournaments look at a moderate strength draw on the flop, and decide to just go for it. Of course, that's going to be a large pot and even though you're ahead, you will often get drawn out and find yourself losing a big hand, or even worse. The idea is to NOT let this happen, especially in the early tournament levels when there is no reason to play so risky.

When the pots are small, your opponents also tend to become easier to read because they are also thinking about what you may have. The simple reality of your opponent wanting to be in a hand gives more credence to a certain range of hole cards he may be playing. When your opponent also shows concern about the pot getting out of control you have more opportunity to turn a losing hand into a winner by making a bluff.

Now that leads to the most significant advantage of controlling the size of the pot, which is that you get to see all five cards on the board before you really decide what to do in terms of your hand strength and your opponent's propensity to make an error. Potential draws or paired boards exhibit themselves to dangerous spots but could either turn into big hand for you or help you slow down and save you some tournament chips.

It takes discipline and experience to effectively manage the size of the pots you play. You need the discipline to fold if the risks are too great, no matter what you're holding, and the experience to evaluate the board cards, and profile your opponents. Study, practice, and use this technique to win more tournaments while risking less. If you want to put your new skills to the next, head over to Bonus Code Poker and find poker bonus codes giving deposit bonuses up to 300%!