Bet sizing is a critical aspect of no-limit Texas Hold’em online poker. By controlling the size of your betting, you give yourself the opportunity to gain the upper hand over your opponents and increase your win rate.

One bet sizing technique that many players rely on is pot control. It’s all about making sure that the chips in play are in line with the strength of your holdings so that there’s always a balance between the risks and the rewards. Take a closer look at how you can incorporate pot control in your no-limit Hold’em strategy when you play poker online.

Defining Poker Pot Control

In no-limit Texas Hold’em poker, pot control is about keeping the pot to a size that makes sense for your hand strength. If you’re holding the nuts, you’ll want the pot to grow as large as possible so you can take down your opponent’s stack with a confident shove. But if you have a made hand that’s mid-strength or marginal, you probably won’t want to risk your stack. At the same time, you have an interest in going to showdown.

Traditional pot control is a potential solution to this dilemma. Quite simply, you check instead of betting or raising to keep the pot to a manageable size. As the saying goes, “Big hand, big pot, small hand, small pot.”

The Value of Pot Control in No-Limit Texas Hold’Em

Here’s a practical example to demonstrate the value of pot control in both live and online poker. Say you’re in the cutoff position in a Texas Hold’em poker game, and you raise with A♣, K♣. Both blinds call, and the flop comes K♥, 9♥, 6♣, leaving you with a pair. The action checks back to you; you make a c-bet, and the big blind calls. It’s 10♠ on the turn, and your opponent checks back to you. Are they on a flush draw? Many players would bet to protect against that possibility. But what if your opponent check-raises? If you’re ahead, they’ll have to hit their draw on the river. If you’re behind, they may have two pair, trips, or a straight. There’s no way of knowing, which is why this is such a stomach-churning spot to be in.

Here’s where pot control comes in. You keep the pot in line with your pair by checking instead of raising. Also, your show of “weakness” may induce your opponent to bluff on the river with a failed draw or value bet with a weaker hand. If this happens, you can call the bet and get to showdown for the same price as if you had bet, but without the added risks.

Pot Control Poker Strategy and Position

Pot control is far easier when you’re playing in position because you are closing the action. It’s common for players to check out of position to dictate the flow of the hand and the pot. If you’re involved in a pot and have position on your opponents, first ask yourself how big your hand is for the pot. Pot control makes sense if it’s a small pot and you have a small hand. Ask yourself if the price of getting to the next street or showdown is the same as a bet on this street. The bottom line is that you want to get further in the hand without building a bigger pot.

If you’re out of position, pot control can be challenging. That’s because the player in position always has the option to make you pay to see the next street. Say you’re in middle position with something like 10♠, 9♠. The flop comes 9♦, J♠, A♦, so you have a pair and some backdoor draws — nothing special and certainly not enough to warrant putting a lot of money into the pot. But if you check, your in-position opponent can make you sweat by betting the flop, turn, and river as a bluff. As a result, the pot size can easily end up three times as big as if you were controlling the pot in position.

Exploiting Pot Control in No-Limit Texas Hold’Em

A good pot control poker strategy must include counters for your opponents’ pot control lines. In other words, be prepared to exploit players who use pot control in predictable ways. Say you’ve noticed that a specific opponent typically raises with a weak hand preflop and checks back on the flop, intending to call you down or perhaps bet the turn. As a result, you know that their range is capped every time they check back the flop. This gives you a golden opportunity to disrupt their plans by overbetting for one-and-a-half to two times the pot on the turn.

Pot Control in Poker Tournaments

In poker tournaments, the pot control poker strategy comes into its own. That’s because the aim of the game isn’t to take down big pots but to reach the final table. There’s no reward for stacking your opponents in the early stages, so there’s no need to take risks to grow big pots. Instead, you can use the pot control technique to keep winning many small pots until you pass the bubble. It’s a totally different ball game when you’re in the money, but pot control can get you to that point.

Explore No-Limit Hold’em at Borgata Online

Looking to get started with top-quality online poker games? Simply register at Borgata Online to join in fixed, pot-limit, and no-limit cash games and poker tournaments with stakes and buy-ins to suit every player type. You can also set up private games to explore bomb pots and other fun alternatives. Get your game on at Borgata Online.