Need help building a pot

One area I need some help on is building a pot when I've got a strong hand. I tend to overbet and everybody folds or sometimes I slow play it and end up getting sucked out on. How do you value bet players and keep them in the pot to extract maximum value?

50-60% of the pot is always a sweet spot, small enough to keep people in and drawing and enough to extract value.

In these situations I tend to make sure that I bet enough so that straight and flush draws are not getting to draw against my strong hands. If they are going to call me with a draw I want to make sure that I am not giving them the correct price to pay. Yes, everyone will fold more often this way but I am a big believer in taking a small pot over losing a large pot. I know others will have different opinions. It also depends on the situation if the board is safe and I am playing against a reckless opponent I tend to let them hang themselves.

U dont need to bet huge when you have pretty much best hand. Keep the pot low. Bet huge on the river. Low bets (1-2BB) on flop and turn will make it easy call for your opponents and will look cheap for them to call again. When you bet huge on the river you never go all-in. If you dont have nuts you are not the 100% winner of a hand. Bet big on the river makes most online poker players think you missed the board and try to steal the pot.

GL

I have tabs set on 60% and 70%. I usually choose one of those, however sometimes ill physically input an amount. 60 and 70% usually work well for me.

One key is to realize you can't always have your proverbial cake and eat it too. For instance, it's not unusual that in order to try to get value from the weak part of an opponent's range, you have to make bet sizing choices that can lessen the chance of getting full value from the middle and top parts.

So the matter of maximizing value isn't simply about getting the most from every possible hand the opponent can have, but rather about extracting the most from his range.

You cannot extract maximum value everytime as it is impossible. For best results play (fast or slow) according to the players tendencies and your position. Of course also take into account your opponent's range, board texture and stack sizes.

Staneff said:

U dont need to bet huge when you have pretty much best hand. Keep the pot low. Bet huge on the river. Low bets (1-2BB) on flop and turn will make it easy call for your opponents and will look cheap for them to call again. When you bet huge on the river you never go all-in. If you dont have nuts you are not the 100% winner of a hand. Bet big on the river makes most online poker players think you missed the board and try to steal the pot.

GL

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that is terrible advice. Do you only play freerolls? You just make it cheap for people to suck out on you and when they do ....you give them your stack.
Then you post about online poker being rigged.

Well I usually raise about 2-3BB preflop.. if i have got a very strong hand such as AA/AK(S) then I might bet higher.. the position matters too..

If I hit a very strong hand on the flop such as a Ace high flush/full house I will check/check-raise them.. then go all-in either on the turn or the river. It really depends on the hand. You need to keep an eye on your opponents and monitor them carefully that what are there betting habbits? do they fold under pressure or they risk it all?

just bet a standar amount and overbet the river , 3bb preflop and about 60-70% postflop until river then shove or bet 2/3 of pot.

DrStrange said:

Well I usually raise about 2-3BB preflop.. if i have got a very strong hand such as AA/AK(S) then I might bet higher.. the position matters too..

If I hit a very strong hand on the flop such as a Ace high flush/full house I will check/check-raise them.. then go all-in either on the turn or the river. It really depends on the hand. You need to keep an eye on your opponents and monitor them carefully that what are there betting habbits? do they fold under pressure or they risk it all?

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Problem with check-raise is that not all your opponents will bet the pot and instead may take a free card. In this case you lost a street of betting (perhaps more).

DrStrange said:

Well I usually raise about 2-3BB preflop.. if i have got a very strong hand such as AA/AK(S) then I might bet higher.. the position matters too..

If I hit a very strong hand on the flop such as a Ace high flush/full house I will check/check-raise them.. then go all-in either on the turn or the river. It really depends on the hand. You need to keep an eye on your opponents and monitor them carefully that what are there betting habbits? do they fold under pressure or they risk it all?

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I would rather either just bet for value when I flop a full house or check/call for deception. I think check-raising the flop makes it really obvious that you have a monster.

Its better to overbet and everybody folds than slow play it and end up getting sucked out on.

Maybe at tournaments, you can check raise few times but not for cash games.

hffjd2000 said:

Its better to overbet and everybody folds than slow play it and end up getting sucked out on.

Maybe at tournaments, you can check raise few times but not for cash games.

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Exactly I was talking about tournaments.. can't do the same for cash games..

I use to play strong hands very slow and the pots would not get big or I would get sucked out on which was my fault... but I usually tend to bet hard around 75% of the pot to build it, its almost like your bluffing... just keep firing after flop turn and river it will be a nice pot