Poker Pot Committed Definition
A player is pot committed in poker if the pot is so big that he is getting great pot odds so that he is obligated to call if someone puts him all-in. This means that the pot odds he is getting are so high that he is priced in, given his hand and his opponent’s presumed range of hands, and it would be a mathematical error to fold.
Generally speaking, being pot committed means having arrived at a point in a poker hand at which folding to any bet or raise has become an incorrect play. Such a situation is determined by pot odds. Adjective Who has already contributed such a high percentage of one's chip stack to the pot so as to make folding no longer a reasonable choice even if holding a hand that is likely to be beaten on the showdown. EXAMPLE: 'I used to bluff too often in situations where there was really no chance my opponent would fold.
This simple concept is often misunderstood or used to justify making questionable calls. Still, you need to understand why and when pot commitment issues arise, to avoid being trapped and be able to use pot commitment to your benefit.
When are you Pot Commitment Preflop?
When your stack is relatively short compared to the blinds, like in the later stages of no-limit Texas Holdem tournaments, pot commitment issues can easily arise before the flop. In most cases, if you commit a third of your stack or more, you are committed to a preflop all-in bet. To better understand when you become pot committed in preflop all-in heads-up situations, let’s examine the tables below.
The first table is against an opponent that you estimate will push all-in with a tight range (10%), and the second against an opponent pushing with a loose range (40%).
The first column indicates the amount of your stack that you have already committed. The second designates the minimum equity that a hand needs to have against your opponent’s range to be committed to calling. The third shows which hands pass this condition, meaning that they are mathematically pot committed to calling an all-in push from your opponent.
HU Against a tight range of 10% top hands (66+,AJo+,A9s+,KTs+,QTs+,JTs)
| % of stack committed | min. equity to be committed | hands that are committed |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 25% | 98% of hands (all except 72o, 62o) |
| 40% | 30% | 54% of hands (22+, Ax, Kx, Q8+, Qxs, J9+, J4s+, T8+, T5s+, 98+, 95s+, 87+, 84s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s) |
| 30% | 35% | 21% of hands (22+, A9+, Axs, KT+, K7s+, QJ, Q9s+, JTs, T9s) |
| 20% | 40% | 8% of hands (66+, AJ+, ATs+, KJs+) |
Against an opponent with a wide range of 40% top hands
| % of stack committed | min. equity to be committed | hands that are committed |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 25% | all hands |
| 40% | 30% | 99% of hands (all except 72o) |
| 30% | 35% | 68% of hands (22+, Ax, Kx, Qx, J5+, Jxs, T6+, Txs, 97+, 95s+, 87, 84s+, 76, 74s+, 63s+, 53s+, 43s) |
| 20% | 40% | 42% of hands (22+, Ax, K4+, Kxs, Q8+, Q4s+, J9+, J7s+, T7s+, 98s) |
How can you avoid pot commitment traps?
When the effective stacks are deep, pot commitment arises principally in later streets. As the pot size increases, you must consider pot commitment issues.
If you do not have a strong hand, you can plan your betting to avoid getting pot committed. When you are pot committed, and your opponent puts you all-in, folding is a mistake, so you have to call. This means that, unless you have a hand that rates to be ahead, you are getting pulled into putting more chips to the pot as an underdog. So, consider pot commitment issues when you are betting or calling a bet to avoid such unfavorable situations.
On the contrary, If you have a strong hand, you can size up your bets to lure the opponent into becoming pot committed!
If you risk getting pot committed, should go all-in instead?
Another thing to consider is that, in situations that you know the money will go into the pot one way or another, you generally prefer to be the one to push all-in. Unless you have a lock hand that cannot lose, you want to have fold equity on your side. So, in that case, if you believe that your opponent will not check the hand down, push all-in first to gain fold equity!
Poker Pot Committed Definition Government
For example, consider that you are playing out of position against a very loose-aggressive player. On the flop, you have a flush draw and are pot committed. In this situation, if you check, your opponent will most probably put you all-in and you will be obliged to call. Since you only have a drawing hand, you should bet first. The fact that you are pot committed (because you have a strong draw) does not mean that your opponent is pot committed too!
Do not pass the point of no return with a mediocre hand!
A fundamental concept of poker is that you want to be playing for small pots when you have a small hand and for big pots when you have a big hand. Therefore, with a weak hand, you do not want to find yourself in situations where you become pot committed and are forced to put the remaining of your chips in. You can consider this as a point of no return that you do not want to cross when you have a mediocre hand. If you do, you may be compelled to put the remaining of your chips resulting in a big pot, while your hand is weak. Let’s take a look at an example.
An Example
You are on the button with K♦J♠. The blinds are 1$-2$. The action is folded to you, and you have an effective stack of 100$.
Poker Pot Committed Definition Sociology
You raise to 6$. The blinds both call, and the flop comes J♥7♦6♠. You have top pair with a good kicker. The action is checked to you and you decide to bet for value but also to protect your pair from overcards or possible straight draws. You bet 11$ into an 18$ pot. The small blind folds and the big blind calls, so the pot is now 40$.
The turn is a blank card, the 2♦. Your opponent checks and you bet full pot, 40$ (a questionable bet). Your opponent check-raises you all-in. What should you do?
Well, the pot is 120$, and your opponent has raised an additional 43$ that puts you all-in. You have to call 43$ to win potentially 163$, so you are getting about 3.8 to 1. These are pot odds that you cannot turn down. The minimum equity needed to call in this spot is 21%. You estimate that you have more equity and you are obliged to call!
Even if the call is correct, something went wrong somewhere in the hand. You built a big pot with a medium-strength hand. Even more, because you got pot committed, you were forced to put in your remaining chips. So, finally, you bet your whole stack with top pair, not a good outcome!
Myths about pot commitment
Sometimes players feel that the money they have already invested in the pot obliges them to continue with their hand. Nonetheless, whatever amount one has contributed to the pot is no longer his. There is no reason to throw good money after bad if the situation is not favorable! Pot commitment has to do with pot odds and with the equity of your hand, not with the amount that you have already invested.
You can even be pot committed without having invested a single chip int the pot! Consider the following scenario.
After a big all-in confrontation, you are left with only one big blind. You are on the button with 6♣6♦, three players limp, and the cut-off raises to 6bb. You are getting 5.5 to 1 on a call, and there is a considerable chance that others will fold, leaving you heads up with the cut-off. In this case, you are committed to putting your last chips in, even if you haven’t committed any chips up to that point!
On the opposite side, at times, you may have committed a large part of your stack but not be pot committed.
An Example
You are on the button with 9♥8♥. A player from middle position open-raises and the cut-off calls. You decide to call as you have position on both.
Poker Pot Committed Definition Synonyms
The flop comes Q♣7♥6♣, so you pick up an open-ended straight draw and a back-door flush draw. The first player bets half pot, and you both call. The turn brings the 7♣, the first player bets full pot, and the second player raises him! You are the short stack and, at that point of the hand, you have committed two-thirds of your stack. So, what should you do?
You are getting 8 to 1 on a call, so pot odds are favorable to draw. However, given the action and the turn card, you may be drawing dead! Drawing to a straight when the action implies that one or two opponents may have a flush or even a set is not a good idea. In this spot, you must keep your losses to a minimum and wait for a better occasion to push your chips all-in!
In a nutshell
Pot commitment is often misunderstood. It is a relatively simple concept, designating situations where pot odds are so high, forcing you to call an all-in bet given your presumed equity. However, understanding how and at what point you become pot committed can help you avoid some traps and use pot commitment to your benefit.
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This tutorial is part of the Advanced Poker Strategy Course. You can continue to the next tutorial on Three-Betting!
If you have played much poker at all, you have certainly heard the term “pot committed”, which essentially means that you have put so much money into the pot that you can no longer fold a hand that is almost certainly in bad shape against your opponent’s range. However, most players apply this incorrectly, often justifying calling off the rest of their chips while drawing nearly dead.
You should rarely set yourself up to be committed to a hand unless you are happy to get your money in. The way you make money in poker is by making correct decisions. If you consistently put yourself in neutral or losing situations for lots of money, you are gambling with a disadvantage, which you want to avoid if you think you are better than your opponents.
The worst use of the term “pot committed” is when you are on the river and make a bet with a strong, but non-premium hand, and your opponent raises, giving you excellent odds to call in a situation where he is almost certainly never bluffing.
Suppose you get to the river with 7-4 on an A-4-2-7-K board. You bet 3,000 into a 4,000 pot and your opponent goes all-in for 4,400 total. You know your opponent would never bluff or raise with a made hand worse than A-2. You have to call 1,400 to win a pot of 11,400, meaning you need to win 11% of the time to break even, which seems like an excellent price. This is a spot where amateur players call every time, claiming they are pot committed, whereas in reality, they have an easy fold because they need to win at least 11% of the time and they are going to win 0% of the time.
This entire situation could have been avoided by going all-in for 4,400, betting 1,600 or checking the river. Thinking ahead about what is likely to happen on future betting rounds will allow you to make better decisions. Also notice that when you make a large bet on the river, if your opponent is still willing to go all-in, knowing he is giving you amazing pot odds, he must have an incredibly strong hand. If you needed to win 5% of the time instead of 11% in the example, you should probably call because your opponent may feel like he might as well put his entire stack in if he is going to put almost all of it in.
The other main situation where amateur players use the “pot committed” defense is on the flop or turn with a strong, but non-premium when getting good odds. Say you have A-10 on an A-J-5-9 board. You bet 2,000 into a 4,000 pot and your opponent raises to 4,000. You are confident that your opponent is a weak-tight player who will never bluff or overvalue a worse hand, making his range A-K and better. You have to call 2,000 to win a total pot of 12,000, meaning you need to win at least 17% of the time to make calling profitable. You also have to take into account whatever implied or reverse implied odds you may encounter on the river. You probably have reverse implied odds in this situation because you could be drawing dead against A-J or a set. If your opponent happens to have A-9 or A-5, you will likely get one more bet in, but even if you river a 10, you cannot be too happy. So, you are going to win around 9% of the time and you need to win 17% of the time to profit, making this an easy fold even though you have top pair with a decent kicker and are getting great odds.
Do not fall into the habit of making inferior plays simply because you know you are getting somewhat decent odds and your hand is normally strong. Always think about how your hand fares against your opponent’s range and how your hand will play on the future betting rounds, both if you improve or fail to improve. If you think ahead, you will find you can avoid numerous situations where you would feel pot committed with suboptimal play.
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Poker Pot Committed Definition Us History
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