- The ability to maximize profitability or the amount of money you win on a pot is a key ingredient to making a successful poker player. Many of us however seem content in just winning the pot rather than playing the cards right to ensure that we get more out of our opponents. It is important that when we have a hand, that we don't shut out our opponent and equally important that we continue to build the pot with small bets, when there is little action in the hand.
The following scenarios and how to play them will hopefully give you a little direction in helping you maximizing your return.
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 Hitting a Big Hand on the Flop |
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The flop will be the first time that you know whether you have made or are on way to making your hand. If you have hit a monster hand that cannot be beat (the nut flush, straight or quads) you will not have to worry about improving and all your efforts should be geared towards getting the most out of your opponents. Bet too much and you could scare them off and don't bet enough and the pot will not grow, the dilemma.
You would not be at fault to check here if you are under the gun or in early position to at least see what the table does. If there is no action, on the turn, make a small bet to get the action started. This way the pot is growing which has two advantages. Firstly it's more money for you win win and secondly it is more of a temptation for someone to try to take a bluff at the pot. On the other hand you may want to stick in a raise of about 40-50% of the pot as it is not uncommon for players on draws or a pair to call trying to improve. It obviously depends on the action in the hand but beware not to go overboard with the betting as you don't want to shut out your opponents.
If you have hit a big hand that is beatable (flush, straight or a full house - not the nuts) there are a couple of things you can do to maximize your profitability however we start to introduce some risk here. You could slow play the hand hoping that someone will raise. You will then have to decide whether to re-raise or flat call. If you re-raise you may shut out your opponent and take down a good sized pot. By slow playing however, you could vastly increase what you could earn. The problem is that you will be running the risk that a player could make a better flush/straight/full house than yours on the turn. It is sometimes worth the risk just to see whether the turn brings a blank. If it does and you are faced with a bet you could look to close it out with a big raise, or at least see where you are in the hand.
The alternative will be that you could lead out on the flop and put a large bet to take down the pot there and then. To maximize profitability this is probably not the route to go and better to invite players to try to catch their cards. The downside is that in doing so, sometimes they will hit.
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Hitting Trips (set) on the Flop - Pair in Hand |
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Hitting trips is usually a sure means to taking down a good sized pot as it is well disguised. For example, you hold 5 5 and the flop brings A  J  5 . Any player who has an Ace will find it very difficult to get away from the hand and you need to make sure that you reel them in for every penny. I have seen players check their set and when the player with top pair puts in a bet they fire all in and the top pair folds. Considering you will only hit this hand every 7.5 attempts, you need to maximize your earnings as the other 6 pairs you missed probably cost you trying to hit.
You do need to be wary of a few things - firstly beware of possible straight or flush potentials on the board. If there are 2 suited cards or connectors letting your opponent see a cheap turn card could cost you the pot. The key to maximizing your return again has some risk and there are a couple of ways to play it. You can either put enough of a raise, maybe around 300-500% of the pot which should scare anyone of trying to catch their cards or you could put in a raise that will make it worthwhile taking the chance that they miss on the turn. By betting 200% of the pot, or there about's, you are not inviting a call, but you have left a tempter there. You should also consider that 34% of the time you will improve to at lease a full house. The best approach if up against suited or connectors is to shut out the pot.
The real profit will come if when there are no immediate dangers and there doesn't appear to be any noticeable scare cards that can come on the turn. In this situation you should attempt to tempt opponents into play by either calling or small raising. This is best done when there are high cards on the board (10 and up) as these cards are in the playable cards that most people have. Additionally anyone who has hit two pair will struggle to lay the hand down. Often you will be up against a raise or re-raise and if there are no possible draws, one play would be just to call as re-raising might scare your opponent out of the pot. If you are the aggressor, you don't want top bet too much, just keep the pot building making sure you leave enough margin for your opponents to try bluffing. If your opponent calls your bets on the flop and turn, you may try either putting in an intentionally low raise hoping for a bluff or check raising.
It is very possible that the turn may bring new dangers. First sign of potential trouble on the board, shut out the pot.
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Landing Two Pair with both Hole Cards Pairing |
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From time to time you will pair both your hole cards and again here you have the potential to extract a good sized pot. You do need to be wary as you may be way behind against trips of better. You do need to find out where you are in the hand. The most profitable play is really to slow play the hand calling a bet or putting in a middle sized bet. As with sets, you need to beware of possible flush and straight draws. If there are possible draws, be sure to oversize your bet as you want to make your opponents pay to hit their hand. Many players will simply re-raise any bet to take down the pot. Is this the most profitable play? Well maybe the safest but not the most profitable. Additionally you don't want to go overboard as you may be against a better hand. You need to accept and by playing for profit, you take the risk that your hand will be overturned on the turn, however when they miss you vastly increase your earnings. Your oversized bet should do two things - firstly make players on a draw really pay to hit their card and secondly see where you are in then hand. Any subsequent re-raise or all in you should approach with care as you are likely behind (unless you think your opponent is on a draw - depends on the information you have on him).
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Playing Big Pairs for Maximum Profit |
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There is no hard fast way to ensure you take down monster pots with big pairs (Pair Aces through to 10's). A key here is to make sure that you avoid pots with more than a couple of players as your likely success falls dramatically. If you hold AA or KK, there are a couple of plays to maximize your profit. Firstly you could slow play them hoping that an opponent hits top pair (that is lower in value than you hand). This disguises the hand hugely and could lead your opponent to get into real trouble. For example you hold A A and you opponent holds 10 K and the flop comes 10 6 2. How do you get the most out of this situation? Well there are two ways to play this profitably. There are no noticeable draws other than the straight (assuming your opponent has 4-5 or something in that region) which is in your favor so you could check hoping that your opponent puts in a raise. Rather than re-raising, which is an option to see what the turn brings, you could simply flat call. When your opponent bets the turn, you could put in a small re-raise which may get significantly more action. If your raise if just called, you can either put in a larger raise or check raise in this position to see where you are. Remember that you only have a pair and could be up against trips or two pair. Play to maximize your return but if playing to the turn of river be prepared to fold an all in or large raise back to you.
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