Big pots or small pots?

hobojim1247 · Jan 11, 2025

I think everyone would prefer to win a few big pots over many little ones. If for no more reason than it's more exciting to brag about big ones than tell boring stories about all the mini pots you won and walked out with triple your buy in.
BUT, The only way to win big pots is to play lots of small ones until someone finds a marginal hand and decides to put a stop to your thievery, and they just so happen to find you with a playable hand and the sparks fly. The biggest disappointment in real poker is finding out the quality of your hand DOES NOT translate to lots on money in the pot. That happens only in video poker.

Sparta77 · Jan 11, 2025

Big pots are good to win during the handout.Because with many small pots we can't get to the payout spot.

pirateglenn · Jan 11, 2025

I prefer the small pot and consistent wins approach, its a good indicator of how i am playing and also enables me to go heads up with theoretically more players, it develops a style and feel for the table i am at too and helps with a table image - this can then lead to helping when in a big pot situation.

Leroydubz · Jan 11, 2025

Small pots consistently

bapfel · Jan 11, 2025

Big Pots at the Final Table, winning smaller pots and minimizing variance when you don`t have the nuts are the way to reach it.
Unfortunately in freerolls two many players gamble to get BigPots early, but I don`t see them often at the FT, including myself, when I start playing without patience.

kad222 · Jan 11, 2025

Big pots of course!

mattiebumpo · Jan 12, 2025

In my play, I tend to win more small pots than big pots but I think it is better to win big pots. Often I am too timid to bet big and try to do pot control. In the long run, I think this costs me chips and I leave money on the table. So, I would prefer to win big pots since that is better for building a big stack. Consistent small pots will likely just keep me ahead of the increasing blinds.

R.Melnyk77 · Jan 12, 2025

Shells said:
Which would you prefer - winning BIG pots occasionally OR winning small pots consistently?

Let us know your preference and reasons why.

I always like to win, even 1 cent, and I'm absolutely serious. I follow a very simple concept, and my main goal for the day is to make a plus to my bankroll. For me, even 1 cent is a positive result. So, in general, I like to win more often and even if the prize money is small, it will definitely be better for me

sibkaz · Jan 12, 2025

The chicken bites grain by grain... If she is overfed, it means she'll get into the soup soon! )

Shells · Jan 12, 2025

sibkaz said:
The chicken bites grain by grain... If she is overfed, it means she'll get into the soup soon! )

Small pots it is!

Dzill_230 · Jan 12, 2025

Hello everyone! Great question. Personally, I also adhere to the saying: big hands - big pots, medium and small - for medium. A big pot allows you to immediately feel the doubling or tripling of your stack, while several small or medium pots help maintain your stack at a proper level. But blood plays well when contesting a big pot!

riff_raff312 · Jan 12, 2025

When i play i prefer to win big but sometimes that's not the way things go,so i'll pick away with at small pots and wait on the big ones.

oriole · Jan 12, 2025

I’d prefer winning small pots consistently because it helps build a steady chip stack and avoids big risks. Playing this way keeps me in control and reduces the chances of losing everything in one hand.

gabryyyel31 · Jan 12, 2025

I think it depends on the stage of the tournament if at the beginning I would opt to win smaller pots but more often as the tournament progresses I think we all want to win the big pots, so the ones that make the difference between a deep run and possible high score and getting out of the final table bubble for example. In the advanced stages the difference is definitely made by the big pots.

Leandro6803 · Jan 12, 2025

winning a big pot against a fish is very good, but winning small pots is cheaper and less risky in the long run.

hobojim1247 · Jan 13, 2025

mattiebumpo said:
In my play, I tend to win more small pots than big pots but I think it is better to win big pots. Often I am too timid to bet big and try to do pot control. In the long run, I think this costs me chips and I leave money on the table. So, I would prefer to win big pots since that is better for building a big stack. Consistent small pots will likely just keep me ahead of the increasing blinds.

You timid? Hardly, you ain't fooling me claiming to be timid, LMAO.

Popescu97 · Jan 13, 2025

I'm for big pots because time it's money,but you must play with patience and care,because you can loose all in minutes

Emily Trott · Jan 13, 2025

sibkaz said:
The chicken bites grain by grain... If she is overfed, it means she'll get into the soup soon! )

Shells said:
Small pots it is!

And to her benefit, if she gets too large due to being overfed she might be too big to fit in that soup pot.

dimon4ik89 · Jan 14, 2025

I've never thought about this question, but I think I'd rather win big pots less often than small pots more often. I try to play tight aggressively or tight passively, so I don't enter the game very often and try to play good hands. I think it's very similar to fishing, it's more pleasant to catch a big fish once than many small fish). Personally, I enjoy winning big pots, I like it when my stack grows two, three or more times at once, I feel more adrenaline inside me than when I win small pots. But to be honest, I don't like going all-in, during the game I try to do it as rarely as possible. And I don't understand those players who do it often, I think that each hand should be played, and not just mindlessly go all-in before the flop and wait for luck or not. I don't like that kind of poker)

andron205 · Jan 14, 2025

small, we often win and then we lose, winning well-converted aces, for example, gives us a stack in the tournament, my answer is big

yuriko oyama · Jan 14, 2025

Personally, I prefer to keep winning small pots consistently because I believe it shows that I have a certain skill in this game that we love.
I believe that this consistency gives rise to financial returns, since I think I can be in the money zone more often.
But if I say that winning a big pot at a decisive moment in a tournament doesn't make me smile, I'd be lying.

istbno · Jan 15, 2025

The best poker strategy depends on your playing style, skill level, and game format, but generally, winning small pots consistently is more sustainable over the long run. This approach minimizes variance, keeps your stack healthy, and steadily builds your bankroll without relying on high-risk situations. However, winning big pots occasionally can be advantageous in tournaments where chip accumulation is crucial to survival. A balanced strategy combining consistent small wins with selective aggression to capitalize on big pots is often ideal. Consistency reduces volatility, but seizing big opportunities at the right time maximizes potential gains.

hardfloor · Jan 15, 2025

It will always be good to win more chips lol.
There are strategies in tournament stages that are included.
At the beginning of a tournament, you should play more conservatively and thus play in small pots.
Regarding big pots, we play more when we have a good preflop hand (AA) that we want to inflate the pot or make the opponent put all his chips in before you turn over the cards.
This depends a lot on the moment of the tournament and its equity.

at the beginning EG we gained advantages in playing speculative hands, 78s 89s TJs 22+ (set value) because the population has difficulty in folding their hands as they all have a lot of chips and so when we hit a good hand we will win a lot of bigblinds at this stage (so large pots)

Mbushe · Jan 15, 2025

both, but I lean more towards small pots because of my playing style.

ratbat615 · Jan 16, 2025

I play a lot of tournaments and I prefer to win a big pot occasionally because I will make the money most of the time. But this question is tricky because if I win small pots frequently I can make the money but with a small stack. Good question. I am sticking to my answer.

Big pots or small pots?

hobojim1247

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Sparta77

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pirateglenn

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Leroydubz

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bapfel

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kad222

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mattiebumpo

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R.Melnyk77

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sibkaz

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Shells

Carpe diem!

Dzill_230

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riff_raff312

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oriole

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gabryyyel31

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Leandro6803

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hobojim1247

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Emily Trott

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dimon4ik89

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andron205

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istbno

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hardfloor

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Mbushe

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