Pot Control: When should you slow down with a Strong Hand?

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Das991992

Das991992

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You could hit top pair and think to yourself that you need to continuation bet, but sometimes making a big pot isn't necessarily the best play.

Checking one street can let you keep the pot small, and gives worse hands a chance to stay in the hand.

If you have top pair on a dry flop and get called on the flop, would you raise the turn, or check for pot control?
 
It depends on who I play against. If no info, I proceed wit’s caution.
 
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fifille07 said:
It depends on who I play against. If no info, I proceed wit’s caution.
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that’s fair, opponent type can really change whether I want to keep building the pot or slow things down
 
If you are playing a Calling Station you should never pot control. This is the chance to get the pot as big as you can, force them to make the mistake of calling a bad price for their draws, bottom pair, middle pair, over cards, Ace high, “lucky hand” and whatever else they decide to call you down with.
 
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You can go all night without a good hand and if you have one, try to get the most out of it. If you try to control the pot passing it can give you a chance and if you give a chance you can lose your hand or even the tournament.
 
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Check the turn for pot control, especially on a dry board.
It keeps the pot smaller and gives weaker hands a chance to keep betting or calling.
But if plenty of worse hands can call, betting for value can still be the better play.
 
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With a strong hand, I usually slow down when the board gets dangerous or the opponent’s range starts showing a lot of strength. There’s no need to build a huge pot with one-pair hands, especially out of position. With stronger hands like sets or two pair, I’m more comfortable keeping the pressure on.
 
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dannystanks said:
If you are playing a Calling Station you should never pot control. This is the chance to get the pot as big as you can, force them to make the mistake of calling a bad price for their draws, bottom pair, middle pair, over cards, Ace high, “lucky hand” and whatever else they decide to call you down with.
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that’s a good spot, against a calling station I’d definitely rather keep betting and make them pay for those weak calls

Magallaneroy said:
You can go all night without a good hand and if you have one, try to get the most out of it. If you try to control the pot passing it can give you a chance and if you give a chance you can lose your hand or even the tournament.
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true, when you finally pick up a strong hand after folding for ages, giving the opponent a free card can hurt

Roller said:
Check the turn for pot control, especially on a dry board.
It keeps the pot smaller and gives weaker hands a chance to keep betting or calling.
But if plenty of worse hands can call, betting for value can still be the better play.
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I like that balance, check the turn when the board is safe but keep betting when worse hands can still pay you

TheniT said:
With a strong hand, I usually slow down when the board gets dangerous or the opponent’s range starts showing a lot of strength. There’s no need to build a huge pot with one-pair hands, especially out of position. With stronger hands like sets or two pair, I’m more comfortable keeping the pressure on.
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that’s pretty much how I see it, once the board gets ugly I’d rather keep the pot under control with one pair
 
Take your opponent's statistics and style into account, and don't bloat the pot without the nuts.
 
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dreamer13 said:
Take your opponent's statistics and style into account, and don't bloat the pot without the nuts.
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good point, stats and playing style can tell you a lot about when slowing down actually makes sense
 
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