Many forums and blogs have a place where people post Hand Histories where other poker players talk about in the hopes of getting feedback of How to Play XX hand. Most if not all are because the player did not exercise Controlling the Pot.
What is Controlling the Pot
To lose the minimum amount of chips in marginal situations
and gain the maximum in spots where you are the favorite
You want to think about the types of hands your opponent plays and how they normally play them.
If you know the player is loose, Controlling the Pot is the most important.
These are the types of players you generally lose the most amount of chips too.
Most if not all articles concerning Controlling the Pot, talk about “position”. If your first to act your out of position, so true but your also in position to control the pot. You can either open with a bet or check. So how do you know which to do to maximize your big hands and lose fewer with your good hands?
Read the Flop
Understanding the ‘texture’ of the board, be it rainbow ( no same suit ) or the board pairs is the key. Say for example, your holding pocket Jacks. The board reads Th 3H 8c. This looks like a board where the Jacks look to be ahead, but the board has a lot of draw potential. Controlling the Pot here you need to think about how you can NOT lose a lot of chips. Give a free card to the drawer, who would call a bet anyways, or raise enough to the tighter player who would normally fold to bets when holding the 2nd best hands.
