Being Pot Commited
Category: Poker
When a player is decribed as being commited to a pot it means that a player feels they have to call a raise, simply beacuse they have already invested a lot of chips into the pot. Of course, the player must have some feeling that it is possible their hand is strong enough to win the pot, but they are basically calling because mathematically it is profitable to in the long run.
Many would say that you cannot play successfully by ignoring these mathematical conclusions, and although you cannot disregard the maths of a situation entirely, I think your own perception of where your hand stands is much more important. It is easy for a person to be persuaded by the fact that it is profitable to call in the long run, but you must take each circumstance on it’s own merits I feel.
Bear in mind that uncertainty brings a temptation to call sometimes before you get a chance to really come to a calculated decision.
I would almost never consider myself entirely pot commited. If I am sure an opponent made their hand on the river and 90% of my chips are already in the pot, I can still make the fold and trust my judgement if I am sure.
In situations such as this remember that you can always get out of the hand alive if your reads tell you that you are beaten. As difficult as it might be to let your opponent rake in a huge pot without ever knowing for certain if your read was right, you have to trust your instincts in poker. Even if you leave yourself short stacked, there is always a chance that you can fight your way back into contention.