Stealing the pot percentages

I took $25 dollars (i.e not alot) and went to the 0.10/0.25 NL tables at Party Poker JUST to try and steal as many pots as possible by betting big on draws, middle and bottom pairs and nothing. I just know I am being betted out of pots most of the time but I dont want to call them as they invariably hit most of the time.

It turns out you can steal the entire pot about 40/50% of the time. Just betting a massive overaise. I dont know whether people are more reuctant to call when its cash involved not tournament chips or what and I KNOW it isnt a long term plan for poker but I just thought it would be intersting to see. Obviously with me only winning half the time I didnt make a profit but this was mainly when I betted on nothing and not bottom pair or draws.

Has anyone else found they can steal pots at will from a terrible positon?

{moved from Playing the Player}

I almost always bet (1st to act or checked to) with 2 cards vs 2 or 3 others when the flop comes something terrible like Q72 rainbow or on middle paired flops like 884 rainbow.

Originally Posted by martypalin

It turns out you can steal the entire pot about 40/50% of the time. Just betting a massive overaise.

If you mean what I think you do then its a horrible play.

If your bet is pot-sized then you are getting 1:1 odds on your steal. You need to win 50% of the time to be profitable

If your bet is 1.5 times the pot you are getting 2:3 so you need to win 60% of the time to be profitable (see where im going with this?).

If you are making a "massive overraise" say twice the potsize then you are getting 1:2 so you need to win at least 66% of the time to be profitable. If in reality you are only getting 40-50% when you are raising more than the size of the pot then you are burning money.

Originally Posted by Pelion

Originally Posted by martypalin

It turns out you can steal the entire pot about 40/50% of the time. Just betting a massive overaise.

If you mean what I think you do then its a horrible play.

If your bet is pot-sized then you are getting 1:1 odds on your steal. You need to win 50% of the time to be profitable

If your bet is 1.5 times the pot you are getting 2:3 so you need to win 60% of the time to be profitable (see where im going with this?).

If you are making a "massive overraise" say twice the potsize then you are getting 1:2 so you need to win at least 66% of the time to be profitable. If in reality you are only getting 40-50% when you are raising more than the size of the pot then you are burning money.

awesome reply...thank you

Yes thanks for pointing out what I outlined in capitals in the first post.

I did say it's far from my normal play and I just wanted to blow the $25 I had spare. I was simply saying I play conservatively normally and wait for top pair good kicker at least because I play cynically - i.e 'iv got three of a kind but did he catch that straight?'

The post was about how often I found I could steal pots not by holding even a semi useful hand but betting people out of it representing the absolute nuts EVERYTIME. I was posting to say it worked about 45-50% therefore would my play improve if I bet more often on marginal hands not just great hands?

Sorry if I'm talking to people by far my superior but I've only been playing poker a few months. Just asking advice

Yes. Betting/raising your draws/air at the right times and the right amount will increase your profit. You need to use reads, experience, and a bit of maths to work out what the right times and amounts are.

If you keep all bets/raises about the same, it be difficult to put you on a hand. E.g. if you bet 3/4 pot with sets on the flop all the time and opps always fold, start betting 3/4 pot on the flop with flush draws. If they're still always folding, add in straight draws, etc. On the other hand, if opps always call you might want to bet/raise only with strong hands. That's where reads come in handy.