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.

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Originally Posted by martypalin

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by Pelion

Quote:

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Originally Posted by martypalin

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

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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.

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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.