Is "pot-committed" a good reason to call a bet in Texas Hold'em?

Question

You're "pot-committed" when you already have a lot of your money invested in a hand.

Answer 1

I would say yes.  At this point, (if the pot has gotten so big), everybody in the hand could be calling just to try and get that pot even if they don't have the nuts.

I've seen it happen a lot where someone is betting all the way and they only have like AK and the one calling has top pair... He has to think he's beat, but he ends up winning the hand because he calls all the way saying something like, "well, I'm already in this far."

Although, are you talking about limit hold'em or no limit?

I'm talking about limit.  In no limit, I'd probably fold to someone making huge bets... just cut my losses.

Answer 2

Like _everything_ else in poker, I think it's very situational.  

There are a lot of variables in this situation:

- What have you observed about the person who put you in the position to consider calling?  Are they capable of bluffing off all their chips?

- What is *your* table image like?

- Will you be put all-in or do you have them covered if you call?  (arguments could go either way based on this answer)

- Where are you in the hand? (flop, turn, river)

- How many are still in?

In Limit, you've probably been hanging in the hand for max bets into the turn or later, so there is a greater danger of being "pot committed".

In NL, you can get away from a hand if someone is bumping the pot by large amounts, and you don't have the cards to warrant staying in.  That's why pot odds are so important, as someone stated earliler.  Pot odds decide whether it's worth putting more money in the pot to get a return.  If someone is loading the pot, you have to decide what kind of hands they could have based on their playstyle.  If there is more than one other person in, the odds of you taking it down are even less.

If you followed a loser hand too far into the pot, and you are pretty sure you're beat, it's ALWAYS better to survive.  You can't win more chips when you're not at the table, and you probably didn't have any business betting after the flop anyway.

IMO, being "pot-committed" is a misnomer, and it all comes down to whether you think you can make that call pay off, given all the information you've collected to that point.

Answer 3

It isn't a good reason, but it is a reason nonetheless.  The term is generally used when you have few chips left and most of the chips you did have are already in the pot in a hand in which you are likely beat or behind.  It might be a bad call, but it is the right call in certain situations.

Answer 4

yes and no. there are certain situations when a pot committed call is necessary:

1. Q theory: Q is the raito of your chips to the average number of chips per player in the tournament. If your Q is above average, you are have the choice of folding. if your Q is below average, folding would be a mistake. If folding will bring your previously high Q under 1, that's a mistake too.

here's a situation that happened to me:

I'm UTG, holding AJ. My stack is around 8k, with a Q of around 1.2. Blinds are 600/1200. I raise to 3600, taking my stack to 4.5k. At this point, I'm already pot committed. If I fold this, i'm pretty much dead in the tourney anyway, as my Q would be under .5, and my M would be around 1.5. BB calls. he's been pretty tight, so I give him credit for Ax, possibly with a better X than me. However, I had been expecting to take the blinds without a fight. The flop comes down 10 4 2 rainbow. And then, disaster: He bets 2400, meaning he probably has a10 and i'm drawing to 3 outs. I re-raise all in, as my only hope now is to bluff him out. He calls and flips over A10, but I catch a jack on the river. After the hand, I say I couldn't fold, and he understood.

So, in essence, if folding will cripple you in the tourney, you must call.

2.  The possibility that you are drawing to 0 outs, or "drawing dead." In actuality, after the flop, there are few hands where you are truly drawing dead. In most cases, top pair and straights are most vulnerable to this situation, as they are hardest to improve after the flop, or if they do improve, they still can't improve enough to win. In these cases, you should fold even if you have 80% of your chips in the pot, as long as the Q theory point holds.

Example:

You hold Ac As. You raise 20X the BB, committing most of your chips. A tight player calls. The flop comes down 10h 9h 8h. The other player bets 2X the pot, which would put you all in. In this case, you are up against a hand you probably can't beat without an ace and/or a pair on the board, of which there aren't any now. In this case, with the chances of improving so low or improving and losing (Ah) so high, you are better off folding.

But, compare to these other situations:

Ah Jh 9h

Kh Qd Qh

Ks Qh Jc

In these flops, you have a 10-20% chance of improving enough to win, and should call.

Answer 5

If you are pot committed then you must call unless you were bluffing with no draw and got raised.  So, yes being pot committed is a good reason to call.

Answer 6

I think it's a horrible reason.  If you're beat the proper play is to fold.  I would say that you're NEVER pot committed, but that's not entirely true.  Sometimes when you're short stacked, have come in for a raise, and somebody puts you all in that's really your only option.  But I can't tell you how many times people say, "Well, I guess I'm pot committed" and turn over rags.  It's an excuse for poor play.  That's not saying that if you're given the correct pot odds that you shouldn't call.  But pot odds and pot committed are two entirely different things.  If a stock is dropping like a stone do you buy more just because you're already committed?  h**l no, you cut your losses and get out while you can.  If you're in a hole the first thing you need to do is stop digging.

Answer 7

The answer is simple--YES.  If you've invested more than your remain, then go all in. Even if you don't think you will win you could call a bluff. You must follow through on a hand you have gambled so high on.

Answer 8

This depends on so many things. Your stack size/bank roll, what the board looks like, are other players bluffing and so on.

The main thing here is read the board and play according to the board and to your stack size.

If you have a $50 stack and you already have $45 in the pot and you have a good draw then by all means call. You have a good draw and it only cost you $5 more to see the next card(s) and you hit your draw you have a good chance of winning a huge pot if you hit your draw.

On the other hand if you have a made hand with no draw and you see a hand on the board that clearly beats you then no just fold because all of the activity in front of you may indicate that some one else has hit their draw and you putting any more money into the pot is a waste.