Pot committed specifically refers to your pot odds and what it means to have a pot that will provide you a winning hand. Pot commitment should not mean that you call indiscriminately, fold early or lose just because you are scared and made one stupid decision.
What Does Pot Committed Mean?
Being pot committed means that the pot odds for the rest of your card pile is more than your odds of winning a particular hand or round in poker.
If comparing the size of the pot with the bets made by the opponents is not working, then it is simpler to just compare the size of the pot to the rest of your pile or stack.
If you find that the stack odds are more than your chances of winning this hand, then you are what they call “pot committed”.
Pot committed example
In order to understand the concept of pot committed even better, let us look at the example below.
Imagine that you and that player against you both started off the game with $200 stacks. With the turn, you have created a $300 pot between the two of you. That leaves $50 to spare for both.
Now, say you have a top pair in hand. This is a winning combination and therefore, you must not fold, irrespective of whether there is a turn or a river soon after.
The pot odds here are greater than your odds of winning the hand. You are pot committed and therefore you should call.
The Point of No Return
Being pot committed is also a way of saying that the poker game has reached the point of no return. In such a case you cannot really come back. You must move forward with your game. Once you reach a stage where you become pot committed, folding will be of no use. The odds of the stakes will be greater than the odds of you getting a winning hand. In this situation, you must show a proper commitment to the game at hand and call or raise.
Being pot committed is similar to the proverb “crossing the Rubicon” where Caesar showed an impeccable commitment to war. It is also similar to the scene in Macbeth where Macbeth decided to wade through the river of blood because going back would turn out to be worthless.
Sometimes, poker enthusiasts use the idea of the pot commitment as an excuse to justify going all the way into a game even though they did not actually have the hands to do so. Wagering their chips beforehand once leads players on and makes it difficult for them to fold when they desperately need to.
Usually, serious poker players go for assembling bigger stacks instead of relying on short stacks which reduce your options and decrease the flexibility of the game. Do not look to get pot committed. It is just better to wait for it if it happens.
What Being Pot Committed is Not?
Being pot committed does not mean that you throw away your cash on bad moves. Also, you should not use the term ‘pot committed’ to justify all the bad moves that you make.
Commitment to the pot refers to the odds of winning. It is not about how much of your stack in the pot. Do not call yourself pot committed just because most of your stacks are in the pot.
How Should We Play When Pot Committed?
Unless extra cards are handed out one should not fold at any point if they are pot committed. However, this does not indicate that you need to go all in into the pot. Calling is a good strategy. Raising is not that great an idea.
Does Having Committed Chips Same With Being Pot Committed?
No, having committed chips is not the same as being pot committed. Having plenty of committed stacks could also mean that you made a couple of mistakes in the early part of the poker game and now have the majority of your stacks in the pot. Being pot committed means the odds of the pot stacks winning are greater than the odds of your hand winning the game.
Are You New to Pot Commitment or Do You Use it as an Excuse?
When people crib about losing because they were pot committed, it is either because they are new to the idea and do not know that it is dependant on the odds of winning. The alternative is that they are just using it as an excuse for their rather shoddy gameplay.
How to Use This Pot Committed Knowledge During Play?
Follow the tips below to use this pot committed knowledge to play your best:
- Do not create big pots with hands that you cannot use to go all in later.
- A majority of your stack in the pot and you think you are committed to the pot. If that is what you are thinking, then it’s better to fold instead of throwing money away.
- Calculate the odds to know if you are pot committed or not.
- Never get one-third of your stack in the middle of the game. If you fold later, then the entire investing you have done is of no use.
Final Thoughts
If you have greater pot odds over hand odds in a poker game, you are pot committed. Do not fold in such a case. Do not use pot commitment as an excuse to play a bad game of poker.
F.A.Q.s
Is pot committed a fallacy?
If you have a bad hand and you are pot committed, then it is a sunk cost fallacy for you.
Why is it called pot?
It is called pot because the stacks that all the players are wagering accumulate there.
What does pot mean in gambling?
In gambling pot refers to the place where all the wagers and stacks of all the players get accumulated.