Enticing overcalls: Maximizing good hands

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As we continue our attempt to ferret out possible nuances of our game which can be improved upon, today let's delve into when it might be appropriate to entice several overcalls instead of raising with our very best hands. An overcall is when a player calls after a player in front of him has already called the initial bettor.

Experienced players realize that to overcall requires a better hand than just calling. Obviously, the difference is that you now need to beat more than one hand. The bettor could be bluffing but the caller in front of you sure isn't.

Many beginning to intermediate players are too focused to the perceived strength of their own hands and automatically fold weak ones, call with mediocre ones and raise with strong ones. On the surface that course of action sounds reasonable. However, winning Poker is about maximizing the amount of bets won not playing by some predetermined formula. You need to recognize profitable situations and exploit them.

As an example, if you're in a five way hand and the turn card just made you a monster and an opponent bets into you with three players yet to act behind you, should you raise? If you feel that your hand is strong enough that it doesn't need to be protected and that your raise, in all likelihood, will induce the players behind you to fold then you should just flat call to trap additional bets behind you. A raise in this instance would probably yield one additional bet from the call of the original bettor while a call may capture three additional bets from the players yet to act. In addition, a call might entice one of those players behind you to raise so that you can then re-raise. It's simple math but an opportunity that is often missed by less experienced or savvy players.

Before you decide to adopt this strategy there are certain criteria which should be met to make it the ploy of choice. Obviously, you need players behind you but they also should be players who don't truly understand the dynamics of overcalling. You also need a hand that you're fairly certain is the winner, although if the original bettor has you beaten you will lose less than you would have if you had raised. So that's a bonus to utilizing this strategy. Another criteria is the size of the pot. You should only attempt enticing overcalls if the pot is not too large. If the pot is large, the opponents behind you may well feel compelled to call your raise based on the pot size and thereby pad your win even further. Our goal for this session is one we've had before.

Namely, not to play automatic/formula poker but to consider the elements of each situation to utilize strategies that will enhance your bottom line. If you're trying to win one to two big bets per hour then the situation outlined above could earn you an extra couple of hours by being astute enough to recognize a situation in which it makes more sense to entice overcalls instead of chasing away customers. Then you can knock off early and go to the ball game. In fact, you should buy a round of beers and hotdogs for your buddies with that extra money.

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