THE WORLD'S #1 POKER MANUAL - Card Games

Poker Book, Opponents
For example, by making a bet or a raise completely out of proportion to the normal or expected bet, the
good player can confuse opponents into making the desired bet, raise, call, or drop. Disproportionate
betting is useful as both an offensive and a defensive tool.
Scotty deals draw poker with one twist. John Finn gets a four-card straight flush. For his best
investment odds, John wants the maximum players calling a bet big enough to keep them in for
the large last-round bets. He also wants to avoid raises that would make players fold. So John
opens for $14 instead of the normal $25. Noses wrinkle. Players with poor hands smile and call at
this bargain price. Potential raisers, suspicious of the weird bet and fearing a sandbag, only call.
The results are perfect for John ... everyone calls and no one raises. John's estimated investment
odds soar to a highly favorable--
($600) (.4)
$80
= 3.0.
But if John had bet the normal $25 and only two players called, his estimated investment odds
would have tumbled to--
($250) (.5)
$75
= 1.7.
Now suppose John had bet $25, someone raised to $50, and everyone else folded. If John had
called the raise (which he probably would not have), his estimated investment odds would have
fallen to an unfavorable--
($222) (.4)
$100
= 0.8.
By making the disproportionate $14 bet, John sets up the hand for maximum profits while gaining
control of the betting. Moreover, if he checks his bet on the next round, usually one or more
players will feel deprived of a full opening-round bet and thus bet aggressively. John can then
passively let them do the betting and raising for him. On the other hand, if John bets on the next
round, the other players will probably remain defensive and avoid betting or raising.
So with that disproportionate S14 bet, John increases his investment odds and leaves himself in a
flexible betting position. John's checking will induce his opponents to bet aggressively; his betting
will cause them to remain defensive. Thus he can conveniently turn the betting into either an
offensive tempo (by checking) or a defensive tempo (by betting) . . . whichever is more
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