It’s hard NOT to crack a smile when you flop top set on an uncoordinated board, and an opponent pushes all in on you.
The problem is, many poker players end up with a lot more chips in the middle, when they only have a marginal or weak hand.
The whole idea of a commitment threshold is to NOT put in too many chips in a marginal situation.
There are three rules to know and follow regarding commitment:
1. Only build big pots if you are committed to going all in
2. You should avoid putting 30% or more of your stack in if you are not committed. Actually, you should avoid putting 30% of the smaller stack unless you are committed.
3. Once 10% of your stack goes in, you are getting very close to deciding on whether to commit or not. At the 10% mark, you need to have a plan.
This concept is both very simple, and extremely important. It can be easy to call off 30% your chips with top pair, top kicker, only to know you will fold to an all in bet on the turn or river. If this is the case, you are simply NOT committed, and should avoid calling for 30% of your stack anyway.
It is the commitment concept that is at the heart of all tight-aggressive cash game poker.
Again, it’s simple, and extremely effective at keeping you out of trouble.
First, only build a big pot if you are ready to push it all in.
If you aren’t prepared to push it all in, you need to NOT put 30% of your stack in. Finally, if you have to put 10% of your stack in, you need a plan right then whether you are going to be committed or not.
When to override commitment:
Now, there are instances when you will be committed, but be ready to lay your hand down also.
For example, lets say you have KK on a 3h 7s Qd rainbow board.
You are heads up in position with one loose opponent. You decide you are committed to the hand, because you will more often than not hold the best hand against his range.
He raised 5x the big blinds preflop, and you simply called.
You each have 95X the big blinds in your stack.
He bets the pot. So, to call, you will be putting 15% of your original stack in the pot. You decide you ARE committed, but you will be willing to fold if another Q or an Ace falls, and there is a big bet. However, you are currently committed, and therefore you raise him back 16X the big blinds. He calls.
At this point, you have put in 31% of your original stack, and are committed to this hand.
The turn card comes off, and it’s a Queen of hearts. Your opponent thinks for a minute, and then goes all in. At this point, you have to assume he has your overpair beat. Because you made a plan to fold if this occurred, you do just that. Fold.
As this example shows, there are circumstances that will override commitment. However, they NEED to be PLANNED for. Without a plan, it is very easy to get too big a pot, with too small a hand.
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