The Empty Pot Rule
Most experienced poker players already know about this rule, its just that they don’t see it as a rule, they see it as common sense. The reason for this is because most “seasoned” poker players are always aware of pot odds and the size of the pot.
Here is where the empty pot rule comes into play. We have all been in the situation before, its 3-handed or more and the shortest stack in the hand is all-in. Now after the players have called the all-in, the main pot I separated because there is no more money that all-in player can win. This creates a side pot. More times than not, this side pot is empty.
This is where the pot odds come in. Say there are 3 people in the hand, one guy is all in for $25 bucks. You have $50 left in front of you and the other guy in the hand has $50. The flop comes K J 4 rainbow. You hold QT. Your opponent bets into this empty pot $20 dollars. What do you do… Fold, even if you hold AJ, fold. Even if you hold a four flush, fold. You opponent obviously has a strong hand (or a mental difficulty) because he has just made a $20 bet into an empty pot. Your “pot odds” are 1:1 in this empty pot meaning you must be %100 sure to make money. Of course, if you beat your opponent and the all-in guy you make more money than your odds told you, but you cannot have the best hand with a medium pair or draw. There are three possible reasons that your opponent is betting into the empty pot.
He is trying to get you to fold to improve his odds against the all-in guy.
He is bluffing and doesn’t realize what he has done.
He has a legitimate hand and wants you to call his bet.
The chance of #2 being a reason decreases with the experience of your opponent.
The chance of #1 being correct obviously depend on the reading ability of your opponent and the size of the main pot.
The chance of #3 being correct are much more than #1 or #2 because of the fact that he bet to win no guaranteed money.
So next time you have to decide if your pocket Jacks are good on the flop of K 4 5 and your opponent has just bet into an empty pot, lay it down…
-Matt Mesisca
Here is where the empty pot rule comes into play. We have all been in the situation before, its 3-handed or more and the shortest stack in the hand is all-in. Now after the players have called the all-in, the main pot I separated because there is no more money that all-in player can win. This creates a side pot. More times than not, this side pot is empty.
This is where the pot odds come in. Say there are 3 people in the hand, one guy is all in for $25 bucks. You have $50 left in front of you and the other guy in the hand has $50. The flop comes K J 4 rainbow. You hold QT. Your opponent bets into this empty pot $20 dollars. What do you do… Fold, even if you hold AJ, fold. Even if you hold a four flush, fold. You opponent obviously has a strong hand (or a mental difficulty) because he has just made a $20 bet into an empty pot. Your “pot odds” are 1:1 in this empty pot meaning you must be %100 sure to make money. Of course, if you beat your opponent and the all-in guy you make more money than your odds told you, but you cannot have the best hand with a medium pair or draw. There are three possible reasons that your opponent is betting into the empty pot.
He is trying to get you to fold to improve his odds against the all-in guy.
He is bluffing and doesn’t realize what he has done.
He has a legitimate hand and wants you to call his bet.
The chance of #2 being a reason decreases with the experience of your opponent.
The chance of #1 being correct obviously depend on the reading ability of your opponent and the size of the main pot.
The chance of #3 being correct are much more than #1 or #2 because of the fact that he bet to win no guaranteed money.
So next time you have to decide if your pocket Jacks are good on the flop of K 4 5 and your opponent has just bet into an empty pot, lay it down…
-Matt Mesisca
posted by Matt at 5:04 PM
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