Poker Commitment.

Worry not, this isn't a post about marrying your poker buddy or getting away from the table from time to time to spend time with your loved ones.

This article will be about committment to a hand, pot and situation. This concept is often misunderstood but if mastered can be a great tool at your disposal.

I remember so many players in the early years of television poker constantly use the excuse, I'm pot committed, I have to call with my draw, or middle pair, etc. This is deffinately the wrong way to use the strategy of pot committment.

Commitment is all about making decisions ahead of time, to commit to a situation and follow through with this decision.

Here is an example to illustrate this idea. You have a medium sized stack in a cash ring game of No Limit Hold Em. You are dealt AK suited in early position, and you think to yourself before putting in your bet that you will commit your entire stack to this hand if you hit a flush draw, straight draw, pair or better. Knowing this will allow you to size your bets accordingly, you want to now make a pot that will have you betting all in on the flop or turn unless you have a read that your opponent is on AA or KK.

Of course commiting your chips to AK is not a very hard decision. Here is where commitment is a more powerful tool. You are dealt a mediocre hand in early position with a medium sized stack. You get AJ unsuited, and you now have a very big decision to make. You really only have two options that you should be debating, folding or raising. Often in this position no matter our stack size we will put in a standard raise. The idea of commitment should instead make us step back from the situation and think forward in this hand. If you bet here you begin to commit yourself to this pot especially since you are medium stacked. Eventually your stack size in comparison to the pot will make you commit all your chips.

Do you want to commit all your chips in a situation where you may be outkicked if you have paired your ace? Once you have that top pair, it is going to be difficult to lay down your hand when the pot begins to become as big as your stack, and your preflop aggression is going to beg you to make a continuation bet. Or do you fold this hand, wait for a spot in late position to commit your chips. This decision is difficult to make, and a case can be made either way.

Commitment is a tell. You should use this concept to figure out if you think your opponent is already commited to his hand. If a player is still betting or calling and suddenly the pot becomes larger than his own stack, be aware that you are probably going to have to showdown your hand against this opponent. You must understand this concept fully if you wish to read your opponents well. This will tell you whether you need to make sure you have a hand that you think will beat his, or this should tell you to fold and not even contemplate bluffing this opponent.

As I said in a previous article, you should never commit everything on a bluff. Every bluff should have an out, a way for you to escape your plan if anything goes wrong. If a good player notices that you are committed and continues to play with you, you are in trouble if you are bluffing because he believes he has a better hand than you.

Rule #1 of Commitment: Don't play a committed player unless:

He is shortstacked and may commit to anything or because you want to play the other opponents in the hand.

You feel you have your opponent beat.

Rule #2 of Commitment: Don't commit yourself unless:

You have a good hand that you don't think is beat.

You are severely shortstacked in a tourney.

Involved in a multiway pot with a strong drawing hand and you are fairly shortstacked in comparison to your opponents.

Don't Commit All Your Chips On A Bluff!

Commitment is a powerful tool to help you with your decision making before you get close to going all in, and it's a powerful tool to help you read your opponents holdings. Don't worry if your opponent is getting away with bluffs where he is committing his whole stack on the bluff, eventually someone will hit a big hand and commit with him and take all his money.