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10 More Essential Hold’em Moves: The Over-Bet

There’s no simple fix for becoming a winning poker player.

But there are a handful of simple, easy-to-execute poker moves that can make a world of difference to your bottom line.

By fine-tuning these tactics you’ll have more tools to put to work at the poker table. You’ll be able to better understand your opponents and how to manipulate them, and that will translate directly to money in your pocket.

We already wrote the book on the 10 Essential Texas Hold’em Moves and now we’re back to bring you 10 more.

Today we’ll take a look at over-betting the pot, a move that can force your opponent out of the pot when you're bluffing, or get you extra value when you've got the nuts.

Sometimes described as “buying the pot,” the over-bet is a move you need to have in your poker arsenal. By understanding when and where over-bets are appropriate you’ll be able to take down more pots even when you don’t have a hand.

How to Use the Over-Bet in Poker

The What: At its most basic an over-bet refers to betting an unusually large amount of chips in relation to the size of the pot. Generally any bet bigger than the size of the pot is considered an over-bet.

Patrik Antonius
By betting bigger you can put more pressure on your opponents.

The Why: In some spots your opponent will be able to call a standard-size bet, but will fold to a larger bet.

The Where: Over-betting is best suited to deep-stacked games where you’re able to make large bets compared to the size of the pot.

The When: Although over-bets can be used on any street, the most common spot to over-bet is the river.

How to Over-Bet the Right Way

Depending on the situation, an over-bet can be used as a powerful bluffing tool or as misinformation to make your opponent call you down with a losing hand.

But because of this move’s versatility it’s of critical importance to understand why you’re making that massive bet.

Over-betting as a bluff can be very appealing to beginners because you’ll win the pot a large percentage of the time. The problem is that when you get called, your enormous bet is going to cost you big.

Conversely, if you’re trying to goad someone into a light call, a big bet might just scare them away. Keep reading to find out how to over-bet the right way.

How to Over-Bet as a Bluff

Using big bets to push your opponents out of pots might seem like a crude show of brute strength, but it has to be more calculated than simply closing your eyes and pushing your chips in.

And just like every poker move, the over-bet’s success rate is going to depend largely on your ability to read your opponent’s tendencies and hand strength. That’s because you want to over-bet as a bluff when you think your opponent has medium-strength made hands.

Final Table Chip Stack
Put your chips to work.

If you think your opponent has a monster, it won’t matter how big you make your bet: He’s not going to fold. On the flip side, if he has a weak hand he’s going to fold to a standard-sized bet.

One of the most common and effective ways to over-bet bluff is in a tournament, when you’re able to put an opponent to a decision for all his chips.

Beginner Warning: A good thing to keep in mind is that a standard-size bet will usually accomplish the same thing as a bigger bet, but will save you money when your opponent calls you down.

That’s why the over-bet is most commonly used to try to get value when you have the nuts.

Related Reading:

How to Over-Bet for Value

When you see big over-bets at the lower stakes it’s almost always being done with a monster hand. Beginners tend to bet big when they have a big hand, making them predictable and easy to read.

Don’t fall into this trap. There are two main ways you can get value by over-betting.

Against a weak, inexperienced player: Weak or inexperienced players will often fail to differentiate between a half-pot bet and a twice-pot bet. Extract maximum value from these opponents by betting and raising big when you have a monster.

Over-betting to represent weakness: In some spots an overbet can make you look weak, as if you’re trying to buy your way out of a jam.

In the right situation your opponent might interpret an overly-large bet as being weak since you’d likely bet smaller in order to get a call if you had a big hand.

Related Reading:

Over-Betting in Action

If you’re still unconvinced about how effective the over-bet can be, check out the move in action below. In 2003 Chris Moneymaker pulled off one of the biggest bluffs in televised poker history.

By moving all-in for more than twice the size of the pot Moneymaker was able to outsmart one of the wiliest poker veterans in the world.

Read More Essential Texas Hold'em Moves:

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