Sugar Pops
In no-limit and pot-limit games, one sneaky little weapon that can prove very useful in the early rounds is the pot-sweetener. Typically, a pot-sweetener is a smallish bet or raise that’s designed not to drive opponents out. It’s a little bet that’s trying to coax little calls-with the aim of fattening up the pot for the eventual kill. Opponents usually call the diminutive raise because they’re getting good pot odds, and in the later rounds will be more inclined to keep on calling because of the now-larger pot.
Since you are allowing opponents to stay in cheaply, a pot-sweetening raise is best done with a very big hand, or a draw to a very big hand. If all goes according to plan, your monster hand will end up winning a huge pot because of all those calls from opponents who would have folded to a big raise early on.
A micro-raise before the flop often represents a drawing-type hand, such as suited connectors or a smallish pocket pair that’s hoping to flop a… Continue reading Sugar Pops
