What does it mean to be attached to a bank?
When the ratio of your bank's return to the remaining chips is better than the odds of winning the hand, then you are tied to the pot.
Compare the size of the pot to the chips you have left, not the size of the pot to the size of your opponent's bet.
The situation in the above picture can be described as - you need to put in one chip to win five, and you win one time out of five (your opponent wins 4 times). This means that it pays to respond, because if you lose four times you will have a loss of 4 chips, and if you win once you will get 6 chips (5 chips already in the pot and 1 chip that you put in)
Example of attachment to a bank
Let's say you have 200$ before playing a hand with an opponent. When the turn comes, the pot is 300$, leaving each of you with 50$. If you have at least top pair at this stage of the game, you are tied to the pot and should not fold in either the turn or the river.
– The ratio of chips in the pot to your remaining chips is 7-1 (350$-50$) (don't forget to add your remaining chips to the total amount of chips in the pot)
- You are almost guaranteed to have a better chance than 7-1 (12.5%) of winning this pot, even if your opponent usually bets or calls only with strong hands.
In the example above, our bank to chip ratio is better than the odds of winning the hand, so we are tied to the bank and should not fold our hand. Although it doesn't look like you will often have the best hand, the probabilities show that in the long term in such a situation, you will lose more by folding than by answering.
When are you not tied to a bank?
The biggest mistake that inexperienced players make is when bad decisions are justified under the term "tied to the bank". That is a bad description of "tied to the bank":
"A player must call a raise because most of his chips are already in the pot"
The fact that you have deposited most of your chips in a bank does not make you tied to that bank. It is extremely important to assess your chances of winning the hand.
An example of why it's not enough to look at how much is invested in a bank
Let's say you have reached the river and 999$ of your original 1000$ has already been banked. Your opponent opens and shows that he has a Royal Flush, which beats your full house. Your opponent then puts in the last 1$ available. Is it worth your while to call? Of course not! You have a 0% chance of winning the pot and a 100% guarantee that you will lose 1$. This situation will have a probable value of -1$ (EV) in the long term.
The fact that 999$ of your original chip stack is already in the pot means nothing in this case. Remember, your odds of winning a hand are one of the factors that determine whether you are tied to the pot. You cannot rely solely on the chips already in the pot.
To be tied to a bank, you need your bank's profitability ratio (pot odds) to be higher than the probability of winning the hand.
How to exploit the bank's attachment factor during the game?
1. Avoid growing large pots with cards that you are not prepared to push all your chips with.
2. Don't think that you are tied to the bank every time you put a lot of money in it. It may not be nice to lose your cards, but it's better than losing more money.
3. Use maths and probability, not your sixth sense, to determine whether you are attached to a bank or not.
4. Having specific information about your opponent's game and assigning a range of cards will help you better assess your chances of winning.
A very good rule to follow when playing poker is It is not advisable to put 1/3 of your chips in the pot and then consider folding. The idea is that if you put 1/3 of your chips in the pot and then fold, you are investing too much money with bad cards.
Why 1/3? Because if you put 1/3 of your chips in the pot, it means that either you or your opponent has a chance to bet all in, and that bet will not exceed the size of the pot. So if you have a good enough hand, never fold it. Your odds of winning must be less than 2:1 (33%) to fold, otherwise you are tied to the pot. However, the very fact that you don't have a strong enough hand in this situation means that you have made mistakes up to this point in your play.
You must have a plan from the start on how you will play one hand or the other. You must know what size you want the pot to be (or not). Without a plan, you will often find yourself in a situation where you don't realise that 1/3 of your chips are already in the pot and you are still unsure of the strength of your hand.
Bank attachment - a new concept or an excuse?
Reading the article, you might get the impression that some of the advice is contradictory. On the one hand, it says that being attached to a bank should not be used as an excuse to keep putting money in the bank, but on the other hand, it says that you should not put your cards down when you are attached to a bank.
What is really being tried is to help two different groups of players:
1. In case being attached to a bank is a new concept for you, this is an attempt to say that when you are attached to a bank, it is a mistake to fold your cards.
2. In the case where bank attachment is a familiar factor in poker, but used too casually. Such players are advised to consider more carefully situations where they think that putting all their money in the pot is the only option.
Choose which group you belong to and use the corresponding tips.
Summary of bank attachment
Don't give up your cards if you are tied to a bank.
Follow these instructions:
- You are tied to the bank, then when your bank profitability ratio (pot odds) is better than the odds of winning a hand.
- Don't use the concept of bank attachment as an excuse for bad play. Use mathematical calculations to find out if you are attached to a bank.
- Avoid situations where you put a third of your chips in the pot and then fold.
The 1/3 rule itself is useful to remember, but the main idea is that you need to learn how to plan the game of the hands you have. If you learn to make the correct call and bet according to the strength of your hand, then the above rule will never be broken.
The decisions you make pre-flop and on the flop will determine what happens on the turn and river. If you don't understand these patterns, you will find yourself in very difficult situations where you will be tied to the pot, holding cards that you would never have thought of putting all your chips in the pot with before the flop.
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