Pot Control

Pot control is the process of steering the pot towards the size you would prefer for your hand. If you have the nuts, you'll be trying to get your opponent's entire stack; if you have a vulnerable hand like top pair, medium kicker on a wet board (say, AJ on a board of A♣ T♠ 9♣ 7♠) you'd rather try to win a small pot than attempt to risk everything that's in front of you.

Pot control is much easier to achieve when you're in position, since you can close out the action whenever you see fit. If you want to keep the pot small (but do not want to fold), you can check or call behind an opponent. Sometimes, you may even bet or raise on an early street to try to induce your opponent to check in front of you on a later street, when the bets are likely to be bigger.

Producing a big pot is usually fairly straightforward -- you figure out the best way to get all the money in by the river, and take that line. If you think your opponent will actually help you out by making a bet or a raise, all the better; however, in most cases you should assume you'll have to make the bets yourself. Just make sure the bets are of reasonable size; don't plan on getting your opponent to call a $50 bet in a $20 pot, for instance.