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3.4 Poker Betting
In order to be a successful Poker player you need to have an arsenal full of weapons, these weapons are the different types of bet you can make.
One important note before we begin, Before the flop we discussed bet size as a multiple of the Big Blind, so we might say “Raise 3 times the big blind”. After the Flop we discuss bet size as a multiple of the current pot size, so we might say “Bet ½ the pot size” so if the current pot size before your action was $20 you would make a bet of $10.
Let’s take a look at the fundamental types of bet which you will be able to apply in your strategy.
Value Bet
| Bet Type | Objective | Bet Range |
| Value Bet | Get money into the pot without scaring our opponents off | Half the size of Pot |
A Value bet is where we believe that we have the best hand, and we want to get some money into the pot for us to win.
Now the problem we face here is, we want to get as much money into the pot as we can, but we also don’t want to bet too much that our opponent gets scared off and folds.
A Value bet should be about ½ the size of the pot. This is small enough to tempt an opponent who is losing to you to carry on in the hand, and also is big enough to protect your hand against opponents who are on draws that could overtake your hand (If an opponent on a drawing hand calls then he would be making a mistake as he wouldn’t have the odds to chase most drawing hands)
Betting ½ the size of the pot is only giving your opponent Pot Odds of 3 to 1.
Continuation Bet
| Bet Type | Objective | Bet Range |
| Continuation Bet | Maintain the perception of Strength | Half the size of Pot |
A Continuation bet is where we took the lead in the betting before the flop by making a raise. The flop comes down and completely misses our hand.
So were now sitting there with a hand that has missed the flop, however we have already shown strength to our opponents and they don’t know that we have missed the flop.
So we have the option here of making a Continuation bet, where we maintain the perception of strength that we have given our opponents before the flop. What were hoping to do here is pick up the pot right here without any further action.
The chances are that our opponents have also missed the flop, and this show of strength before the flop followed by a continuation of that perception of strength after the flop may force your opponent to fold.
A Continuation bet should be about ½ the size of the Pot, the size of this type of bet is very important. A Bet of ½ the size of the pot gives the following benefits:
- You’re not committing too many chips to the pot, so if your opponent has actually hit something and calls or raises your bet you can still get away from the hand without too much damage.
- You’re only giving your opponent Pot Odds of 3 to 1 which is not great odds for him to play on with most drawing hands.
So if your opponent has also missed the flop the chances are a continuation bet will chase them out of the pot, if your opponent has hit something on the flop then you are able to get away from the hand without committing too many chips to the pot.
Probe Bet
| Bet Type | Objective | Bet Range |
| Probe Bet | Extract information from your opponent | One Third the size of Pot |
A Probe bet is similar to a continuation bet but has a slight difference. In this situation your opponent has taken the lead in the betting before the flop and then after the flop he has not bet.
Now this creates a problem for you because you are now getting mixed signals from your opponent, he has shown strength before the flop, and now has shown weakness after the flop.
There are a few possible reasons why your opponent may have done this:
- Your opponent has missed the flop and doesn’t want to commit any further chips to the pot
- Your opponent has hit a big hand on the flop and is now trying to slowplay or trap you
- You opponent has hit a medium strength hand on the flop and is scared that you may have hit a higher hand than him
So we need to decide whether the weakness our opponent has shown is genuine or whether it is a trap.
To make this decision we use a Probe bet. This is a bet of about a third of the pot. A Probe bet has two objectives:
- If your opponent is genuinely weak then this bet could win the pot right now
- We force our opponent to make a play so we can gain some information about our opponents hand to help us assess what our opponent is up to.
If we were not to make a probe bet at this point not only would we lose the chance to take the pot there and then, but we would also go into the Turn card having little idea of what our opponent is holding.
CONTINUE TO NEXT SECTION - 3.4 s continued
