The continuation bet

[BigBlue]

I finally had some chips in a NL tourney this past weekend. I made a lot of standard 3BB pre-flop raises. Seemed like 90% of the times it would get checked around to me (usually in mid-late position) and a modest 1/4 - 1/2 pot sized bet would take it.


I know it's a standard play, but I hardly ever use it, and often get chased by someone who later shows 2 overs, or an under pair.


How common is it in your home games?


How much do you bet when you have nothing?

How about when you hit a small part?

When I hit it strong, I was fortunate enough to find another player that I could check raise. I did smooth call the flop and turn when it wasn't scary.

[Suicide King]

If I raise pre-flop, Im pretty much always going to bet the flop if I hit or not. The only problem with it is you will get people calling just because its you doing it if your doing it often. For me pushing an aggressive game has always been best because it frustrates everyone else and it forces them to play more junk.. Best part about it, I always get paid on my big hands, worst part about it is Im the easiest person in the world to check-raise. good with the bad.

[h-train]

Just depends what I am playing, online it is a lot harder in my opinion for the continuation bet to work, just because you can't read the players. Live you can get a feel for what they are playing and if they hit or not. Especially when you play with the same guys all the time. Position is always important, but definitely even more so online than live in my opinion.

[jamby]

Ditto. Just about 100% of the time I'll C-bet.

Originally Posted by Suicide King

If I raise pre-flop, Im pretty much always going to bet the flop if I hit or not.

[dad604]

Depends on how many callers I get and who they are. If 3 or less I will almost continuation bet 100%.

[hachkc]

Depends on a number of factors: position, number of callers, player types, flopped cards, etc. I'm more likely to cbet in a cash game than a tournament.

Heads up, I'll cbet like 95%+ of the time. With 2 other players, it depends more on position and the flop. With 3+ other players, I'll generally only cbet on a good draw. I'm defining a cbet here as continuation bet after a preflop raise where the flop has missed me or only given me a draw. If I hit, my betting depends on what I hit.

[Clipper]

You have to mix up your play; can't just bet 1/2 pot every time. Although if I continuation bet, it would always be at least 1/2 the pot. Best to do it under following conditions:

- No ace overcard on flop (too many people play aces - don't buck the odds)
- A caveate to above, sometimes check a good ace. This shows that your check does not mean "take it".
- Tend to continuation bet if a K or Q is on flop (this is a good scare card).
- Out of position, I may check with a piece of flop. A return check means you hand is likely good. Then simply bet turn (if called, check down if in position, or lead out with smallish bet on river if out of position).
- In position, I will always continuation bet if I hit flop and they check to me. Caveate, unless

Most importantly, only try continuation bets (if flop misses you) against 1-2 opponents, never 3 or more.

Caution: Be very wary if there are a lot of middle cards on flop (9, T, J, etc.). Many people will call a raise with medium pair to see if overcards come on flop. They could have a set. Any action on flop and you need to shut down if you don't have a hand. Also be cautious if you get action with all baby cards on flop. Someone could easily have an overpair.

[yeltzen]

I think the continuation bet is overused, to be honest. Especially in tournaments. I see people making continuation bets late in a tournament, fold to a check-raise, and end up crippled. I think that's just stupid. Now, it's a great play, a standard play, and you should definitely be doing it a lot, but 100% of the time is ridiculous. There are a ton of things to factor in: the number of people in the hand, the texture of the flop, how often your continuation bets have worked, etc.

In a cash game, my continuation bets and value bets are exactly the same size. Usually about 2/3 of the pot, unless the flop is dangerous. In a tournament, my continuation bets are probably a little less on average. I dunno, other people here probably have good reads on me and can tell you which of my bets are continuation and which aren't.

[TheMightyJim2k]

I play limit so I continuation bet almost 100% of the time, but in limit we call it value betting.

Also in limit we have a thing called the turn and river, which can change the outcome of a hand. You guys might want to give limit a try, poker becomes a lot more interesting when you have play on 3-streets.



j/k





in weak tight live games cont. bets are a lot stronger than they are online where people expect them and will play back appropriately. that being said you need to still make c-bets most of the time, but having a plan for when you get a lot of action, or occasionally checking through is a must. And Yeltzen is right, if you are playing late in a tourney where your stack is not much compared to the blinds you need to understand that a pf raise a c-bet will likely eat up much of your stack, so when you decide to raise it up you might as well be prepared to get it all-in on most flops.

[jdunford]

As much as I don't like to give away my strategy, I don't think this will help anyone play against me that much...

If I raise pre-flop, I'll generally put in a continuation bet (CB) on any flop that I have overcards to. People will pick up on this, and that's why I'll also put out a continuation-sized value bet if I hit the flop hard on an innocent looking board (like if my suited-connectors give me a 4-flush + open-ended straight draw, or I flop 2-pair or something). If the board has overcards to me (especially A or K or both), I'll often check unless I hit.

Players will start to pick up on this, so about 10% of the time I'll put out a CB even in the presence of a A or K (or especially both) when I miss. This makes everyone think I hit, because I usually check-fold those flops unless I hit.

Then people might start noticing this (might catch me on a bluff when I have to showdown), so then I'll sometimes check-raise or check-call AK or AQ hands that hit TPTK or top-2-pair, making everyone think I'm doing the usual check-fold since I didn't continuation bet. But most of the time (80%?), I'll still put out a CB-sized bet to keep them guessing (since that's a pretty rare event anyway).

I'll usually slow-play a monster (flopped striaght/flush/boat or top-set), but if I'm perceived as particularly trappy that day, I might throw a CB-sized value bet out there maybe 10-20% of the time, just to keep people guessing. It often pays to be consistent...

So, depending on the circumstances, I probably CB about 90% of the time if the board is below my cards, and about 80% of the time when I hit (really a value-bet that looks like a CB), and maybe 10% of the time when there are overcards to my cards, but only in specific situations (which also depend on position, how many players are in the hand, who's in the hand - i.e. if players are more or less likely to fold). There are so many variables that it probably looks completely random when I don't... and makes players wonder if I genuinely missed, or if I'm setting a trap.