Bet Sizing (Value vs. Bluffs/C-Bets)

Making effective value bets and bluffs can sometimes be looked at as the same thing. If you are playing at the top of your game often you can get away with making a bet that looks like a value bet, but it is really a bluff. When you are firing on all cylinders you can confuse your opponent a good portion of the time. Making a bet for value depends on the type of player you are against. If the player you are playing against is very weak a lot of the time you have to adjust your bets to be smaller so that a tighter player will pay you off. Against an aggressive player you can sometimes make a big bet or a small bet depending on the situation. A lot of the time aggressive players want to make big raises so if you make a small value bet they will come over the top, and you will collect a nice amount from the pot. Other times you can make the big pot sized bet if you feel your opponent can’t lay their hand down. The key to making value bets is looking at situations, and understanding the players you are playing against. Once you can see who is an aggressive player and who is a tight player you can get more value for hands.

Making bluffs or continuation bets in hands is almost inevitable for every player. If you are playing in position and make a raise before the flop you will more times than not bet the flop. This is a continuation bet and to be effective you should lead with a little more than half the size of the pot. If you are playing against only one other player you should always be betting flops regardless of your cards. To make an effective bluff though on the other hand a lot of the time the pot will see the turn or river. At higher limit games a lot of players will float the flop bet to see a turn before making a big decision. If you check back the turn after they’ve checked it you are showing a great deal of weakness. Most of the time when bluffing betting a flop and a turn can be sufficient to get a fold. If your opponent calls both the flop and the turn a good portion of the time they will also call on the river depending on the board. Your turn bet should also be higher than the flop bet, and look like a value bet to be effective. If you are making a weak bet that is 25% of the pot on the turn most of the time regardless of their hand or draw they will call and that is throwing the poker bonus money away. If you can make a 75% of the pot turn bet that should show enough strength to be an effective bluff. If you make a pot sized bet and they come over the top you are now stuck in a hand with no way of winning the pot. You want to lose the least on all the times you bluff, and gain the most for folds. If you are making gross over bets and committing too much to a pot you will not be profitable with your bluffs.