25NL: c-betting AK

[Brian O'Nolan]

I've been refining my c-betting by 1) not indiscriminately firing at every missed flop HU and 2) sometimes betting 3/4 pot and sometimes betting full pot when I do c-bet. This way I feel like I have more options when I do have a big hand to build a big pot as a full pot bet on the flop doesn't look suspicious. Is it worth bothering to vary your bet sizing at these levels? I think it is. We all like to think our opponents are just donks at whatever level, but, donks or no, especially someone who is just playing one or two tables is going to notice if you always bet 3/4 pot and then suddenly bet full pot.


Sample hand: villain just sat down. Good time for a pot-sized c-bet?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool (http://poker-tools.flopturnriver.com/Hand-Converter.php) from FlopTurnRiver.com (http://www.flopturnriver.com) (Format: 2+2 Forums)

BB ($25)
UTG ($44.45)
Hero ($26.45)
CO ($71.75)
Button ($29.80)
SB ($20.85)

Preflop: Hero is MP with A/images/graemlins/club.gif, K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif.
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $1</font>, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Button calls $1, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>.

Flop: ($2.35) 3/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/club.gif, 7/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $2.25</font>

[Montezuma21]

bet sizing isn't that important at these levels, because opponents will rarely notice. FWIW, i bet 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot as a standard CB (usually 2/3PSB), and 4/5ths with a very strong hand. the difference is marginal but proves to be invaluable in later streets as the pot grows exponentially. of course i always take account of board texture. in the hand above i would normally bet $2 or even $1.85 and expect to pick it up as often as i would with a PSB.

remember that you can get away with much smaller CBs on the flop if opponents expect you to fire again on later streets. if villain knows that he can call with bottom pair and that the action will go check-check on turn and river then it's worth it for him to do that. I tend to play an extremely LAggy game and this allows me to pick up a lot of pots for very small bets because opponents know i'll likely fire again if i think they're weak and also because they think they'll trap me later.

[TheDespot]

Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with the c-bet here in the example. Standard c-bet. You'll also get a feel for the villain here. I used to c-bet nearly every flop I raised like you described, but to correct this leak, I don't do it nearly as much. I've found that it really throws opponents off when you're c-betting most of the time and then suddenly you check the action. They don't know what to make of it, but that should be because you do it with a variety of holdings. I'll check the flop sometimes after raising preflop with a monster, a draw, even something like second pair, or just total air on occasion depending on the situation. How the opponents play really factors into this, however. Against this opponent who just got to the table I'd certainly make this c-bet. You'll take it down a good deal of the time, and again, you'll get a feel for how the villain plays right away.

[rakes.a.beach]

When I first started playing NL, I'd always fire 1 dollar preflop then 2 dollar on the flop. Reason being that I'm too lazy to top .5 and I had to adjust to 4-tabling. I also figure it'll build the pot so I can win more on the turn/river. I don't think firing PSBs are bad at this level every time because people's post flop play are even worse than their preflop play.