[lucky_mf]

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If someone needs a better hand to call you with, than you need to raise, and they know this, and they haven’t been in a lot of hands, why would you c-bet into them?

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When you bet in NLHE it is for one of two reasons:
(i) as a bluff - to get a better hand to fold.
(ii) for value - to get a worse hand to call at an unfavorable price

You c-bet when you whiff in an attempt to get them to fold a weak hand (or no hand at all). It is a pure bluff.

There are also situations in NLHE were the gap concept doesn't apply. If you raise PF and whiff your only chance to win the pot may be to bet (bluff), whereas if you caught a piece of the flop, giving you a hand with some showdown value, you might be more inclined to check. If you know the player acting behind you will bet when you check, you might be inclined to check-call the flop with a weaker made hand, whereas you would be betting with air. Additionally, players don't need to have a hand to call flop c-bets if they they can reasonably ascertain that the pre-flop raiser missed and will not fire a 2nd barrel on the turn or will fold to a turn donk (depending on position).

Lucky