How often to c-bet

[erocplayer]

I know it's situational, poker in general is; however I'd like some thoughtful responses anyhow.

If you raise preflop in NL TX HE, how often should you c-bet.
I c-bet almost 95 percent of the time. The only times I don't c-bet are when I raise, get a bunch of calls, and don't hit the flop OR when i raise with like, 7 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]7 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and then the flop comes A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] or something like that.

-eroc

[deucethree]

95% = way too much

50% is prolly closer to where you should be in a "standard" game.

Multi-way pots much less than that.

[erocplayer]

i should've included that i mostly play mtt's, so if opinions differ between ring games and mtt's, id like to hear them for each.

-eroc

[john kane]

i generally cbet either when i have very little showdown value or for protection+value. ill check behind A high, some scanky pairs.

[TexRef]

It depends on how many players in the hand. If I had 77 and raised and was heads-up I would cbet almost every single time in ring game or MTT if I was first to act, or if it was checked to me.

If 2-3 people called my raise and it comes with that board I am probably just going to check-fold. If I was last to act and all players checked to me I might take a stab, but it would be read dependent... Most likely someone has caught a piece of that flop and isn't going away.

If you raise with AK/AQ/AJ and completely miss, but the flop comes all low ... like 9 6 2 rainbow I will take a stab more often, as that flop is unlikely to have hit the other players.

In certain cash games, the cbet is almost useless unless you are heads-up ... especially live. You need to have something to bet with, or you are going to have to three-barrel it because they are going to chase their draws the entire way.

[mvdgaag]

It depends a lot on the game.

Most microstakes games have two kinds of players and really not much in between. One plays a tight game and folds too much on the flop and will let you know if he has something. This is great, I raise a lot more hands preflop against these players just to take it down with a cbet on the flop. The cards don't even matter. If they show interrest you can almost always throw your hand away.
The other type of player plays too many hands preflop and calls too many cbets. They play AA the same way as 72o and play a set the same way as air. What they do is check/call. These players I never cbet without a decent hand/draw. I know they'll pay me off when I'm valuebetting and I know they won't fold when I have nothing, so I just bet when I think I have them beat most of the time.

If you find yourself in a game with the first type of player you should cbet almost always. Against the second type of player you should cbet almost never. It's important to find out who's who.

Finally cbetting is less effective in multiway pots or on very draw heavy flops since almost always someone has connected to the flop in some way and finds a reason to call. In these cases I also almost only cbet when I feel I can still win the pot against my opponents calling ranges.

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Edit: 95% is not bad if your opponents are weak and you're often headsup.

With 77 on an AKTr board I cbet if it's headsup. Our opponent doesn't know we don't have AQ. And decent opponents call more often done with small pairs/suited connectors than possibly dominated broadway hands. The big broadways they 3bet sometimes, so a large part of his range is lower cards if he called your PFR.
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[Alexpoker]

I agree with mdvgaag.
I mostly play 20 NL, and sometimes the table is full of tight player who fold too much after the flop.

I noticed than C-betting often take the pot.

So, on this table, I started raising 4xx with a lots of hands (more than 50 %) and C-bet 100% times. My C-bet works 2 times out of three, so it was very profitable. I never second-barrel on turn.

[timmay28]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but are you guys finding that the standard 50% continuation bet doesn't work as well online anymore?

I've been betting 3/4 the pot nowadays... seems like it is considerably more successful in getting them to fold. Not sure if this is an optimal size to bet for continuations over the long haul though.

[mvdgaag]

One more thing: the fewer hands you play, the more you have to cbet.

If you're tight, you really have a hand more often, since a large part of your range is going to be pocket pairs and if you hit you have a decent kicker...

While when you are involved in a lot of pots you'll be playing hands that your opponents are not very scared of on most flops, like SC's, suited aces, small pairs, total trash. This is because these hands almost never improve to a big hand on the flop.

[drzen]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but are you guys finding that the standard 50% continuation bet doesn't work as well online anymore?

I've been betting 3/4 the pot nowadays... seems like it is considerably more successful in getting them to fold. Not sure if this is an optimal size to bet for continuations over the long haul though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. Everyone automatically thinks 1/2 is a cbet and floats you on principle. I bet a bit more and they have the reason to fold they needed.