Pretty much every player with half a brain knows the logic behind the continuation bet, or c-bet, these days. The concept is simple – if you are the original pre-flop raiser, it makes sense that you would continue to represent a strong hand by betting again on the flop.
However, particularly at the lower stakes, too many players c-bet without any thought as to why they are doing so and when they should refrain from pulling the trigger. Rather than just firing away blindly, it is important that you stop for a moment and take a look at the flop.
Flop texture is key when deciding whether or not to c-bet. Obviously we’re usually going to be c-betting when we flop top pair or hold an over-pair to the board. We’re also going to be betting all of our huge hands and most of our draws such as flush and open-ended straight draws.
However, what happens when we hold A-K and the flop comes 8-9-10? This is a disastrous flop for our hand and c-betting here is only going to get us into trouble. Sure, we’re going to fold out hands such as A-5 but we were ahead of that hand anyway. In fact, all we are really achieving here if we bet is to fold out the hands we beat and attract calls from those that beat us.
Think about it – the sorts of hands an opponent is likely to call with pre-flop ranges from small and mid pairs to suited connectors and hands such as J-10 or Q-J. All of those hands have us either behind or in some cases just about drawing dead.
Conversely, let’s say we hold A-K and the flop comes 10-2-2. This is an extremely dry flop and a good one to bet at because it is so difficult for our opponent to have made a hand. Also consider the fact that there are a lot of turns we can bet at again should our c-bet be called. Any Ace or K makes us a hand while we can represent any Q or J as well should they fall.
C-betting is such a big part of poker that it pays to think about what you are trying to achieve when you do so. Betting blindly will cost you money in the long run, but use this skill wisely and you will already hold a significant edge over many of your rivals.
