Continuation-betting is one of the most simple winning concepts in poker and yet one of the most misunderstood. A continuation bet is a bet made on the flop by a preflop raiser whether they have hit the flop or not. The continuation bet, or c-bet as it’s often called, builds on the strength of the preflop raise by saying the hand that you were confident enough to bet before the flop is still strong enough to bet now the flop is out. Or if you want to cut to the quick, if you were saying ‘I like my hand’ before the flop the c-bet says, ‘Yeah, I really like my hand – what you going to do about it?’
C-bet for the win
Continuation bets will win so many pots, particularly against weak players, because most hands will miss the flop and even hands that are ahead of a continuation-bettor’s will frequently fold to a show of continued aggression. Let’s say you raise from late position with Kh-Jc and are called by the big blind who holds pocket Sixes. The big blind calls looking to hit a set and misses on the 2c-8h-Ac flop and checks to you. You bet and the big blind looks at the board, sees two overcards and a flush draw and quickly passes, already looking to the next hand to hit the flop. There are so many chips in the pot already that betting again is a no-brainer in the majority of situations. As already mentioned a continuation bet doesn’t depend on whether you’ve caught the flop or not, so how you react to a check-raise is very dependent on your holding and your history with the other player. The same goes if your c-bet is called. If you had decided to bet with top set then you’ll quite happily bet or raise again in most circumstances, but if you have air or a marginal holding, such as 8h-9h on a 4h-9d-Js-5h board, you have a more difficult decision in front of you. But on the plus side you still hold the initiative and that alone will rake a lot of pots your way.
When to c-bet
So when should you be making continuation bets? Quite a lot of the time actually, but betting flops that are likely to have helped your hand is a good starting point. As a rule of thumb you should c-bet pretty much every time an Ace appears on the flop, as so many of the hands you’re claiming to have when you raise include an Ace. A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-T and any suited Ace are all credible raising hands depending on your position and the game dynamic, and all have connected with an Ace-high flop. And of course if there’s one Ace on the board it’s less likely there’s an Ace in your opponent’s hand – there are only three left in the deck after all.
Bet-sizing
A continuation bet can typically be anywhere between half the pot to the whole pot. Remember that a c-bet should be the same size whether you’re bluffing or making a value bet. If you start betting the pot when you’re bluffing and half when you’re not you’ll soon get found out. You can, however, mix up your bet sizes based on the texture of the flop. Many players c-bet a smaller amount on dry boards, such as 3s-6d-Jc, and more on wetter boards like Kd-7d-9s (the argument being that on a dry board your opponent usually has either a big hand or nothing, so is just as likely to fold to a small bet as to a big one). That’s up to you. If in doubt stick to a two-thirds of pot bet every time you make a continuation bet. It will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
Player type
Is your opponent aggressive or passive? If your opponent is aggressive you should start polarising your c-bets a little more between complete bluffs to take the pot away before they get a chance to steal on the turn and big value bets, as aggressive players will check-raise without the goods a lot more often. Against passive players you can c-bet a far wider range of hands, as if you meet resistance you can slow down or speed up according to whether or not you want to get more chips into the middle, as they’ll be following your betting lead. Continuation-betting against players who play their cards face up is a must. If they had a big pair they would have reraised you preflop, right?
When not to c-bet
Now then, you can’t go continuation-betting every single flop, can you? Well, actually against some 100% check-fold players you probably should. But against anyone other than that kind of dream opponent there are some flops that you need to check behind. In the same way that you should bet flops that look like they’ve helped your hand, you can check those that look like they’ve helped your opponent. Do you really want to c-bet with 9-9 on an 8-J-K board?
Flopping a monster
Say you raise with pocket Tens and the flop comes 2s-7h-Td. The unadventurous player who called you preflop checks. Do you really want to c-bet here? You may have the nuts, but the range of hands he’s calling with here is so narrow that you’re best to check. Okay, you’re missing out some vital pot-building and you’re giving away a free card to the straight if he has 6-8, 8-9 or 9-J, but if he does catch a Broadway pair (which would be top pair) or a miracle two pair you’ll get paid off handsomely. On a more dangerous board you shouldn’t slow-play without good reason.
Multi-way pots
When you’ve been called in more than one spot it becomes more likely that an opponent has connected with the board, and in these situations you should reduce your bluffing-to-value-betting ratio significantly. Dry boards can still be good to bluff in multi-way pots if you’ve missed, as a lot of marginal holdings will pass for fear of players behind them raising. If you are called on the flop you can always shut down unless the turn and river come to your aid.
Position
Although you will often be last to act when making a continuation bet, there are times when someone will have called you from the button or cutoff. Your seat is set for the hand now. You will have to play the flop, turn and river out of position and what you do at this critical stage will set the tempo. Against stronger players – who may have called purely for positional advantage – you must think beyond the immediate bet. What will you do if they raise? Have they got a history of betting to take the pot away from you if you check? Should you check-raise instead?
Weigh up all the information you have about your opponent(s) and their tendencies. If they’re calling preflop and then check-folding almost every flop then by all means fire away, but as the competition gets tougher you’ll have to start thinking about your c-bet balance more carefully.