Bet Sizing in Poker
In this article:
- Why is bet sizing important?
- When to be high and when to bet low.
- Betting with pot odds.
- When to be high and when to bet low.
- Betting with pot odds.
Why is bet sizing important?
This one should really be a no brainer, but still many players don't consider the size of their bets. Most often inexperienced players bet too high when they're bluffing and too low when they're value betting. But, by controlling your bet sizing in the right way and using pot odds to adjust the size of your bets in certain situations, you can maximize your profits and limit your losses.
When to bet high and when to bet low in poker?
Contrary to what many inexperienced players think, you don't bet high to get players to fold or low to get players to call. I know that sounds illogical, but let me explain why.
First, when you are bluffing or semi-bluffing and you want players to fold, you should bet low. I don't mean betting $2 into a pot of $50, that is much too low. What I mean is don't get too carried away and over bet the pot. There is a correct amount to bet based on the pot to get players to fold. This is because an opponent has usually already decided whether they are going to call or fold regardless of the bet size, within a certain range of course. For example, if you're heads up on the flop with another player in a pot of $30, you go crazy and over bet the pot with $50 and he folds, you just took an unnecessary risk. If he folded to $50 he was already going to fold to a much smaller bet. With a bet of 2/3 pot, you're betting enough to get him to fold any draw he might have. If he already made a hand and would call $20, then he's going to call $50 as well, so why put so many more chips at risk.
On the other hand, when you know you have the winning hand, and you want players to call, you should bet high. Just as in the previous example, I don't mean getting carried away and betting too much. But you should be betting as high as possible while still making a call an attractive option for your opponent. In the same pot of $30, if you lead out with a bet of $3 and your opponent calls, they would have probably called a much higher bet as well. If they fold to a $10 they were probably going to fold to $3 as well and even if that's not true in every case. getting a caller for your $10 bet in 1 out of 3 hands is still more profitable in the long run than getting that same player to call $3 in 3 out of 3 hands.
First, when you are bluffing or semi-bluffing and you want players to fold, you should bet low. I don't mean betting $2 into a pot of $50, that is much too low. What I mean is don't get too carried away and over bet the pot. There is a correct amount to bet based on the pot to get players to fold. This is because an opponent has usually already decided whether they are going to call or fold regardless of the bet size, within a certain range of course. For example, if you're heads up on the flop with another player in a pot of $30, you go crazy and over bet the pot with $50 and he folds, you just took an unnecessary risk. If he folded to $50 he was already going to fold to a much smaller bet. With a bet of 2/3 pot, you're betting enough to get him to fold any draw he might have. If he already made a hand and would call $20, then he's going to call $50 as well, so why put so many more chips at risk.
On the other hand, when you know you have the winning hand, and you want players to call, you should bet high. Just as in the previous example, I don't mean getting carried away and betting too much. But you should be betting as high as possible while still making a call an attractive option for your opponent. In the same pot of $30, if you lead out with a bet of $3 and your opponent calls, they would have probably called a much higher bet as well. If they fold to a $10 they were probably going to fold to $3 as well and even if that's not true in every case. getting a caller for your $10 bet in 1 out of 3 hands is still more profitable in the long run than getting that same player to call $3 in 3 out of 3 hands.
Betting with pot odds against opponents on a draw.
Pot odds refers to the odds you're getting to make a call based on the size of the call and the money in the pot. In a pot of $30, with an opponent betting $10, you're getting 4 to 1 odds. $30 in the pot plus your opponents bet makes $40. It costs you $10 to call, so you're getting $4 for every $1 you put in the pot. That means you need to pay 25% of the pot to call. To make that call, you want to have a better than 25% chance to win the pot. But this is a topic for a whole different article. What were going to be talking about here, is how to destroy pot odds for your opponents when they're on a draw.
Lets imagine you're in a hand against a player who raised you pre flop from the dealer button. You made a call from the big blind with KsKc and the flop comes up Kh, 7h, 4d with a pot of $30. You have the first move and you know here that the only hand your opponent could have that he'll call with is a flush draw, an open ended straight draw, or a strong king,. You have the king beat but you can still lose to a flush or a straight. If you're opponent is drawing to the flush, they have a slightly better than 1 in 3 chance of catching it by the river and a little lower chance if they're on the straight draw, so you have to bet large enough to destroy the pot odds for them. With a pot of $30 a bet of $10 is too low because you're giving him 4 to 1 odds on a call. If he's drawing to the flush or straight, he'll call call that bet every time and in the long run this is a negative value situation, meaning you're going to lose money. You need to bet enough money so that you're opponent is not getting good odds, but still small enough that they may call. A bet of 2/3 the pot here gives your opponent 5 to 2 odds on a call. That means that if they call that bet every time on the flush or straight draw, you're going to win money in the long run. You just have to make sure you don't pay them off any more when their draw does come through for them. When you include the money you win when they fold to that bet, this becomes a very profitable situation in the long run.
Lets imagine you're in a hand against a player who raised you pre flop from the dealer button. You made a call from the big blind with KsKc and the flop comes up Kh, 7h, 4d with a pot of $30. You have the first move and you know here that the only hand your opponent could have that he'll call with is a flush draw, an open ended straight draw, or a strong king,. You have the king beat but you can still lose to a flush or a straight. If you're opponent is drawing to the flush, they have a slightly better than 1 in 3 chance of catching it by the river and a little lower chance if they're on the straight draw, so you have to bet large enough to destroy the pot odds for them. With a pot of $30 a bet of $10 is too low because you're giving him 4 to 1 odds on a call. If he's drawing to the flush or straight, he'll call call that bet every time and in the long run this is a negative value situation, meaning you're going to lose money. You need to bet enough money so that you're opponent is not getting good odds, but still small enough that they may call. A bet of 2/3 the pot here gives your opponent 5 to 2 odds on a call. That means that if they call that bet every time on the flush or straight draw, you're going to win money in the long run. You just have to make sure you don't pay them off any more when their draw does come through for them. When you include the money you win when they fold to that bet, this becomes a very profitable situation in the long run.
