C-bet sizing
One rule of thumb that Marc Goone professes and I know a LOT of posters on this site feel similarly, is when you C-bet post flop, to do it to the tune of one-third pot. I love that guy and his methods but this is one strategy I did not find success with when I first tried it. I get the concept...bet about 30% to cap everyone's range and have players "call with their weak hands and raise with their strong hands." I found that when I would bet with this formula, it didn't always push out the weak hands and players with strong cards would still flat. It's on the turn that players tend to make their moves.
Instead, I have found a lot of success with betting half-pot as a C-bet which I know many of you feel is way too much and that it costs in the end, but here's my rationale:
~ Half-pot wipes out guys who stay in with junky stuff and catch their gutter ball or improve to flush draws or maybe get a set with a weak pair.
~ It does a better job of isolating so now I'm more likely to be head-to-head.
~ The pot is tougher for my opponent to get away from and I have more room to extract $$$
~ Bluffing becomes sooo much easier. I've shown great strength with a bet like that. If I fire the double-barrel, the story is even more compelling and I take the hand down with more of V's money to show for it.
Has anyone else tried making bigger C-bets? Does it seem like a bridge too far and that ultimately it's a costly adjustment?
8 Replies
I vary my Cbet sizing depending on player and context. Live poker people tend to be stickier so betting 1/3 doesn’t usually do what it’s supposed to. My default for live poker is usually at least 1/2 -2/3 or so, but I’ll start adjusting that lower if someone is playing tighter and then checking back more if someone is looser if I miss and then trying maximize value with made hands against those in the middle which is usually closer to 2/3.
I vary my Cbet sizing depending on player and context. Live poker people tend to be stickier so betting 1/3 doesn’t usually do what it’s supposed to. My default for live poker is usually at least 1/2 -2/3 or so, but I’ll start adjusting that lower if someone is playing tighter and then checking back more if someone is looser if I miss and then trying maximize value with made ha
Wow...so you go half-2/3. Interesting.
Yeah just kinda depends where I’m playing too. Like if I’m playing $2/$5 I’d probably be closer to 1/3-1/2 but at $1/$3 people tend to call wider. I adjust very quickly to that default though based on reads and after even about 15 mins at the table I’m already making quite a few adjustments
Yeah just kinda depends where I’m playing too. Like if I’m playing $2/$5 I’d probably be closer to 1/3-1/2 but at $1/$3 people tend to call wider. I adjust very quickly to that default though based on reads and after even about 15 mins at the table I’m already making quite a few adjustments
The fact that you go even bigger than half-pot I never even thought of, but from some past conversations in the this forum, one-third pot is almost like a religion. I took some heat in previous posts because everyone felt it was overbetting, but I would never get the folds from one-third.
Thanks for the response!
For me it depends on the board texture and how it interacts with my range. I sometimes c-bet 2/3 if I'm the preflop raiser and the board is like AQ7. If it's J22 I will go for 33% or even smaller.
I think betting 33% or a fixed amount for every scenario is bad. Poker is a dynamic game not a static one. When you have the range and nut advantage, even if it's just a c-bet, I think you should be going bigger so that you can build a big pot quickly for the time you have the nuts.
C-Bet sizing is dependent on board textures and player profiles imo.
I do agree with you that 1/3 sizing keeps players ranges wide. There is some pretty good merit into c-betting bigger on certain boards - get more money in, lower the spr, increase fold equity, etc.
For me it depends on the board texture and how it interacts with my range. I sometimes c-bet 2/3 if I'm the preflop raiser and the board is like AQ7. If it's J22 I will go for 33% or even smaller. I think betting 33% or a fixed amount for every scenario is bad. Poker is a dynamic game not a static one. When you have the range and nut advantage, even if it's just a c-bet, I thin
I feel that it's 6 and half-dozen of the other. Yes, changing your bet sizing based on the interaction with the board or the strength of your hand can potentially maximize profit and minimize loss so there's a great argument for that. On the other hand, bet sizing is one of the biggest giveaways when it comes to ranging players. By keeping the sizing initially formulaic, it's impossible for other players to get any sort of read. I will say that on paired boards or when there are more than two players in the hand with me, those two situations will always trigger a potential change in my c-bet strategy.
To my understanding, cbet size is directly related to cbet frequency (so indirectly to flop texture and so on).
If on a given flop you cbet your entire range, you "have to" go small.
If you cbet a certain flop rarely, then you can/should go bigger.
