Essentials of a bet size to win a pot size!
A very frequent question that beginners in poker player have is, “Should I play this hand? Should I bet big or small? What should my bet size be?” More specifically, they have questions like what percent will this hand pay me? They juggle around these questions constantly and keep changing their game and decision accordingly. A hand is worth playing only when it co-exists with the flops that open. Not so experienced players tend to hold tight. In the case of experienced players, they are better at playing post-flop games. Why so? That is because for beginners, it is not easy to bet on post-flop because they are inexperienced. This may lead to some costly mistakes.
When the cards are dealt in poker, your bet size should be calculated corresponding to the odds of winning. The question is, what can you actually bet on and what is the bet size in poker which will win you a big hand.
Hands to bet on (High to low) Bet size percentage (Chances)
A-A 85%
K-K 82%
Q-Q 80%
J-J 79%
T-T 76%
A-K 70%
A-Q 68%
The above table is just a short illustration of the chances, but they do differ from a pair to pair and from the flop that opens. Usually, early in the game and the size of the stack, you can play the game extremely close to cash games. When your stacks a shallow, there are more chances and benefits to make a pair compared to hitting straights or flushes. You need to keep your bet size smaller.
Before you make your bet size in poker, you need to know your goal and mission. Your ultimate mission should be to decide how much better to make on what hand, using an appropriate bet size. Is the bet size of value bet, a continuation bet, a probe bet, a slow play or an all-in bet size? You are a better judge of your bets. The bet types differ what your cards demand.
- Varying bet size is a bet size with guidelines which are important to be learned and to get comfortable with. They don’t really have a drastic change but if you always bet the same amount against even better player’s they start to read your book and your patterns.
- Your betting patterns differ from game to game and from an opponent to opponent, and this all depends on the bet size you can bet. Your betting patterns should not be predictable because your opponent’s make their moves accordingly.
- A fish won’t have a strategy to bet and won’t understand the implied odds. You need to very well keep that in mind. Against weak players you should have a very basic betting strategy but also take care of the value bet when you have a very good hand. Once you move on to players who play high stacks, you can bet you advanced in front of them.
You should know your bet size according to the card you hold. It is good to give a call rather than giving up. You should raise enough money if you are confident to make your opponent fold. But if you have a weak hand, don’t try to limp. In that case, you are not helping your fellow mates you’re forcing other players to put money in the pot. That is wrong, isn’t it? There are a lot of factors that influence the betting size of a player:
- The position of the player on the table.
- The position of the player economically on the table.
- The players stack size.
- The patterns and style of a player is betting.
But what exactly are the basic rules to select bet size in a tournament:
- You need to keep your bet size consistent on a pre-flop with all of your range.
- Make sure you adjust your bets according to your position on the table and the depth of your stack.
- Make sure you practise your bet sizing.
- Do not give away any predictable betting pattern to your opponents.
- Randomly bet or increase your bet to throw your opponents of an confuse them.
- Keep same increments to achieve your goal.
Is there really a bet size in poker strategy?
If you have decided that you want to bet, your next question is bound to be how much do you want to? To figure out the right poker betting hand, you should first ask yourself of what percentage of your range are you going to be betting here? The more frequent you bet, the smaller your bet sizing should be. The reason is pretty obvious. The wider your range, the more blogs you will play. And hence you cannot afford to take risks in order to win the pot. Your equity will become weaker.
If your board texture is dry, which means, there aren’t any hands in which your fellow players can check or call, choose to play. A small bet size and that would definitely make sense. Betting big sometimes is a waste of money and your chips. You definitely don’t want to gather a small pot after betting big.
Coming to the major four rules to select bet size in online poker are:
Rule 1: Bet your money corresponding to the pot.
If you are short staffed or you have a low stack to the pot ratio, don’t be overconfident on your betting. Choose a smaller bet size because there is much less room to play post-flop.
Rule two: Bet intermittently.
Keep your bets recurring in a tournament for survival purposes. It definitely gives you a lot of incentive to fire when you are the original raiser or when your opponent becomes weak. Make sure you are continuous and perpetual.
Rule three: Counterpoise your bet size.
From an exploitative standpoint, you want to bet small with both your strong or weak hand. If you choose a small bet size, you will definitely get a bigger pot for a great price on your blogs. It is pretty bankable. It definitely preserves your stack which is supposed to be extremely precious to you.
Rule four: Over bet on premium hands.
When players who play online usually over bet when they have not hands. You should over bet on boards that favour your range. You should polarise your over batting skills by putting together your bluff and the strong premium cards. In such a scenario, your bet size against the opponent will have a maximum value.
A verdict on poker bet size.
When it comes to using your poker bet size strategy, there are definitely no hard-core rules you should follow. Don’t ever be terrified to challenge and get creative with what works for you. The only main point is that the best strategy is the one that makes your focus statistics of win rate. The best online platform to try your bet size without losing real money, head to Spartan Poker which gives you the best experience to bed without losing your real bucks.
