So Why Are You Betting Anyway?
Whenever you make a bet in a NL Holdem game (ring or tournament), there is always a reason behind it. There are many reasons why someone decides to bet at a pot, and it is our jobs to not only determine why our opponents are betting, but why we are betting ourselves, and why we chose to bet that particular amount. Usually it is a combination of reasons, but once you learn to decipher the reasons behind making a bet, it becomes easier to read your opponents, and put yourself in their shoes. As your game develops, it is also very important to disguise these reasons for betting (ex: betting like you’re on a draw when you hit straight), and you must also realize that your advanced opponents will be disguising their play as well. Usually the reason for betting falls into one of these categories, or a combination of these:
“I Have a Hand” Bet: Pretty standard stuff here. Raise 3-5 times the BB, bet the amount of the pot, etc. Usually done with TPTK or better.
“I’m On A Draw” Bet: The amount of this bet can be mixed up to confuse your opponents, but most of the time the bet is a fraction of the pot, or a min-bet. Your goals here are to build the pot in case your draw hits, weed out the opponents with nothing (or tempt them to stay in the hand with nothing to build the pot), and to discourage someone else from betting/bluffing after you.
Continuation Bet: Made by the person who showed the most aggression pre-flop, usually ½ or 1/3 of the pot. Most standard practice is for others to “check to the raiser”, where the raiser throws out his standard continuation bet. Even though others at the table know that this is continuation bet and you probably missed the flop, most will fold anyway. Also used in conjunction with the representation bet very often.
Representation Bet: (Repping a hand) Most common instance is if you raised pre-flop, and any painted cards come on flop, making a bet here will represent that you got a piece of the board. Also can be used when a scare card hits that may complete a straight, flush, or boat. Doesn’t work very well at lower limits.
Betting for Information: You don’t have the best hand, but you have a marginal hand and want to see where you stand. Example, you have KQ, the board is A Q 8 , pot is $5.00, betting $3-$4 will tell you if your hand is good. (Also used a lot when you have TP with a weak kicker)
The Pot Building Bet: Usually made when you have a very strong hand and aren’t afraid of any draws. The idea is to make a small enough bet that they will be tempted to call or raise, and extract the most money as possible.
“Let Me Handle This” Bet: This is usually done when someone jumps all-in before you, there are several players to act after you, and you want to isolate against that player. If your stack is larger than the person who went all-in, re-raising their all-in bet will tell others to back off.
Trap Bet: Made when you have an extremely strong hand, and want to fake weakness by putting out a small bet. You are tempting your opponent to re-raise you. Works very well with long pauses, and against overly aggressive players.
Annoying Bet: Lets face it, min-bets annoy the hell out of people, which sometimes is not necessarily a bad thing. Another tactic is betting very odd amounts, like $1.27 or .93. Used very well as a trap bet, cause it also tempts people to want to play sheriff.
Sheriff Bet: Also called the “I’m tired of your shit” bet. Used when someone is raising or min-betting way too often, and is done in the form of a large re-raise. (Or done by calling down, but we’re only talking about bets here)
Steal: Only used when in position… (most of the time) if many have limped, or a small raise has been made with a few callers, making a large re-raise may take down the pot.
The “Get the Hell Out of My Pot” Bet: Self explanatory, usually a very large over-bet of the pot, to force your opponent to fold. Done (or should be done) frequently when you have a strong hand and there is a draw showing.
Scary Board Timid Bet: Flop comes 10s, Js, Qs and you hold QhKc, in a multi-way pot. Some players will be afraid of straights and flushes, and will not bet their top pair correctly. Almost always happens when out of position. Or you show lots of strength on the flop with your TPTK, get called, and the third flush card comes on the turn, and you slow down. This is also a very good example of disguising your bet. Betting like you have top pair on the flop when you’re actually on the draw, then slowing down when your draw hits, really brings out the shark in an aggressive player, and is a play used quite often by experienced players. (In general this timid bet should be avoided, unless trapping.)
Scary Board Bluff: Betting large at a scary board when your opponents have shown weakness. (Can also be done if they show strength, depending on your reads.)
Tilted Bet: Usually done after losing a big pot, the loser may instantly make a large raise on the very next hand. Sometimes this is a legit hand, so tread carefully.
Intimidation Bet: Usually done by maniacs or overly aggressive players, these are large bets that are basically saying, “It’s gonna cost you to play this hand, big boy.” Works very well when you have a good table image, a large stack, and have shown down some monsters.
The “Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home” Bet: Sometimes hard to see this one coming, cause it could be made by a small stack, large stack, fish, or solid player. Made right before a player decides they want to leave, and they try to steal a pot with a large over-bet or by moving all-in. Could also be made once a player goes on tilt.
Confusion Bet: Also can be called, “I’m a dumb ass fish and don’t know what I’m doing” bet. (Or “I am very tricky and unpredictable, so stay on your toes” bet.) Happens when a bet seems to come completely out of nowhere with no regards to the board, or pot size, or other players involved in the pot. Examples are someone jumping all in on the river in a $2 pot that was checked the entire way, or someone showing huge strength in a hand and then only min-betting the river. Possibilities are endless with this one.
Alright, what did I miss?
(Keep in mind I’m only talking about reasons for betting, not necessarily types of plays that can be made)
Oh yeah, and the “I’m a drunk/stoned fool and have no real reason to bet” bet.
