Poker Strategy With Jonathan Little
One of the most common mistakes essentially all no-limit hold’em players make is to use the incorrect bet size. The game is called ‘no-limit’ for a reason! If you find that you consistently use the same bet size in most situations, you are certainly leaving money on the table. Instead, you should adjust your bet size based on your range, your opponent’s range, and how you expect your opponent to respond to your bet. The most common bet size used by many recreational players is a bet of about 50 percent of the size of the pot. If the pot is $100, they bet $50, while the optimal bet may be $25, $75, or even $150, depending on the situation.
Suppose in a tournament with 100-200 blinds, you raise from middle position to 500 in with A
K and only the player in the big blind calls. On K
8
4, giving you top pair top kicker on a somewhat uncoordinated board, you should use a small bet of roughly 300 into the 1,100 pot.
Pretty much no matter what your opponent has, he is in terrible shape. Also, you are not susceptible to being outdrawn on most turns. Realize that it is somewhat difficult for your opponent to have a strong hand that can call large bets on the flop, turn, and river. So, in this situation, you should bet small, 300 into the 1,100 pot. While a 300 bet and a 500 bet may not appear too different, most opponents will call much more often when facing the smaller bet size, inducing mistakes on the turn and river.
If instead the flop came K Q
8, you should bet much larger, 800 into the 1,100 pot. Now your top pair is quite vulnerable. Any queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, or club could easily improve your opponent to the best hand, and other random cards may also be bad when they give your opponent a disguised set or two-pair. It is also probable that your opponent has a decently strong hand that can call a large bet, like a king, queen, or draw.
Suppose in a tournament with 100-200 blinds, you raise from middle position to 500 in with A
K and only the player in the big blind calls. On K 8 4, giving you top pair top kicker on a somewhat uncoordinated board, you should use a small bet of roughly 300 into the 1,100 pot.Pretty much no matter what your opponent has, he is in terrible shape. Also, you are not susceptible to being outdrawn on most turns. Realize that it is somewhat difficult for your opponent to have a strong hand that can call large bets on the flop, turn, and river. So, in this situation, you should bet small, 300 into the 1,100 pot. While a 300 bet and a 500 bet may not appear too different, most opponents will call much more often when facing the smaller bet size, inducing mistakes on the turn and river.
If instead the flop came K
Q 8, you should bet much larger, 800 into the 1,100 pot. Now your top pair is quite vulnerable. Any queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, or club could easily improve your opponent to the best hand, and other random cards may also be bad when they give your opponent a disguised set or two-pair. It is also probable that your opponent has a decently strong hand that can call a large bet, like a king, queen, or draw.