No Limit Betting
When playing no limit ring games or tournaments, it is important to keep your bet sizes the same. By raising pre-flop the same amount each time, it becomes difficult for your opponents to put you on a hand. If you end up raising less with your premium pocket pairs, your observant opponents will be more likely to accurately put you on a hand.
Typically, most good players will raise pre-flop three to four times the big blind. They will make the same size raise if they have pocket aces or 76 off-suit. This keeps your opponents guessing if the flop helped you or not.
It is also important to maintain consistency with your bet sizes post-flop. If you end up varying the size of your bet based on whether or not you were helped by the flop or not, your opponents will have a huge advantage. It will be almost as if your cards are face up. A bet on the flop after you were the pre-flop raiser is called a “continuation bet”. Post-flop bets are typically measured in relationship to the pot size.
A typical continuation bet is at least half the pot. Sometimes it is advisable to bet three quarters of the pot or a bet that equals the pot. Bet any less than that and you are giving your opponents the proper pot odds to continue with the hand. Betting more than the pot will most likely result in your opponents folding, and you not getting paid off on your strong hands.
Obviously the size of your continuation bet should depend on the characteristics of your opponents. When up against calling stations, you will need to bet a little more and likewise, against tight passive players you should probably bet a bit less.
Another factor to consider is the number of opponents. In a hand against multiple opponents, your bets need to be a little larger because there is a greater chance that at least one of your opponents is on a draw. If you are up against a single opponent, you will likely be able to protect your hand with a smaller bet.
The nature of the flop is also important when determining how much to bet. If you have top pair or an overpair and the board appears safe, you should make a smaller continuation bet as you want your opponents to call with hands like middle pair. If the board has obvious potential straight or flush draws, then you will want to bet more in order to protect your hand. You want to charge your opponents more, in order to hit their draw.
There are many factors in determining how much you should bet. There is a fine line between getting value out of your strong hands while protecting your hand against your opponents’ draws. Being consistent with your bet sizes will give you a big advantage over your opponents because you will be tougher to read.