The Cbet – Continuation Betting
Cbets are something that nearly all high-level amateurs and professional poker players employ at various times. You need to understand and recognize Cbets so that you know how to use it, if you choose, and especially how to defend against them when other players use them.
A Continuation Bet
Continuation bets are simply bets made after the flop by the same player who raised the pot pre-flop. They are used to show strength (mostly as a bluff, but occasionally as real strength) by continuing the momentum the player had from their pre-flop raise.
These bets can be incredibly powerful and useful against beginners, weaker players, and tight players who don't understand them, as these players tend to react badly to this kind of show of strength. If you opponent hasn't made at least a decent hand on the flop (which only happens around one-third of the time), they tend to wilt and fold in the face of a Cbet.
Cbets, even without a made hand, put you on the offensive and force your opponent to respond. If you only check post-flop after making a pre-flop raise, your opponents have the chance to take control of the hand by betting. Or, at the bare minimum, they get a free card that may improve their hand to something that will beat you.
Determining the Size of Cbet
In the event that you don't have much of a hand when you make a Cbet (which happens most of the time) you need to pick the right amount to bet which will get you opponent to fold. No matter what you bet, sometimes your opponent will call or raise, and you will lose your pre-flop and post-flop bets. Remember that the goal is to win money over the long term, so while this will happen, try to size your bet perfectly to avoid this happening too often.
If a Cbet for half the pot will work most of the time, there is no reason to bet higher and increase your exposure and risk. The perfect amount of a Cbet is hard to gauge, but be mindful of how your opponents are playing, and realize that a Cbet of one-third or half the pot is most likely going to make you more money over the long term, and cut down your risk.
The Flop Board Texture
Some board are great for Cbets, others are to be avoided in most circumstances. Part of a winning Cbet strategy is reading the board for these situations.
5s 6s 7h is a board where lots of players will stick around and see what happens. There are a number of made straights and draws, pairs, trips, flush draws and more that will keep players in the hand till the end. Be careful with a board like this, if you do Cbet, keep the amount and risk low. It may even be a good idea to just avoid the Cbet altogether, let your opponents take control, and lay down your cards.
As 7h 3c is the kind of board that a Cbettor loves to see. There are no good draws, and very few good made hands which your opponent might have because they wouldn't have called a pre-flop raise with 73, but they would have re-raised with AA or AK. An easy Cbet of about half the pot will drive all but the luckiest or most determined players out of the hand, and make you a good deal of money.
Balancing the Range
As with all other poker strategies, it's crucial to use them at the right times, and not rely on them or overuse them. New players who learn about Cbets start to use them constantly, and their opponents quickly catch on and adjust their play. Winning at poker is a marathon, and if a Cbet won't induce a fold, don't bother with it. When just starting out, it's best to avoid bluffing too much, as low stakes players never fold a decent hand, and there is just much safer money to be made.
When you have actually hit something on the flop like a high pair or a straight, remember to keep your bets balanced. If you've been Cbetting half the pot on a bluff, a Cbet of three-quarters of the pot on a made hand looks suspicious and off. You want to get as much money into the pot as possible when you have a great hand, but do it discreetly so that your opponents won't pick up this pattern. Likewise, make the occasional bluff Cbet quite large, just to throw them off.
Exploiting Cbets
When you play at lower stakes and with weaker players, you can make a decent amount of money through using Cbets. But an even better way to make money is to find better poker players who routinely use Cbets as a bluff tactic, and exploit them. For instance, when you are against a decent player who Cbets a bad board for half the pot, just like the example above, you can respond by raising their Cbet, causing them to either fold back to you, or call and proceed to the next street with a weak hand. If you can properly judge your opponents, you can make a nice profit off of recognizing their Cbets.
